A WORD FOR TODAY JANUARY 25, 2023

*A WORD FOR TODAY*

*CHOSEN TO BE AN APOSTLE*

_"And he said, ‘The God of our fathers appointed you to know his will, to see the Just One and to hear a voice from his mouth; for you will be a witness for him to all men of what you have seen and heard."(Acts 22:3-16)_

_*Today the universal Church celebrates the feast of the conversion of St. Paul. He was born a Jew and was very zealous in upholding the Jewish law. He persecuted the Christians so much until the Lord Jesus came for him on his way to Damascus.*_

_We see through his narration in the first reading of today that it was a very dramatic encounter. He was prepared to go and take the Christians and put them in prison, but Jesus had other plans for him. His heart was filled with hatred and anger, but when Christ touched him, he became a changed person and will go on to win souls for the kingdom._

_*The light of Christ shone upon him, he fell to the ground and heard the voice of Jesus asking him why he was persecuting him. At that point he started the journey of his transformation and renewal. Jesus came for him and gave him a second chance, he did not allow him to die in his sins.*_

_St. Paul was chosen by Christ to be an apostle to the gentiles. He will devote his time and energy post-conversion to winning souls and founding churches, teaching and proclaiming the gospel. He definitely suffered, but he counted all things as loss for the singular purpose of knowing Christ and the power of his resurrection._

_*St. Paul became a new man after the encounter. His eyes were opened, his name was changed from Saul to Paul, a persecutor became an apostle. He was appointed to know God's will and to be a witness to Him everywhere. He was baptised and his sins were washed away and he now focused on the new mission of touching lives and bringing them back to God.*_

_The same mandate that St. Paul had is what we are told in the gospel reading of today to do. We must go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel. God has given us the message and the power to proclaim it. We must take it seriously and do it well so that we will be able to receive a great reward in the end._

_*We must repent of our sins, turn away from our old and evil ways, come to the light of Christ and use the grace we receive to proclaim His name with love and win souls for Him. We must not wait until our encouter becomes dramatic like that of St. Paul before we change our ways. This is our calling, this is what St. Paul died for and this is what we must strive to die for too. He gave his life to Christ and he never looked back again, but continued moving forward until he poured out his blood for His sake.*_

_Good morning dearest one. Smile😊as you do your work and do have a great day. May Jesus give you the grace to wonderful vessel of Evangelization. *And may the Almighty God bless you: the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.*_

*Meditation:* Acts 22:3-16/Psalm 117:1-2/Mark 16:15-18

*Watch-Word:* Go into all the world and preach the gospel

*God called St. Paul to preach and He is calling us too, if we say yes to Him, He will use us ad He used St. Paul.*

(Wednesday of the third week in the ordinary time. Cycle I. Feast of thr conversion of St. Paul.)

*© Rev. Fr. Augustine Eleke*