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The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Wednesday, Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul, Apostle, 25 January 2023 Acts 22:3-16 ><}}}}*> + ><}}}}*> + ><}}}}*> Mark 16:15-18
Praise and glory to you, O God our Father for this glorious day of celebration of the Feast of Conversion of St. Paul, the 13th Apostle of Jesus Christ! He is the perfect example of your boundless mercy in Christ, that every sinner can always be a saint, that every sin can be forgiven for your love is more immense and vast than all the evils that men do!
While St. Luke tells us of the vision that led St. Paul to conversion, the great Apostle himself tells us it was more of an illumination when God's light "has shone in our hearts to bring to light the knowledge of the glory of God on the face of Jesus Christ" (2 Cor. 4:6); moreover, St. Paul claimed conversion was a revelation and a vocation in the encounter with Jesus Christ that began "from my mother's womb" when God "had set me apart and called me through his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, so that I may proclaim him to the gentiles" (Gal. 1:15-16). If we could just realize this most wonderful truth like St. Paul that you have called us too while we were in our mother's womb because you have a beautiful plan for us in this world, in this life; that we all have a special mission, an important role, and noble purpose in being alive, in being here in this world!
Therefore, Lord Jesus, let us not delay our own conversion in the same manner that Ananias told St. Paul after regaining his sight in Damascus that "The God of our ancestors designated you to know his will, to see the Righteous One, and to hear the sound of his voice; for you will be his witness before all to what you have seen and heard. Now, why delay? Get up and have yourself baptized and your sins washed away, calling upon his name" (Acts 22:14-16).
Most of all, dear Jesus, like St. Paul, may we put you at the center of our lives so that our identity is marked by our encounter with you, by communion in your Person and with your Word; help us reach that wonderful stage of conversion when like St. Paul we begin to see everything considered as value is just a loss and refuse (Phil. 3:7-10) because you, O Lord, is the only essential, the most precious one we can ever have in this life; hence, place all our energy and being at your service, dear Jesus and your Gospel so that eventually, we may truly be your Apostle, becoming "all things to all men" or "omnia omnibus" (1 Cor. 9:19-23). Amen.
