Thursday, March 29, 2012
Paul’s Testimony before King Agrippa
Dear Friends,
Please read the passage below from the Acts of the Apostles (26:1b,12-23):
So Paul stretched out his hand and began his defense. . . . “On one such occasion I was traveling to Damascus with the authorization and commission of the chief priests. At midday, along the way, O king, I saw a light from the sky, brighter than the sun, shining around me and my traveling companions. We all fell to the ground and I heard a voice saying to me in Hebrew, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goad.’ And I said, ‘Who are you, sir?’ And the Lord replied, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. Get up now, and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness of what you have seen of me and what you will be shown. I shall deliver you from this people and from the Gentiles to whom I send you, to open their eyes that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may obtain forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been consecrated by faith in me.’ “And so, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision. On the contrary, first to those in Damascus and in Jerusalem and throughout the whole country of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, I preached the need to repent and turn to God, and to do works giving evidence of repentance. That is why the Jews seized me (when I was) in the temple and tried to kill me. But I have enjoyed God’s help to this very day, and so I stand here testifying to small and great alike, saying nothing different from what the prophets and Moses foretold, that the Messiah must suffer and that, as the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light both to our people and to the Gentiles.”
Tomorrow evening I will have the Healing Mass in the Little Shrine of Our Lady of Prince Edward Island. I will start with the rosary at 7:00 p.m. and Holy Mass at 7:30 p.m.
(Below you will find the message of Our Lord and Redeemer given to Father Melvin. Jesus spoke to him these words.)
“I call you, My brother Melvin and all My brothers and sisters living all over the world, to read the words of St. Paul as he relates what happened when I appeared to him. He was knocked to the ground together with the others with him. I spoke to him these words, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” I identify Myself with every person who believes in Me. So if someone persecutes them, then that person is persecuting Me. I spoke to St. Paul very clearly and at the end he believed in Me as the Messiah of the world. I appointed him to witness of what he had seen to the Gentiles. He agreed and he went throughout many countries as an Apostle to the Gentiles.
You, too, My friends, are appointed to be My witnesses wherever you live and never to be afraid to witness about your faith in Me. Tell the people who I am and what I expect of them. As My followers, they will receive the sacraments, go to church regularly, and receive Me in Holy Communion often. You will avoid sin and remain close to Me. I bless you all.”
Father Melvin