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| “The Conversion of St. Paul” by Parmigianino, 1530’s |
Commentary:
Reading 1: Acts 9:1-20
Commentary on Acts 9:1-20
This is the first of three accounts of the conversion of Saul of Tarsus, the hero of the second half of Acts of the Apostles, written by St. Luke (see also Acts 22:1-16 and 26:9-18). With the topic of evangelization of the world already initiated with the story of Philip and the eunuch, St. Luke now focuses on evangelization of the gentiles.
According to these accounts, Saul, the enforcer of the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem, was an involuntary convert. He was a person of zeal and energy that the Lord turned, as scripture says, into God’s instrument. Although St. Luke only gives Saul the title “Apostle” twice (Acts 14: 4; 14), this passage provides a parallel. Paul sees the Kyrios – the risen Lord; he is called, he is given the gift of the Holy Spirit, and he proclaims Christ crucified.
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 117:1bc, 2
R. (Mark 16:15) Go out to all the world and tell the Good News.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Commentary on Ps 117:1bc, 2
“This shortest of hymns calls on the nations to acknowledge God's supremacy. The supremacy of Israel's God has been demonstrated to them by the people's secure existence, which is owed entirely to God's gracious fidelity.” [4] Using a refrain from St. Mark’s Gospel, the psalm is one of praise for the Good News of God’s salvation.
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Gospel: John 6:52-59
Commentary on Jn 6:52-59
The “Bread of Life” discourse continues (somewhat redundant with the preceding verses), and the Lord escalates his language. The people who had come to him because they had been fed with the five barley loaves just cannot make the leap from bread made with wheat or barley to the “Bread of Life,” offered as true food and drink for the spirit. Even when he alludes to manna as an example of real food (Exodus 16:1ff), they still do not see that the Son of God offers them his resurrected body as their meal and they are repulsed, especially because of the language he uses (the word “gnaw” is used, not just “eat” in the original texts).
Verse 58 (“This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever”) conveys the key purpose to the Lord's discourse, the offer of salvation, eternal life with the father. Just as he will later say to the "Good Thief" as they hang on the cross, "Today you will be with me in paradise," (Luke 23:43) he speaks to this crowd of the offer he makes available through his sacrifice.
CCC: Jn 6 1338; Jn 6:53-56 2837; Jn 6:53 1384; Jn 6:54 994, 1001, 1406, 1509, 1524; Jn 6:56 787, 1391, 1406; Jn 6:57 1391; Jn 6:58 1509
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Reflection:
The story of St. Paul’s emotional conversion to Christianity does not say what happened to him in detail once he regained his sight and was baptized. We are told only: “He stayed some days with the disciples in Damascus, and he began at once to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God.” However, knowing what we know about the early Christians, we can be quite confident that he participated in the Eucharistic meal with those who followed “The Way.”
What must that recreation of the meal in the upper room have meant to St. Paul, one educated in Jewish Law and tradition? It followed a familiar pattern; it was like the Passover Meal at the beginning. But then Jesus, the Kyrios, the Risen Lord, whom he had encountered on the road to Damascus, changed everything. All his adult life, St. Paul had worshiped a God who accepted his sacrifices and holocausts (burnt offerings) at the Temple. St. Paul knew the psalms, and had sung many times the great penitential songs which told of God’s desire for a contrite heart, not the blood of animals. Here at last was the complete sacrifice, offered time and again for complete forgiveness.
We hear in his letters the impact of this selfless offering, made by the Only Son of God, upon the Apostle. His zeal in persecuting the Christian community was an episode in his life that would haunt him. While it was clear that Christ forgave him and St. Paul knew this, we are not convinced that he could ever have forgiven himself. That is what the Eucharist did for St. Paul. His numerous encounters with the Broken Bread made him whole and gave him strength. It was the Eucharist that led him to tell the known world of the Savior who gave his life for the sins of all mankind, and left them an eternal legacy in his body and blood.
As we recall St. Paul’s conversion, let us remember the untold role that his sharing of the Eucharist must have played in his later accomplishments on the part of Christ. Today we pray for all those who persecute the Church, especially the Christians in the Middle East, that their eyes might be opened to see the Glory of the Risen Lord and be called to his table.
Pax
[1] The picture used is “The Conversion of St. Paul” by Parmigianino, 1530’s
[4] See NAB footnote on Ps 117
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