Acts 22:3-16 / Mark 16:15-18
Gathered in this Mass in thanksgiving as we celebrate the Lunar New Year, we welcome the Year of the Rat.
But that already sounds strange. We don’t really welcome rats nor do we like them at all.
And when we say that we smell a rat, we know what that means.
Life can be difficult for the smallest of the zodiac animals.
Besides the possibility of being kicked and stepped on by the other zodiac animals, rats (or white mice) are also used for all sorts of laboratory experiments.
But that is also the greatest contribution of the rats to humanity.
Rats and mice used in scientific experiments and research are sacrificed for the good of humanity.
Today’s feast of the conversion of St Paul tells us that the early Church smelled a rat in Saul (later known as Paul).
Saul was like a big rat that the early Christians feared and like a rat with sharp teeth, he persecuted Christians.
But with his conversion, St. Paul not only did good for the early Church by proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ, he also gave us a valuable lesson on the power of God’s grace.
With God’s grace, everything is possible and St. Paul’s conversion bears testimony to that.
As we begin the New Year with thanksgiving and asking for God’s blessings, may our hearts also be moved by the grace of conversion.
May we see goodness in everyone and give thanks for everything.
If even a rat can be of some good to humanity, then every person has some good to share with others.
May the year of the Rat bring forth an abundance of goodness in us, and may it bring forth an abundance of good from us to others.
May the year of the Rat be a blessing for all of us, and may the Lord our God protect from all danger and evil and grant us blessings of peace and joy and may we be God’s blessings for others.