The Acts of the Apostles recounts the conversion of St. Paul – from persecutor to proclaimer – and inspires us to remember that God continues to call all of us to ongoing conversion of heart.
Mass Readings – Friday of the 3rd Week of Easter
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Study: Describe a moment when you felt that God was particularly near. How did you react?
Pray: Ask the Lord for an open heart to recognize and understand Christ’s presence in your life.
Serve: Do you have a prompting right now to help another? Is there something or someone in need of your aid?
Mass Readings – 2nd Sunday of Lent
Have you ever had a first hand experience of God’s grace? An encounter or perhaps a moment when you felt particularly close to the Lord? For some people, even talking about the experience can seem awkward if not downright difficult. We know in our hearts that something profound and beautiful happened, but how do we share it? How do we communicate our personal event to another?
Abraham, Peter, James and John had an experience that would reshape their lives. Abraham believed in God and forged a covenant of faith. The three apostles went up the mountain with Jesus and came down dazzled by the sight of Moses and Elijah speaking with Christ as the Father’s voice thundered in their hearts.
Did it change them? Yes! Did it have a powerful impact on their lives and through them on others? Absolutely. Are these types of experience essential to follow the Lord? Of course not. But when they come they bring the potential to reshape how and why we live.
Some people are blessed with a “mountaintop” experience of faith. They encounter the Lord in a life changing way and rewrite the script of their life to follow a new direction. Others faithfully follow the path that is set before them, trusting in the God’s guidance to direct their steps down a well marked road.
While every person will have great or small moments of grace, perhaps today we might consider how the Lord is speaking to us. What are the signs, circumstances, situations, and people that help us recognize the presence of Jesus Christ? How might we adjust our vision to see God at work in our hearts?
The Lord continues to speak in our world. May we listen! Christ’s grace continues to change lives. May we see it! As we continue to embrace the season of Lent we open our hearts and ask for the wisdom to comprehend how God is present. May our response be filled with a lively faith as we follow Jesus!
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If you are looking for more material to help you this Lent, you might consider this list of presentations I have offered over the last couple of years. Feel free to check it out and share if you find it helpful:
Podcast Resources for a Powerful Lent
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Note: This post was first published on February 15, 2016.
Christ calls us to repent of our sins and turn to Him. This 45 minute presentation outlines some of the ways we embrace repentance as an ongoing part of our conversion of heart as we draw closer to God and one another. Given at a Parish Mission at St. Anthony Abbot Catholic Church on March 11, 2018.
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Archive of Fr. Andrew’s Podcasts
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For a copy of the handout that accompanied this presentation click here: Repentance
Mass Readings – Friday of the 26th Week of the Year
It will not go well for the cities of Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum; Jesus preached in their midst and they have not responded. It’s a good reminder for us who have been raised with the Gospel…are we merely “cultural” Christians, or has the Good News touched our hearts and changed our lives?
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Mass Readings – Thursday of the 3rd Week of Easter
Philip took time to instruct the Ethiopian eunuch about the book of the prophet Isaiah, which led to his conversion and baptism. Every day we have opportunities to share our faith and help guide others so that they can grow as disciples of Jesus Christ.
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Mass Readings – Wednesday of 1st Lent
God calls every generation to repentance as we observe in the book of Jonah and the Gospel of Luke today. Rather than chase after miracles, wonders and signs, may we respond to this ongoing call to conversion of heart – turning away from sin and turning toward the Lord.
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Fr. Andrew’s Daily Mass Homily Podcast
Mass Readings – The Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul, Apostle
St. Paul’s conversion shows how God calls us to make changes in our lives as we draw close to Jesus Christ and proclaim the Good News. The Lord reaches out to us in our weakness, inspiring us to turn away from our sins and become living witnesses to the world.
