Scripture readings for today's reflection can be found at Friday of the Third Week of Easter | USCCB
In our first
reading from the Acts of the Apostles we hear of the familiar story of the
conversion of St. Paul (formerly known as Saul) on the road to Damascus. Up to
this point Saul was working to destroy the church because of his understanding
that the early Christians were going against the teachings of the Jewish faith.
He sincerely believed that they were blasphemous in believing and teaching that
Jesus not only died and rose from the dead, but that Jesus was God. Further, earlier
in Acts, Saul was a witness to the martyrdom of St. Stephen, the first martyr
for this faith in Jesus Christ. In Acts 8, verse one, we read, “Saul was consenting to his execution.”
So, it’s very understandable that Ananias
was hesitant, at the request of God, to go to Saul. He was afraid for his life.
But he was obedient to God, and went and prayed over Saul, who recovered his
vision and came to faith in Jesus Christ and was baptized.
Ananias was willing to go and pray for
Saul and his conversion. Further, St. Stephen as he was being stoned death for
his belief in Jesus Christ, prayed for Saul and those stoning him, “Lord, donot hold this sin against them” (Acts 7:60), words that were similar to the
words our Lord used from the cross towards those who put Him to death.
As a result of the prayers of St.
Stephen and Ananias, Saul came to faith in Jesus Christ Saul would become Paul and would go on to spread the faith that Jesus Christ is Savior and Messiah
through his many missionary trips and his writings that now make up most of the
New Testament.
Prayer for others is a powerful tool in
our relationship with God and with those that we know that may not share our
faith in Jesus Christ. We are called by God to pray for them. We may never face
martyrdom like St. Stephen, or, like Ananias, be called to go to someone we
fear, but we are called to pray for those in our lives that may not have the
faith in Jesus Christ that we are blessed to have. Through our silent prayer
for those among our families and friends, God can bring others to faith in Him.
Pray for those family members and friends in your life that God may touch their
hearts and come to knowledge that Jesus is indeed Lord and Messiah.
When we consider how Saul of Tarsus prior to his miraculous encounter with Our LORD on the road to Damascus & subsequent conversion was so devoutly committed to destroying & rooting out belief in Our LORD JESUS CHRIST to the extent of killing believers & preachers he could not get to renounce their faith, we could compare him to the fanatical fundamentalist Muslims who are devoutly committed to their doctrine of jihad--to kill anyone who refuses to convert to Islam! That is how attached Saul was to rabbinic Judaism & the letter of its numerous laws & traditions & how attached fanatical fundamentalist Muslims are to their Koran & the principle of jihad. The conversion of Saul in the early Church would be like the conversion of a jihadist Muslim in our day.
ReplyDeleteThis illustrates how with GOD nothing is impossible, how no one is beyond His reach, & how GOD can use someone with misguided zeal & turn him around to the most zealous follower of JESUS CHRIST & the truth of the Gospel.
So not only should we persevere in praying for our loved ones who either belong to other faiths or who have become inactive/lapsed in the practice of our Catholic faith, we should also try to include praying for the jihadist Muslims who threaten our lives & are currently our enemies. Who knows whether GOD has planned for any of them to become deeply committed Christians & future heroes of our faith!
This weekend it is predicted that a number of people who are vehemently pro-abortion, even while calling themselves Catholic, might seek to protest & possibly even attack our churches. They, too, need our prayers that the LORD may change their hearts as well.