+ We again have terrific readings at Mass today: the
first reading is about the most exquisite conversion in all of Scripture, the
great felling of a pillar of persecution in the history of the newborn Church:
Saul of Tarsus becomes completely stock-still, when a quite literally “blinding
Light” from heaven saturates him with authority and no doubt, Peace! and he
falls from his horse while on the way to Damascus to round up Christians from imprisonment
and most likely death in Jerusalem.
The power and force of the
light, and the evidence thereof, most likely caused great cataracts to form
instantly to cover and protect his eyes from the more than nuclear invasion of
the light!
But his ears, both inner and
outer were unaffected by this episode, in fact they were in effect increased
and strengthened to acute levels: SAUL, SAUL WHY ARE YOU PERSECUTING ME! he
heard the infallible voice boom at him: I AM JESUS, THE ONE YOU ARE
PERSECUTING!
Saul, quickly assessed the
situation and realized at the point – at least in seminal, seed form, that the
Christians, who, filled with the Spirit, being the REAL PRESENCE OF CHRIST IN
MYSTICAL FORM: his MYSTICAL BODY – that he was persecuting so vehemently was
actually Jesus. He began to get the message!
And it was his fire, he even
overly zealous, over emotional and yes, even dramatic ardor and intensity that
made him the perfect person to now carry these same Christians now on his back
to safety in the face of the horrific persecutions that would be ensuing as the
Church faced the godlessness and paganism of idolatrous and profane barbarism
of the Roman force against them.
At the same time, on Straight
Street, a simple disciple of Jesus, Ananias, also had a vision and heard a
voice: being a good disciple he jumped at the chance to interact with Jesus
appearing, who said to him, a man named Saul will present himself to you soon,
and you are to lay your hands on him, and then be prepared: you will see the reformation
of a man who was just spiritual left as a pile of ashes on the road, and the
phoenix-like all new and improved Saul will begin to unfold right before your
very eyes. The Phoenix will rise reborn and ready for a 108 degree opposite
mission in life: to convert the entire known Gentile world.
WOW!
In the gospel passage, Jesus,
again continues his Bread of Life discourse: explaining that all the strength,
all the nourishment, all the energy, all the arms of peace, hope and joy, that his
disciples would need to carry forth in the world of persecution they would soon
face, and indeed down to our day, even worse persecution as the entire planet
is now seeped in an entirely self-defeating, self-consuming, self-destructive
to the point of obliteration view on life, goals, end-game reality: that
includes us as we go to work today, go shopping, go to the gym, go to the
movies, to restaurants, to the spa:
having the Eucharistic Life of
Jesus radiate through us: if we simply believe it can – we can be a force like
Saul/Paul of Tarsus, having Jesus himself in his Mystical Form transform in even
some small way, these people we will interact with today!
Jesus commands us to: GO OUT
TO THE WHOLE WORLD and PROCLAIM THE GOOD NEWS of unimagined Life and Bliss
awaiting those who BELIEVE IT TO BE TRUE, AND WHO LIVE THEIR LIVES LIKE THEY BELIEVE
IT!
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