St. Paul's Damascus experience

There are two Gospel readings available for the faithful today and it’s a bit confusing, so I consulted with my unpaid spiritual consultant and fellow columnist Fr. Roy Cimagala who told me that today is the 3rd Sunday of Ordinary time however it is also the conversion of St. Paul and since the Catholic Church has declared this year as the Pauline Year, then we should also educate ourselves about the works of St. Paul. So as not to confuse our readers and since the gospel from Mark 1:14-20 isn’t long, I will put in both here.

“After John had been arrested, Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God: 15 “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.” As he passed by the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and is brother Andrew casting their nets into the sea; they were fishermen. 17 Jesus said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Then they abandoned their nets and followed him.19 He walked along a little farther and saw James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They too were in a boat mending their nets. 20 Then he called them. So they left their father Zebedee in the boat along with the hired men and followed him.

This is exactly what happens, when the Lord Jesus Christ calls us to serve his Church. This is why even today, people from all walks of life, often drop what they’ve been doing and enter the service of the Catholic Church to become “Fishers of men”. People entering the priesthood may no longer be as plentiful unlike in the past, but it is not the numbers that’s important, but the quality of our seminarians that join to become priests.

The other Gospel reading is the story of the defense of St. Paul before the Jews in Jerusalem. Remember Paul was Saul of Tarsus who was among his own peers as he was also a Pharisee. You can read this in Act. 22:3-16.

“[Paul addressed the people in these words] 3 “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city. At the feet of Gamaliel I was educated strictly in our ancestral law and was zealous for God, just as all of you are today. 4 I persecuted this Way to death, binding both men and women and delivering them to prison. 5 Even the high priest and the whole council of elders can testify on my behalf. For from them I even received letters to the brothers and set out for Damascus to bring back to Jerusalem in chains for punishment those there as well.

6 “On that journey as I drew near to Damascus, about noon a great light from the sky suddenly shone around me. 7 I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ 8 I replied, ‘Who are you, sir?’ And he said to me ‘I am Jesus the Nazorean whom you are persecuting.’ 9 My companions saw the light but did not hear the voice of the one who spoke to me. 10 I asked, ‘What shall I do sir?’ The Lord answered me ‘Get up and go into Damascus, and there you will be told about everything appointed for you to do.’ 11 Since I cold see nothing because of the brightness of that light I was led by hand by my companions and entered Damascus.

12 A certain Ananias, a devout observer of the law, and highly spoken by all the Jews who lived there, 13 came to me and stood there and said, “Saul, my brother, regain your sight.” And at that very moment I regained my sight and saw him. 14 Then he said, ‘The God of our ancestors designated you to know his will, to see the Righteous One, and to hear the sound of his voice; 15 for you will be his witness before all to what you have seen and heard. 16 Now, why delay? Get up and have yourself baptized and your sins washed away calling upon his name.”

Notice how the two Gospel readings are connected? The first reading was about the call by Jesus to his Apostles who were mostly fishermen and he told them that henceforth, they will be “fishers of men”. Saul as we have known was one of the first Romans (though he was a Jew) to persecute the first Christians and even witnessed the stoning of St. Stephen, the first Christian Martyr. Yet our Lord Jesus Christ called him in a most dramatic way on the road to Damascus and he was left with no choice, but follow the Lord.

Indeed when our Lord Jesus Christ comes calling us, we have to accept his call without reservation. This is what we call our own “Damascus Experience”. If today I’m writing my weekly Sunday Gospel as my way of evangelizing our Catholic brethren, that’s because I too had my own Damascus experience ten years ago, though not in a dramatic way like Saul. It was through the Life of the Spirit Seminar (LSS).

When you embrace what the Lord Jesus Christ said, “Seek ye first the kingdom of heaven and all these things shall be added unto you.” Then you have become Poor in Spirit especially when you no longer rely on yourself in making decisions, relying only on the graces of God. Then the Lord can move into your life, not just to make you a better person, but teach others through your own example. I hope you too will have your own Damascus experience.