Daily Gospel Reflection for January 25, 2017 - Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul, Apostle

Today's Gospel: Mark 16:15-18

I am learning as I pray my way through Mark's gospel that he seems to be a man of very few words. Today's passage is only 344 characters (yes, the size of two and a half concise tweets... I checked!) and falls with a single chapter of this gospel where we read of Jesus' resurrection, his appearance to his believers, his commissioning (detailed today) of the eleven, and his ascension to heaven. The writer in me wants to beg Mark for more details. The seeker in me wants to know how those eleven, so recently betrayed by one of their own, must have felt to again be close to their teacher and friend.

It is indeed fitting today to read this passage on the Feast of St. Paul's conversion. While he who had previously been called "Saul" was clearly not among the eleven, he shared the same "sending" you and I have received by merit of our Baptism. Jesus sent them just as he sends us, with the words, "Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature."

For many of us, answering the call to "proclaim" may send us no further today than to the market, the office or the driver's seat of our minivan. And yet we each share a "mission territory", a place to which we are sent to go out and to proclaim. Let's pray today for the grace to answer the call, the faith and trust to persevere, and the joy to do all of this with loving hearts.

[Tweet "What does "Go out and proclaim" mean for me today in my life? #dailygospel by @LisaHendey"]

Ponder:

How is Jesus calling me today to "go out and proclaim the Gospel" within the context of my life?

Pray:

Lord, you call each of us to proclaim your teachings with our words and with our lives. Live within my heart today, so that I will be overjoyed to share you with each person I encounter.