As I see it, there’s one word which unites all three of today’s Scripture readings—the word is "change." Each passage concerns a positive change which was experienced either by an individual or by a group of people.

In the first reading, for example, which is taken from the 6^th chapter of his book, Isaiah describes the moment when he was cleansed of his sins and called by God to be a prophet. Both were positive changes in his life.

In the second reading from 1 Corinthians 15, St. Paul speaks of his initial encounter with the risen Christ and his subsequent conversion to Christianity—a conversion which involved a 180 degree change in his attitude toward Jesus and Jesus’ disciples. And the depth of this change is revealed in the very words Paul uses here to describe himself. In 1 Corinthians 15: 8 he says, "Last of all, as to one born abnormally, [Jesus] appeared to me." Well, for reasons that will be obvious in a few seconds, the editors of the New American Bible have softened their translation of that verse. What Paul actually said was, "Last of all, as if to an abortion, [Jesus] appeared to me." St. Paul compared his spiritual condition before he met Christ to an abortion. But his experience on the road to Damascus led to a complete change in his life, such that he could write in verse 10, "But by the grace of God I [now] am what I am."

Which brings us to today’s Gospel story from Luke 5, where Peter, James and John begin to be changed from fishermen, to fishers of men. That decisive change brought them into a close, personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and put them on the road to heaven.

My mother used to say, "Life is a series of changes," and in so many ways that’s true. But, as we all know, changes can be either for better or for worse. The ones described in today’s Scripture readings are all of the positive variety, and I believe there are several lessons we can learn from them—lessons which can help us bring positive changes into our own lives.

To make them easier to remember, I’ll share these lessons with you now in the form of an acronym. Appropriately enough, the acronym is "change."

The "c" in change stands for choice. Every positive change requires a conscious, deliberate choice. If the change you’re seeking is a deeper prayer life, you must choose to spend time alone with the Lord each day; if the change you’re seeking is to improve a relationship with a friend, a sibling or a spouse, you must choose to listen, and sacrifice, and forgive; if the change you’re seeking is to get rid of a sinful habit, you must choose (among other things) to avoid the near occasion of the sin. (That’s a choice, by the way, that very few people seem willing to make—which is one reason why many of us commit the same sins over and over again!)

Isaiah was called by God to be a prophet, but before he could undertake that role he had to choose to repent of his sins and accept the call. Paul, Peter, James and John had to make similar choices in their lives, before they could experience the positive changes we heard about in the second reading and the Gospel.

The "h" in change stands for humility. Lasting, positive changes don’t happen until we are humble enough to admit that they need to happen! Notice the humility of Isaiah: when the Lord appeared to him, his first response was "Woe is me, I am doomed! For I am a man of unclean lips . . . " He recognized his unworthiness. So did St. Paul, as I mentioned a few moments ago. And so does Peter in this Gospel scene, when he falls to his knees in front of Jesus and says, "Leave me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!" If we don’t recognize our need to change, we never will. That’s why the first step in AA is for a person to admit that they’re powerless over alcohol. Without that expression of humility, they will continue on their destructive path.

The "A" in change stands for assistance. If we are truly humble, we will not only admit that we need to change, we will also realize that we need help to change!—help from God, which can come to us either directly (through prayer and the sacraments), or indirectly (through other human beings). Isaiah realized that he needed to be cleansed from his sins, and he allowed God to do that through one of the seraphim. St. Paul said, "By the grace of God I [now] am what I am." He knew he had changed only with God’s help; and if you read the Book of Acts, you see that God used people like Ananias as his instruments in changing Saul the persecutor into Paul the apostle.

If we are too proud to ask for assistance (either from God or others), we should not expect many positive changes in our lives.

Which brings us to the "N." The "N" in change stands for now. Notice—Isaiah didn’t wait to accept the Lord’s call; he said, "Here I am, send me!" Paul responded immediately after Jesus appeared to him on the road to Damascus; Peter, James and John abandoned their fishing business on the spot and followed Jesus as his disciples. Procrastination is the great enemy of lasting, positive change—and deep in our hearts we all know that. If we say, "I’ll go to Confession next week," chances are we won’t; if we say, "I’ll work on my marriage one of these days," one of these days will probably never arrive; if we say, "I’ll stop drinking sometime soon," we probably never will. It may take a while for lasting changes to fully materialize, but now is the time to do whatever we can either to begin or to continue the changing process.

And all positive change must have a goal, which is what the "G" in CHANGE stands for. And what should be the ultimate goal of every positive change was expressed beautifully by St. Paul when he wrote the following in Philippians 3: "I do not think of myself as having reached the finish line. I give no thought to what lies behind but push on to what is ahead. My entire attention is on the finish line as I run toward the prize to which God calls me—life on high in Christ Jesus." Paul may have had many minor goals in his life after his conversion, but his ultimate goal was heaven! He changed from persecutor to apostle because he wanted heaven for himself and for everyone else.

But none of this comes without effort on our part, which is what the "E" in CHANGE stands for. The daily effort Paul expended in living a holy life is illustrated powerfully in that passage I just quoted to you. He says there, "I push on to what is ahead . . . I run toward the prize to which God calls me."

For Paul—and for all of us—lasting change involves discipline, repentance, patience, forgiveness, commitment, and a host of other virtues. These are all the work of God’s grace—yes—but they also require human cooperation and effort on our part. We must actively say "yes" to the graces God gives us to be better people.