Today's first reading from Acts 9 tells about the conversion of Saul (Paul). He was a terrible threat to all the disciples of Jesus. Then on his journey to Damascus, a light from the sky suddenly flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" He asked, "Who are you, sir?" The reply came, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. Now get up and go into the city and you will be told what you must do." We know that he converted and became a chosen instrument to carry Jesus' name before Gentiles, kings, and children of Israel. We may think that if Jesus can convert someone like Saul, he should be able to convert anyone. The answer is yes with a condition. First, let me say that Jesus called Saul in a rather dramatic way—that was fitting because he was chosen to carry out a most important task. We are chosen to serve God in a more ordinary way, so we hear him calling us when we sense the emptiness of living a worldly life, when someone shares Jesus with us, when we are shocked by the unexpected death of a friend, etc. In Saul's case, after encountering Jesus, he believed and changed from persecuting Jesus to serving him—this is the condition for conversion to happen. If we hear God calling and remain unchanged, then we remain unconverted.
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