Conversion and Evangelization

By Bishop Paul S. Loverde
Bishop of Arlington
(From the issue of 1/29/04)

The following homily was given by Arlington Bishop Paul S. Loverde at the Mass for the Daughters of St. Paul in Alexandria, on Jan. 25.

I have chosen two threads with which to weave the tapestry of this homily: conversion and evangelization. These two threads are clearly evident in the two scripture readings proclaimed on the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul, which you solemnly celebrate within your community, for he is your patron.

Conversion and evangelization: these are both essential to Christian discipleship, to following closely the Divine Master, Our Lord Jesus Christ. We see this so clearly in the life of St. Paul.

Today, we relive in the sacred liturgy his conversion, his turning about face toward Christ. I recall reading some years ago that Saint Paul was converted from a life of "missing the point." Yes, indeed, up to the moment when, surrounded by a great light and falling from his horse to the ground, Saul had been missing the point — the essential point that Jesus Christ is the promised Messiah, the Son of God, Who suffered, died and rose again for our salvation. So much had Saul been missing the point that he had "persecuted this Way to death, binding both men and women, and delivering them to prison." Then, he came to the moment of crisis. "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" In response, Saul asked the key questions leading to conversion. "Who are you … ?" and "What shall I do … ?" Soon afterwards through Ananias, the Lord responded. "The God of our ancestors designated you to know his will, to see the Righteous One and to hear his voice; for you will be his witness before all to what you have seen and heard. … Get up and have yourself baptized and your sins washed away … ." So, Saul finally got the point, turned to Christ and became His ardent disciple, following Him closely all the way through death to heaven.

And in his following the Lord Jesus with undivided love, St. Paul became an ardent and enthusiastic evangelizer. Every where he went he proclaimed Jesus as Lord and Savior. He obediently fulfilled the mandate Christ gave to the Eleven: "Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature." St. Paul’s letters echo strongly and clearly over and over his burning zeal to make Christ known and loved by everyone. St. Paul evangelized with every fiber of his being.

We too, disciples of Jesus, are called daily to conversion and to evangelization. Every morning, as we rise from sleep, the Lord is again inviting us to turn towards Him more closely. As we ask Him, "What do you want me to do this day?" He tells us, "Repent and believe; follow Me and proclaim My Gospel by the witness of your life." Yes, even as we are more and more converted and evangelized, so must we reach out to invite others to conversion and to proclaim to them by our words and actions the Saving Lord Jesus.

Conversion and evangelization: these are both essential to the consecrated life. In "Vita Consecrata," Pope John Paul II writes: "All the sons and daughters of the Church, called by God to ‘listen to’ Christ, necessarily feel a deep need to conversion and holiness. But, as the Synod emphasized, this need in the first place challenges the consecrated life. In fact, the vocation of consecrated persons to seek first the Kingdom of God is first and foremost a call to complete conversion, in self-renunciation, in order to live fully for the Lord, so that God may be all in all" (no. 35). In addition to this call to conversion, persons living the consecrated life are likewise called to evangelize. Again in "Vita Consecrata," we read: "The specific contribution of consecrated persons, both men and women, to evangelization is first of all the witness of a life given totally to God and to their brothers and sisters, in imitation of the Savior, who out of love for humanity made himself a servant " (no. 76) So, as Daughters of St. Paul, each day you are being summoned to a deeper conversion of mind and heart and to a clearer witness of Christian virtue. In a word, conversion and evangelization remain essential to your living the consecrated life.

Finally, conversion and evangelization: these are both essential to your apostolate. With your patron St. Paul, you desire to proclaim the infinite riches of Christ’s mercy and love and to draw all people to the One who is their Lord and Savior. Your apostolate tangibly makes available the call to conversion and the outreach of evangelization. Your presence to God’s people; the books, tapes and videos you print and distribute; your intercessory prayer: all these become the outward sign of God’s call to conversion and your desire to evangelize. Again, as, Pope John Paul II reminds us in "Vita Consecrata," "Those who love God, the Father of all, cannot fail to love their fellow human beings, whom they recognize as brothers and sisters. Precisely for this reason, they cannot remain indifferent to the fact that many men and women do not know the full manifestation of God’s love in Christ" (no.77). You are not indifferent but rather deeply involved, allowing the Lord to use you in the apostolic work of conversion and evangelization.

I give thanks to God for your charism in the Church. I give thanks to God for your presence within this diocesan Church. As you allow yourselves to become more transformed by God’s grace, help us to hear the Lord’s daily call to conversion and to join with you in evangelizing the society in which we live. Following St. Paul, may we proclaim more by our witness of life than by our words: " … the life I live now is not my own; Christ is living in me. I still live my human life, but it is a life of faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me" (Gal 2:20). A blessed feast-day to you!

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