常年期第三週主日- 聖保祿歸化 (2009年1月25日) 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul, Apostle

神父講道 - 農曆新年除夕 (2009年1月25日)
聖保祿歸化
恭讀聖馬爾谷福音　16:15-18當他們十一人坐席的時候，耶穌顯現給他們，責斥他們的無信和心硬，因為他們不信那些在他由死者中復活後，見了他的人。耶穌對他們說：「你們往普天下去，向一切受造物宣傳福音，信而受洗的必要得救；但不信的必被判罪。信的人必有這些奇蹟隨著他們：因我的名驅逐魔鬼說新語言，手拿毒蛇，甚或喝了什麼致死的毒物，也決不受害；按手在病人身上，可使人痊癒。」主耶穌給他們說了這些話以後，就被接升天，坐在天主的右邊。他們出去，到處宣講，主與他們合作，並以奇跡相隨，證實所傳的道理。─上主的話。
(3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time)
Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul, Apostle
A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to Mark 16:15-18
Jesus appeared to the Eleven and said to them: “Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned. These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will drive out demons, they will speak new languages. They will pick up serpents with their hands, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them. They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
—The Gospel of the Lord.
聖保祿歸化（宗徒）（慶日）一月二十五日 The Conversion of St.Paul
保祿原籍猶太，名叫掃祿。當掃祿準備前行到大馬士革迫害教徒時，忽然從天上有一道光，環射到他身上。他便跌倒在地，聽見有聲音向他說：「掃祿，掃祿，你為什麼迫害我﹖」 他答說：「主! 你是誰﹖」主說：「我就是你所迫害的耶穌。但是，你起來進城去，必有人告訴你當作什麼。」陪他同行的人站在那裏，說不出話來；只聽見聲音，卻看不見什麼人。掃祿從地上起來，睜開他的眼，什麼也看不見了。人們牽著他的手，領他進了大馬士革。三天的工夫看不見，也不吃，也不喝。在大馬士革有個門徒，名叫阿納尼雅，主在異像中向他說：「阿納尼雅！」他答說：「主，我在這裏。」主向他說：「起來，往那條名叫「直街」的地方去，要在猶大家裏找一個名叫掃祿的塔爾索人；看，他正在祈禱。」──掃祿此時在異像中看見一個名叫阿納尼雅的人進來給自己覆手，使他復明──阿納尼雅卻答說：「關於這個人，我聽許多人說：他在耶路撒冷對你的聖徒作了許多壞事；他在這裏也有從大司祭取得的權柄，要捆綁一切呼號你名字的人。」主卻向他說：「你去罷！因為這人是我所揀選的器皿，把我的名字帶到外邦人、國王和以色列子民前，因為我要指示他，為我的名字該受多麼大的苦。」阿納尼雅就去了，進了那一家，給他覆手說：「掃祿兄弟！在你來的路上，發顯給你的主耶穌打發我來，叫你看見，叫你充滿聖神。」立刻有像鱗甲一樣的東西，從他的眼中掉了下來，他便看見了，遂起來領了洗。進食以後，就有了力量。他同大馬士革的門徒住了幾天之後，即刻在各會堂中宣講耶穌，說他是天主子。凡聽見的人都奇怪說：「這不是那在耶路撒冷消滅呼求這名字的人嗎﹖他不是為這事來這裏，要捆綁他們，解送到大司祭前嗎﹖」掃祿卻更強而有力了，使僑居在大馬士革的猶太人驚惶失措，因為他指證耶穌就是默西亞。過了一些時日，猶太人就共同商議要傷害他。
St. Paul
Feastday: June 29
St. Paul
St. Paul, the indefatigable Apostle of the Gentiles, was converted from Judaism on the road to Damascus. He remained some days in Damascus after his Baptism, and then went to Arabia, possibly for a year or two to prepare himself for his future missionary activity. Having returned to Damascus, he stayed there for a time, preaching in the synagogues that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. For this he incurred the hatred of the Jews and had to flee from the city. He then went to Jerusalem to see Peter and pay his homage to the head of the Church.
Later he went back to his native Tarsus, where he began to evangelize his own province until called by Barnabus to Antioch. After one year, on the occasion of a famine, both Barnabus and Paul were sent with alms to the poor Christian community at Jerusalem. Having fulfilled their mission they returned to Antioch.
Soon after this, Paul and Barnabus made the first missionary journey, visiting the island of Cypress, then Pamphylia, Pisidia, and Lycaonia, all in Asia Minor, and establishing churches at Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe.
After the Apostolic Council of Jerusalem Paul, accompanied by Silas and later also by Timothy and Luke, made his second missionary journey, first revisiting the churches previously established by him in Asia Minor, and then passing through Galatia. At Troas a vision of a Macedonian was had by Paul, which impressed him as a call from God to evangelize in Macedonia. He accordingly sailed for Europe, and preached the Gospel in Philippi. Thessalonica, Beroea, Athens, and Corinth. Then he returned to Antioch by way of Ephesus and Jerusalem.
On his third missionary journey, Paul visited nearly the same regions as on the second trip, but made Ephesus where he remained nearly three years, the center of his missionary activity. He laid plans also for another missionary journey, intending to leave Jerusalem for Rome and Spain. Persecutions by the Jews hindered him from accomplishing his purpose. After two years of imprisonment at Caesarea he finally reached Rome, where he was kept another two years in chains.
The Acts of the Apostles gives us no further information on the life of the Apostle. We gather, however, from the Pastoral Epistles and from tradition that at the end of the two years St. Paul was released from his Roman imprisonment, and then traveled to Spain, later to the East again, and then back to Rome, where he was imprisoned a second time and in the year 67, was beheaded.
St. Paul untiring interest in and paternal affection for the churches established by him have given us fourteen canonical Epistles. It is, however, quite certain that he wrote other letters which are no longer extant. In his Epistles, St. Paul shows himself to be a profound religious thinker and he has had an enduring formative influence in the development of Christianity. The centuries only make more apparent his greatness of mind and spirit. His feast day is June 29th.