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The Faith That Transforms

Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul, the Apostle of the Gentiles

TODAY'S GOSPEL (Mk. 16: 15-18) Jesus directs the Eleven on the focus of their mission before he ascends to Heaven. His central message constitutes the role of faith and baptism in human salvation--whosoever believes and is baptized will be saved. And that doing the opposite will bring man to damnation--whoever does not believe will be condemned.

Inherent in the act of faith is the act of total surrender to the love of God and to His will. Without this act of surrender there will be no faith as Jesus defined it. This total faith transforms the human heart totally into a soul consumed by God's love in the same way that a "partial faith" (if such is by definition possible) will not allow God's love to trasform the human soul because the reservation against faith becomes a stumbling block of that transformation. That stumbling block lets the seed of fear grow and fester the heart of man so that it refuses to allow the grace of God's do its work in transforming him into the image that God wants him to be--the image of a loving God in the heart and soul of such a mortal creature. That stumbling block also pulls back man from becoming truly the son of God in the model of Our Lord Jesus Christ whose faith in his Father allowed him to take on the mission of a Sacrificial Lamb in order to redeem mankind from the clutches of Evil. That stumbling block keeps man from his redemption through his own choice--whoever does not believe will be condemned.
 
The Lord Jesus challenges us today to respond to the grace of faith that does not limit us to the intellectual assent that God is Lord. He challenges us to let grace transform us through an act of total trust in his love into a son of God through the example of himself the One True Son of God. He invites us to let go of fear, and let God do his thing with us as the Blessed Mother Mary responded to the Annunciation--let it be done unto me according to your word. That's an invitation worth of a son and a daughter of God. That's an invitation we are lovingly invited to say our Fiat!
 
LORD, thank you for showing us the way of faith through the mortal life you shared with us during your brief sojourn on earth. Oh, how this way opened to us the boundless love of the Father. Thank you for inviting us to share sonhood with you in the everlasting love of the Father. Thank you for the giftedness that you shower all of us everyday for the rest of our lives. And thank you for always accompanying us through the Holy Spirit in this mortal journey as we progress step by step on our path to our true Home in Heaven. Amen.
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