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January 25
[media presentation below] GospelThink Saturday, January 25, The Conversion of St. Paul MARK 16:15-18 I tell you to go out to the whole world and proclaim the Gospel. Prayerthoughts a. In this version of the ending of the Gospel of Mark (there are a couple versions), the disciples of Jesus are presented as not believing those who had seen the Lord. Perhaps this is a time for an act of faith in my belief. b. In a sense I am proclaiming the Gospel by the way I talk or act or think. Am I proclaiming the Gospel properly, especially in my thinking? c. Do I find myself judging those who do not believe as I do? d. I am not able to perform the signs that Jesus spoke of, but I am able to be helpful to others. Am I as helpful as I could be? e. From my knowledge of St. Paul, what was his strongest virtue, and what should it mean for me? f. My prayerthoughts… Today, I will read Acts 9:1-22 and write down an important line from it.
Some Thoughts on the Liturgy WHAT MUST I DO? + The story of the conversion of Paul is given to us three times in the Scriptures - one of the great conversion stories of all times - a person changing from what he was before to something totally different and totally good - rightly so, our concentration must be on what Paul became, the defender of Jesus Christ, a person who was going to carry out Jesus’s command in the Gospel—go out to all the world + I think the key phrase in the conversion story is Paul’s question: what must I do? - it is key because 1) it signifies a willingness to change, a very important part of any conversion - and 2) it signifies the obvious desire to do the actions that will bring the change about + Quite naturally, our meditation should center around conversion today - we don’t need the full-scale lifestyle conversion that a Saul of Tarsus needed to begin his ministerial life - but we do need small conversions - every day conversions moving us from a past to a future - in particular from a past sin/fault stage to a future converted stage of love - we need what might be called specific spiritual conversions + To do that, both elements of Paul’s question “what must I do” are necessary: 1 – our spiritual conversion begins with a willingness to change - which means basically admitting a problem right now - one of the activities of a retreat is to take the statement that “there is something blocking my relationship with God right now—what is it” and dwell on it - that problem/fault/sinfulness will have to be discovered in our lives right now - it may have something to do with say, an attitude toward others - or the way we approach our families - or the way we treat a particular relationship - there must be something to convert from - and a willingness to do it 2 – and then determine the actions necessary to bring about the change - which in general terms is given to Paul by Ananias in the conversion story -- know God’s will/look upon Jesus/listen to him - that is as we have said so often, determine the attitude of Jesus from the Gospels and go from there + We do need spiritual conversions in many areas - the question is: are we willing to ask the question, what must I do?

MEDIA PRESENTATION Movie: "Leave No Trace" -- beginning session LOVING A PARENT

The Gospel

LUKE 2:51-52

Jesus went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them; and his mother kept all these things in her heart. And Jesus advanced in wisdom and age and favor before God and man.

Gospelthink: I was obedient to parents as a young person because it was great preparation for the future. Do I respect my parents at this time of their lives?

Tom, the teenage daughter of Will who suffered from PTSD, did not know what was wrong with her father. She knew that he suffered from some disability that kept him from living a normal life with people and sharing their friendships. But she also knew that she loved him with all her heart. So she learned from him, allowing him to direct her living in his impaired world. She probably knew that some day she would have to become an adult, and living in the wilderness with her dad was no way to prepare for it. But she also knew that she wanted to care for her dad. She was there for him when they were taken from the park where they were staying. She cared for him when he was physically hurt. And even toward the end of their lives together which she knew had to come, she wanted to care for him even after they had to part ways.

The human Jesus grew up relatively hidden in Nazareth. We do not know much about it except for the evangelist Luke's comment that he was "obedient" to his parents. He also grew up in a good way--"advancing in wisdom and age and favor before God and man." It means basically that he loved his parents and that his parents loved him.

Most young people can say the same thing--that they love their parents, and it is a tragedy that there are families that are broken from lack of love. In the movie "Leave No Trace," the young teenage girl whom we only know as "Tom" loved her father completely. She did not know her mother, but one is led to believe that she would have loved her as well. Her love of her dad, however, was to take her to very special circumstances. Her dad had the disease known as PTSD after his time in military service. He could not live with people around. As he chose to live in the wild, knowing that he wanted to take care of his daughter, it put Tom into a life that certainly was not a normal one. But no matter what the circumstances were, she loved her father, and therefore had to adjust to the situation.

In the life of any family, hardly ever can it be defined as "normal," The family will grow and events will happen which make growth challenging. There will be illness, deaths, unexplainable happenings, and the like. The lesson to learn from the Scriptures is the lesson of Jesus toward his parents. It is likewise the lesson of Tom in the movie. Love must be present or the family will falter. That includes, of course the love of a child for the parents.

Such a love may be the most difficult. A young person must adjust oftentimes to the very confused life of parents who have serious problems. Unfortunately, some children and young adults find it very difficult. But if young people are to turn out well--grow in "wisdom"--the young person must adapt and continue to love well.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, Your Son early on gave us the example of true love by his love of his earthly parents. Give us the grace to truly love those who are close to us, even in difficult circumstances. Be with us we pray.

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GUIDELINES FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Theme: A young person will show love of a parent even in difficult circumstances.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
(session: approximately 51 minutes)
1. What scene during this session of the movie was most striking to you? Why?
2. What can we learn from Jesus' hidden life in Nazareth?
3. [personal question not to be answered publicly] As I study my own family, are there some relationships that I can improve?
4. What are some of the causes of the problems in families?
5. What is the best way for a young person to cope with a poor family life?
6. In your opinion, do most families experience true love?