Gospel: Mark 16:15-18
Jesus appeared to the Eleven and said to them:
“Go into the whole world
and proclaim the Gospel to every creature.
Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved;
whoever does not believe will be condemned.
These signs will accompany those who believe:
in my name they will drive out demons,
they will speak new languages.
They will pick up serpents with their hands,
and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them.
They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
The Mass intention is for Jim Taylor RIP.
Reflection:
In what might be a twist of fate (or is it faith?), the fearsome Saul of Tarsus was converted to become the fearless Paul the Apostle. Conversion has been a feature of Jesus’ ministry such as when he called Levi from his customs post or went into the house of Zacchaeus, both of which were reviled tax collectors. It is also at the heart of the Lord’s parables such as the Lost Sheep or the Prodigal Son. Down through the ages, we come across holy men and women who once led wayward lives. What do these conversion stories tell us? They tell us that there is hope for everyone to change for the better. It is not God’s will that anyone be lost which was why Jesus died to save us all. St Paul realized this truth on the road to Damascus and conformed himself to what he realized. He once wrote “The love of Christ overwhelms us…so that living men should live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was raised to life (2 Corinthians 5:14-15). May St Paul’s conversion inspire us to follow Jesus’ command in today’s Gospel: “Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature.”
- “Take me for your model, as I take Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1). What lessons can you learn from St Paul?
- How do you look after your own conversion?
- How do you regard people considered by society as hopeless cases?
Lord Jesus, thank You for Your Word today. Through the prayers and example of St Paul help us to see and conform ourselves to Your Truth. Amen.