25 January 2021

Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul, Apostle

Today’s feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul brings to our attention one of the great marvels of God’s action within the history of the Church. What a change comes about in this man, to go from one of the most zealous persecutors of the Church to its foremost missionary! In the Acts of the Apostles, Paul himself testifies that he “persecuted this Way to death” (22:4), yet despite this, the Lord tells Ananias that “this man is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before Gentiles, kings, and children of Israel” (9:15). As is often his wont, the Lord chooses the most unlikely of vessels for his grace.

There are two ways in which we might take this narrative to heart today. First, it can give us confidence in the power of God’s grace to change our lives. In our daily struggles against sin and temptation, we can indeed triumph so long as we entrust ourselves to God as Saint Paul learned to do, living in the knowledge that the Lord’s grace is sufficient for us (cf. 2 Cor 12:9). Secondly, it can inspire us to pray for those who hate and persecute the Church, not out of a sense of self-righteousness, but out of a genuine charity. For if the Lord saw fit to choose Paul, should we not also expect him to raise up other chosen instruments in our own day?