The CONVERSION of St. Paul

JMJ+OBT
Omnia Pro Iesu Per Mariam!

One LIVING ENCOUNTER WITH JESUS CHRIST changed the life of Saul of Tarsus. The CONVERSION of St. Paul, formerly known as Saul of Tarsus, came as he was on the road nearing Damascus with the intention of persecuting Christians when suddenly a great light from heaven shone around him. Saul fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, "Saul, Saul, why dost thou persecute me?" Saul replied, "Who art Thou, Lord?" Then Our Risen Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, said, "I am Jesus, whom thou are persecuting. It is hard for thee to kick against the goad." Saul, trembling and amazed, said, "Lord what wilt Thou have me do?" And the Lord said to Saul, "Arise and go into the city, and it will be told thee what thou must do." (Review the three accounts of St. Paul's conversion in the Acts of the Apostles, Chapters 9, 22 and 26).

One LIVING ENCOUNTER WITH JESUS CHRIST brought about the CONVERSION OF ST. PAUL. Yet, we discover that CONVERSION OF HEART AND MIND, is an ongoing process, and that the full meaning of the LIVING ENCOUNTER WITH JESUS CHRIST is revealed gradually. We see this in the dynamics of St. Paul's conversion as described in the Book of the Acts of the Apostles. In the first account, Chapter 9, the significance of the encounter is made known only to Ananias. In the second account, Chapter 22, the significance of the encounter is revealed to St. Paul indirectly and in vague terms through Ananias. In the third account, Chapter 26, the Risen Lord, Jesus Christ, reveals the significance of the encounter to St. Paul as the Lord reveals the nature and extent of the mission entrusted to St. Paul.

One LIVING ENCOUNTER WITH JESUS CHRIST is so profound that the significance of the encounter takes a lifetime to unfold. One LIVING ENCOUNTER WITH JESUS CHRIST leads to a path of CONVERSION, COMMUNION AND SOLIDARITY. Thus, this is the PROGRAM OF THE NEW EVANGELIZATION to bring people to a LIVING ENCOUNTER WITH JESUS CHRIST.

We have a LIVING ENCOUNTER WITH JESUS CHRIST at every Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. We encounter Jesus Christ in the proclamation of the Living Word. We most especially encounter Jesus Christ in the Most Holy Eucharist where Jesus is really, truly and substantially present. The Most Holy Eucharist where Jesus gifts those in a state of grace with His very Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity, is the most powerful LIVING ENCOUNTER WITH JESUS CHRIST one can have on this earthly journey.

One LIVING ENCOUNTER WITH JESUS CHRIST in the Most Holy Eucharist should change our lives just like one LIVING ENCOUNTER WITH JESUS CHRIST changed the life of St. Paul. Draw strength from this encounter with Jesus Christ in the Most Holy Eucharist so that you can live the Word you hear proclaimed at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Go forth and share the Good News of your LIVING ENCOUNTER WITH JESUS CHRIST.

Learn from St. Paul who never looked back. St. Paul came to a oneness with Jesus Christ so that he could say, "It is no longer I who live, but Christ Who lives in me." St. Paul could say, "I live for Him, Who died and rose for me." St. Paul could say, "In Him, I live and move and have my being." St. Paul could say, "I live by faith in the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself for me." St. Paul could say, "For me, life is Christ, and death is gain." St. Paul could say, "May I boast in nothing except the Cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ." St. Paul could say, "I know Whom I have believed, and I am certain that He is able to guard the trust committed to me against that day."

These are amazing statements revealing the oneness with Jesus that the Holy Spirit is bringing about in the lives of the faithful. This transformation took place in the life of St. Paul as he asked two questions each and every day: "Lord, what is it You wish to do with me?" and "Lord, what is it You want me to do for You?" These questions are in order. First, comes formation and then comes apostolic work. They are connected, in order, in a lifetime of transformation in the fires of Divine Love.

It is the Father's Divine Plan of Love that we come to a oneness with the Most Holy Trinity. Reflect upon the fact that God had a Plan for the life of St. Paul from all eternity as St. Paul was a chosen vessel, called and set apart, from his mother's womb. Reflect upon the amazing grace and mercy shown to St. Paul. Reflect that God has a Divine Plan of Love for your life, and that you are called to holiness.

One LIVING ENCOUNTER WITH JESUS CHRIST will change your life. Come to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass with a new hope and expectation of having this life changing encounter with Jesus Christ. Come to the Lay Formation Program of Our Lady so that you can live the Trinitarian Relationships of Our Blessed Mother, and through a process of transformation you will come to a fruitfulness in Jesus Christ in the apostolic works God has prepared for you.

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Through the intercession of Our Lady, St. Joseph, St. Michael, St. Peter, St. Paul, St. John, St. James, St. Therese, St. Rita, St. Philomena, St. Jude, St. Nicholas, St. Alphonsus, St. Peter Chrysologus, St. Zachary, St. Elizabeth, St. John the Baptist, St. Perpetua, St. Felicity, St. Francis, St. Veronica Guiliani, St. Joan of Arc, St. Louis, St. Joseph Calasanz, St. Padre Pio, St. Patrick, St. Bridget, St. Columban and all the Holy Angels and Saints may you be abundantly blessed in the Covenant of Communion of the Most Holy Trinity, with my Priestly blessing,

Father Zachary of the Mother of God, SOLT