Paul was chosen to:

• "bring (God's) name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel" (Acts 9:15),
• "suffer for (Jesus') name" (Acts 9:16),
• recover his "sight and be filled with Holy Spirit" (Acts 9:17),
• be baptized into Jesus (Acts 9:18; Rm 6:3),
• "proclaim in the synagogues that Jesus was the Son of God" (Acts 9:20),
• silence his opponents "with his proofs that this Jesus was the Messiah" (Acts 9:22),
• know God's "will, to look upon the Just One, and to hear the sound of His voice" (Acts 22:14),
• be God's servant and witness (Acts 26:16), and
• "open the eyes of those to whom" God sent Paul, "to turn them from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God" (Acts 26:18).

You too are chosen by God. You are chosen in many of the same ways that Paul was. You also have been chosen in certain unique ways. The Lord says to you: "It was not you who chose Me, it was I Who chose you to go forth and bear fruit" (Jn 15:16). You are "a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people He claims for His own" (1 Pt 2:9). "Because you are God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with heartfelt mercy, with kindness, humility, meekness, and patience" (Col 3:12).

You are a chosen child of God. You are blessed. Your life is very important. You are always loved. You are chosen.

Nihil Obstat:  Reverend Edward J. Gratsch, June 20, 1996

Imprimatur:  †Most Reverend Carl K. Moeddel, Vicar General and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, June 26, 1996