True Discipleship
“But Ananias replied, 'Lord, I have heard from many sources about this man, what evil things he has done to your holy ones in Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priests to imprison all who call upon your name.' But the Lord said to him, 'Go, for this man is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before Gentiles, kings, and Israelites.'” (Acts 9:13-15)
“But Ananias replied, 'Lord, I have heard from many sources about this man, what evil things he has done to your holy ones in Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priests to imprison all who call upon your name.' But the Lord said to him, 'Go, for this man is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before Gentiles, kings, and Israelites.'” (Acts 9:13-15)
Today is the Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul, Apostle. We are familiar with his conversion story. His name was Saul and was persecuting the early disciples of the Lord. He was present at the stoning of St. Stephen (Acts 7:58). Jesus himself (Acts 9:1-22) appeared to Saul on the road to Damascus to ask Saul why he was persecuting Jesus.
Many Catholics have been blessed to be cradle Catholics. That means a person who has been raised in the Catholic faith since birth and is usually assumed to not have lapsed in their faith. What an amazing gift from their parents and grandparents!
Others are known as converts. That means that a life-changing experience opened our hearts and minds to accept the Lord as our Savior. For Paul, it was Jesus himself who appeared to him. For most of us, it could have been a conference, seminar or retreat; or a friend/relative who introduced you to the church.
How we encountered Jesus is important and memorable. However, I think it is more important to be a witness like Paul was after his conversion. Jesus chose Paul and Jesus chose you. Go and evangelize with your words and actions. That brings me to the recently announced diocesan pastoral plan named “A Call to Conversion”. I encourage you to read it by going to https://www.dosp.org/courageouslyliving/.
Let us be instruments of Jesus by courageously living the Gospel in our communities.
Do you remember your very first encounter with our Lord Jesus? What are the plans the Lord has for you?
St. Paul, we thank you for your example of true discipleship. We ask that you intercede for us as we embark in our new diocesan pastoral plan. We ask this through our Lord’s Most Holy Name. Amen.
José Orlando (Landy) Colón was born and raised in Puerto Rico. His journey to faith started as a teenager after accepting Christ during a Juan XXIII weekend retreat. He has been a resident of the Tampa Bay area since November 2000. Landy is fully bilingual in English and Spanish. He is serving as Liturgy Committee chair and Eucharistic Minister at Resurrection Catholic Church in Riverview. He is also blessed to serve as chair of the Diocesan Hispanic Commission under the Intercultural Ministries of our diocese. His wife Judi and Landy completed the Lay Pastoral Ministry Institute program (dosp.org/lpmi) in June of 2023. They have two married daughters, and are the caregivers of Judi’s mother. Landy is a firm believer of second chances, that compassion and mercy are vital to evangelize, and that we should trust God under all circumstances.
