Memorial of Saint Charles Borromeo, bishop

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/110411.cfm

Berries were an Indian staple
in the Pacific northwest

But I have written to you rather boldly in some respects to remind you,
because of the grace given me by God
to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles


Saint Paul reflected often upon that singular event on the road to Damascus. He certainly didn't intend to kill anyone but he wanted to harass the young Christian movement out of existence. He didn't suppose a little violence -- a few arrests, some threats, a little rough stuff -- would do much harm. Faith and religion are serious businesses, after all, and heresies should be nipped in the bud! 
But the eager Pharisee found himself on the other side of the fence. Perhaps that's why he could brush off the frequent beatings and imprisonments he endured. 
In any case he found his vocation on that highway and never looked back. Eventually that vocation developed into a ministry beyond his own Jewish heritage. Deeply learned in the classics of Greece and Rome he could relate to people everywhere. 

The former Pharisee almost immediately found himself among the elites of the new church. He was an Apostle; a thousand years later Saint Thomas would refer to him as "The Apostle." 

In our time, Christians experience our calling as a gift for every believer; it's not just for the elites anymore. Everyone is invited to know Jesus personally; and, in my experience, most people can tell me a story of when they encountered the mystery of God. Or, perhaps more  often, they felt "touched  by an angel" and knew their lives had been changed. 

A "calling" often comes as a message for others. Saint Paul, learning that he had been tormenting Jesus as  he harassed the saints, came to believe that the Church is "the body of Christ." His meeting with God gave revealed an insight that soon became a message for the whole church. 

Realizing that:

• God called me "from my mother's womb," (I was 13 when I left home)
• has remained with me all my life, 
• has forgiven my sins, 
• "gave me brothers" in the Franciscan Order, 
• equipped me for ministry, and 
• has "no regrets" about my being.

I can reassure others that

• God has never lost sight of you, 
• has always loved you, 
• has given you fellowship among the saints, 
• has anointed you with a word for others, and 
• has no regrets about choosing you for his own. 

This message with its many parts, appears often in my preaching and counseling. 

What is your message? What word did the Lord say to you that healed your heart and gave you both assurance and joy? And how do you pass that message along to others?