Word to the Wise
Thursday, November 4, 2010 - St. Charles Borreomeo, Bishop
[Philippians 3:3-8a and Luke 15:1-10]But whatever gains I had, these I have come to consider a loss because of Christ. More than that, I even consider everything as a loss because of the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. [Philippians]
St. Paul was not a child when he experienced his dramatic vision on the road to Damascus. Furthermore, his conversion took awhile to sink in and take hold. Once it did, and he was recruited by Barnabus for evangelizing, he began his remarkable itinerant ministry that almost single-handedly transformed Christianity from a movement localized in Jerusalem and Galilee to an international force! The Letter to the Philippians was written during one of his imprisonments and shows, at least in this passage, a combination of evangelical zeal and a kind of "stock-taking" that can come toward the end of one's career. He reflects on who he once was and who he is now. What he once took pride in he now considers of little value compared with what he has gained in terms of his faith. Those of us who are "cradle Catholics" rarely have the kind of experience that I hear of from those who enter the church from a another religious (or even non-religious) background. Those who work in RCIA programs do speak of the profound power of the conversion experience that they witness in the participants. Those of us who are pastors know how enthusiastic many new converts can be and how they wonder why we "cradle Catholics" can be so passive about our faith! For St. Paul, his faith was not just one thing among many important things. His faith in Christ is THE thing that shapes and forms all the rest of reality for him. How many of us could claim that? AMEN
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