April 8, 2008

Acts 8:1-8 / Jn 6:35-40

Saul, the future St. Paul, was a man of extraordinary talent and energy and a born leader. On top of that, he was a devout Jew who strove with all his heart to do the right and to defend the right. When the Christian “heresy” began to spread within Judaism, Saul set about to root it out, as we read in the Acts of the Apostles. He dragged people out of their houses and had them thrown in jail, and he presided with satisfaction at the execution of St. Stephen, among others. He did it all because he was so sure that he was right.

Saul was very sure ... and very wrong! That can happen when our hearts are closed, when we become so full of ourselves and our way that there is no room for anything or anyone else. A good measure of the extent of God’s compassion not only for Saul but for all of us is the breakthrough-gift of grace that God gave him when his heart was so thoroughly closed and he was on the way to Damascus to kill yet again. He was thrown off his horse and at last came face to face with his own longstanding blindness. He repented and God forgave him, embraced him, and gave him the gift of true sight.

God offers the same gift to all of us who are too full of ourselves and our own way. He offers the breakthrough-gift of grace. Accept His offer, and watch your heart grow.