Conversion and Communion

 The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite us to reflect on the events in our lives that resonate with the conversion of Paul on the road to Damascus.

On the Road to Conversion

 The Reading from the Acts of the Apostles presents Saul’s Conversion, his Baptism and Saul Preaching in Damascus.

* [9:1–19] This is the first of three accounts of Paul’s conversion (with Acts 22:3–16 and Acts 26:2–18) with some differences of detail owing to Luke’s use of different sources. Paul’s experience was not visionary but was precipitated by the appearance of Jesus, as he insists in 1 Cor 15:8. The words of Jesus, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” related by Luke with no variation in all three accounts, exerted a profound and lasting influence on the thought of Paul. Under the influence of this experience he gradually developed his understanding of justification by faith (see the letters to the Galatians and Romans) and of the identification of the Christian community with Jesus Christ (see 1 Cor 12:27). That Luke would narrate this conversion three times is testimony to the importance he attaches to it. This first account occurs when the word is first spread to the Gentiles. At this point, the conversion of the hero of the Gentile mission is recounted. The emphasis in the account is on Paul as a divinely chosen instrument (Acts 9:15).

* [9:2] The Way: a name used by the early Christian community for itself (Acts 18:26; 19:9, 23; 22:4; 24:14, 22). The Essene community at Qumran used the same designation to describe its mode of life.

* [9:8] He could see nothing: a temporary blindness (Acts 9:18) symbolizing the religious blindness of Saul as persecutor (cf. Acts 26:18).

* [9:13] Your holy ones: literally, “your saints.” (Acts of the Apostles, CHAPTER 9 | USCCB, n.d.)

Psalm 117 calls on the nations to acknowledge God’s supremacy.

* [Psalm 117] 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. (Psalms, PSALM 117 | USCCB, n.d.)

The Gospel of John continues The Bread of Life Discourse.

* [6:54–58] Eats: the verb used in these verses is not the classical Greek verb used of human eating, but that of animal eating: “munch,” “gnaw.” This may be part of John’s emphasis on the reality of the flesh and blood of Jesus (cf. Jn 6:55), but the same verb eventually became the ordinary verb in Greek meaning “eat.” (John, CHAPTER 6 | USCCB, n.d.)

Nancy Shirley is challenged to really examine who she is and how that is lived and conveyed to others.

I am of the vintage that I remember well the change in Church music following Vatican II.  The music of the “folk masses” filled my heart.  One of the earliest songs that I remember from this is They’ll know We are Christians by our Love and the lyric that we are one in the Spirit. So many of the songs in that era (many from the beloved St Louis Jesuits) proclaimed our beliefs in a way that demanded/encouraged actions consistent with our professions of faith.  Are my eyes blinded and not seeing what I need to. The question remains for me, will they know I am a Christian??? 

So…  two songs today (songs are my way to share my faith with you).

Open the Eyes of my Heart Lord  (Michael W. Smith)

Whenever I hear the song below, I think of St John the Baptist and all the early disciples, and how they reached out to the world and continued the story that Jesus began… 

Nobody by Casting Crowns (Shirley, 2026)

Don Schwager quotes Abiding in Christ, by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.

" Jesus recommended to us His Body and Blood in bread and wine, elements that are reduced into one out of many constituents. What is meant by eating that food and taking that drink is this: to remain in Christ and have Him remaining in us." (excerpt from Sermon on John 26,112) (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on Acts 9:1-20 invites us to imagine how different the Church might have turned out if Ananias had turned away! The Lord would, no doubt, have fulfilled his plan for the growth of the Church. But Ananias would not have had the role God offered him in these great events.

The next time you think the Lord is moving you in an unexpected direction, follow Ananias’ lead and ask for more understanding. Or better yet, take a small step forward and see what happens. You never know; your yes might bear fruit far beyond what you can imagine!

“Jesus, give me the courage to follow your lead!” (Meditation on Acts 9:1-20, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler comments that in Acts, the first of three accounts of the conversion of Paul with some small differences, the voice of Jesus is heard. Saul is going to Damascus even if the High Priest had no authority in that region. This seems to be an illegal act. Luke is offering a comparison of good people with law breakers. Saul and Paul are the same person. Saul is Hebrew-Aramaic version of his name. Why me? The Christians and Jesus suffer persecution. Paul uses kyrios as Lord, the right Greek word without realizing it. Saul, who is blinded, is to go to Ananias, who does, in fact, get over fear to encounter Saul. The cataract removed from Saul’s eyes is like that removed due to electrocution. Was this struck down event a nervous breakdown? Not likely, there is no sign of reticence or depression in Paul. In the Gospel of John, the Bread of Life Discourse, the Jewish people are traditionally troubled by eating flesh and even more today by hearing you have to drink His blood, very difficult in Jewish religious tradition. Friar Jude notes that, in John’s Gospel, we find realized eschatology in our encounter with Christ. In proclaiming about the Bread of Life, John refers to being saved on the last day and facing both present and future salvation in the Eucharist.

Father Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces Anglican priest Ragan Sutterfield, an avid bird watcher, who reflects on what it means to practice hospitality to nature in its many forms. Sutterfield suggests ways we can disrupt the commodification of nature and act hospitably. 

To plant a garden, to create a wetland—these seem like small acts in the face of our world of concrete, our obsession with never-ending economic growth. What difference can it make? I think of G. K. Chesterton’s comment, in his wonderful economic critique, The Outline of Sanity, which takes aim at industrial capitalism’s takeover of small shops and farms:

Do anything, however small, that will prevent the completion of the work of capitalist combination. Do anything that will even delay that completion. Save one shop out of a hundred shops…. Keep open one door out of a hundred doors; for so long as one door is open, we are not in prison. Ahab has not his kingdom so long as Naboth has his vineyard [1 Kings 21]. Haman will not be happy in the palace while Mordecai is sitting in the gate [Esther 5:9–13]…. [2]

Hospitality is more than resistance, however; it is also a sacramental practice—a way by which we learn to recognize the holy in the wild lives around us. “There are no unsacred places,” writes Wendell Berry, “there are only sacred places and desecrated places.” The practice of reconciliation ecology is an act in which we relate to the world in its sacredness, keeping ourselves from seeing it as a mere landscape or an interchangeable abstraction for our desires. (Rohr, n.d.)

We implore the Spirit to touch our heart and mind as we participate in sacramental practice and experience the Presence of Christ guiding our mission on the road of life.

References

Acts of the Apostles, CHAPTER 9 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved April 24, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/acts/9?1 

John, CHAPTER 6 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved April 24, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/6?52 

Meditation on Acts 9:1-20. (n.d.). Word Among Us. Retrieved April 24, 2026, from https://wau.org/meditations/2026/04/24/1549333/ 

Psalms, PSALM 117 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved April 24, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/117?1 

Rohr, R. (n.d.). Hospitality on Our Earth Home. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved April 24, 2026, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/hospitality-on-our-earth-home/ 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). He Who Eats This Bread Will Live Forever. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved April 24, 2026, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/ 

Shirley, N. (2026, April 24). Daily Reflection April 24, 2026 | Creighton Online Ministries. Creighton Online Ministries. Retrieved April 24, 2026, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/daily-reflections/daily-reflection-april-24-2026 

Never Forgotten

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today reinforce the Love of God that will never forget us as we are the focus of the Work of the Son calling us to transformation.

"Never Forget You"

The Reading from the Prophet Isaiah 49.8-15 asserts the constant Love of God for humanity.

* [49:8] You: the individual is not named; perhaps Cyrus or the prophet.

* [49:12] Syene: now called Aswan, at the first cataract of the Nile in southern Egypt. (Isaiah, CHAPTER 49 | USCCB, n.d.)

Psalm 145 proclaims God’s mighty acts show forth divine kingship.

* [Psalm 145] A hymn in acrostic form; every verse begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Acrostic poems usually do not develop ideas but consist rather of loosely connected statements. The singer invites all to praise God (Ps 145:1–3, 21). The “works of God” make God present and invite human praise (Ps 145:4–7); they climax in a confession (Ps 145:8–9). God’s mighty acts show forth divine kingship (Ps 145:10–20), a major theme in the literature of early Judaism and in Christianity. (Psalms, PSALM 145 | USCCB, n.d.)

In the Gospel of John, Jesus presents The Work of the Son.

* [5:17] Sabbath observance (10) was based on God’s resting on the seventh day (cf. Gn 2:2–3; Ex 20:11). Philo and some rabbis insisted that God’s providence remains active on the sabbath, keeping all things in existence, giving life in birth and taking it away in death. Other rabbis taught that God rested from creating, but not from judging (=ruling, governing). Jesus here claims the same authority to work as the Father, and, in the discourse that follows, the same divine prerogatives: power over life and death (Jn 5:21, 24–26) and judgment (Jn 5:22, 27).

* [5:19] This proverb or parable is taken from apprenticeship in a trade: the activity of a son is modeled on that of his father. Jesus’ dependence on the Father is justification for doing what the Father does.

* [5:21] Gives life: in the Old Testament, a divine prerogative (Dt 32:39; 1 Sm 2:6; 2 Kgs 5:7; Tb 13:2; Is 26:19; Dn 12:2).

* [5:22] Judgment: another divine prerogative, often expressed as acquittal or condemnation (Dt 32:36; Ps 43:1).

* [5:28–29] While Jn 5:19–27 present realized eschatology, Jn 5:28–29 are future eschatology; cf. Dn 12:2. (John, CHAPTER 5 | USCCB, n.d.)

Mike Cherney comments that the challenges of human conflict, economic inequality, political corruption, environmental crises, and social fragmentation are immense. I feel that I cannot ignore the call to engage with these issues through the lens of faith. Both Isaiah and John offer a vision of a world restored to righteousness through divine intervention, but I do not see this vision as something passive. I feel that there is an imperative for my personal action. That is the focus of my prayer today.

Dear Lord, I struggle to understand the frequent hardness of human hearts. On a personal level, I worry for my children and grandchildren. Help me to find peace as I strive to discern my mission. Open my heart and my mind to your call. Guide my actions as an agent of Your kingdom. (Cherney, n.d.)

Don Schwager quotes “The wonderful exchange,” by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.

"Unless the Word of God had first assumed our mortal flesh he could not have died for us. Only in that way was the immortal God able to die and to give life to mortal humans. Therefore, by this double sharing he brought about a wonderful exchange. We made death possible for him, and he made life possible for us." (excerpt from Sermon 218c,1) (Schwager, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler comments are not available at publication time.

The Word Among Us Meditation on Isaiah 49:8-15 comments that God had to reassure the people of Zion that he treasured them even more than a mother cares for her newborn child. Even if she should forget, the Lord says, “I will never forget you” (49:15).

So today, if you’re feeling forsaken, like the people of Zion, imagine yourself as an infant being cradled in the arms of your heavenly Father. Cry out for him to hold you close to his heart. Let his loving gaze, his strong arms, and his soothing voice reassure you that he has not forgotten you. He will always show you his tender mercy. He really does have good plans for you. Rest and relax in his loving embrace.

“Thank you, Lord, that you never forget me.” (Meditation on Isaiah 49:8-15, n.d.)

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces Author and CAC team member Cassidy Hall who reflects on the cost of making choices out of shame and the “toxic silence” it creates.

In the Christian context, the toxicity of silent bystanders creates and feeds countless acts of violence: the sexual abuse in many church settings and its continuation through empty apologies; Christianity’s lack of reckoning with its history of colonization; denominations’ refusal to honor and elevate the leadership and dignity of women, people of color, refugees, people with disabilities, and people from other marginalized communities; churches filling with Christian nationalism and white supremacy culture; the countless times the silent acceptance of bad theology has caused an LGBTQIA+ person to hate or harm themselves; and more. This is the silence of harm, violence, shame, and toxicity….

Toxic silence is embedded in the fabric of our daily lives…. Yet a [contemplative] loving silence can also be pursued, and we can seek and find it even in the chaos of our days. Sometimes it seeps in with our efforts to repeat an internal mantra or take an intentional pause, and other times it pours in like the colorful morning light through the east-facing window. This is the contemplative silence I continually seek and practice. This silence regenerates, regulates, allows for the emergence of loving presence and action. The more we engage in the silences that aren’t toxic—the beautiful, loving, and infinite possibilities of silence—the more we encounter silence as a creative, generative force and not a destructive one. (Rohr, n.d.)

We contemplate the analogy of being known by God as an expectant mother knowing the child of her womb and invoke the Spirit to extend our prayer petitions to include all the experiences of life in the womb that can include both connection in love and Divine Presence in distress.

References

Cherney, M. (n.d.). Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved March 18, 2026, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/daily-reflections/daily-reflection-march-18-2026 

Isaiah, CHAPTER 49 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved March 18, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/isaiah/49?8 

John, CHAPTER 5 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved March 18, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/5?17 

Meditation on Isaiah 49:8-15. (n.d.). Word Among Us. Retrieved March 18, 2026, from https://wau.org/meditations/2026/03/18/1520771/ 

Psalms, PSALM 145 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved March 18, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/145?8 

Rohr, R. (n.d.). Silenced by Shame. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved March 18, 2026, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/silenced-by-shame/ 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). My Father Is Working Still, and I Am Working. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved March 18, 2026, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/