Today is the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul. We see the story of Saul’s (Paul’s birth name) conversion in two places in Acts of the Apostles. In chapter 9, the account is told in third person. Luke, the author of Acts, recounts the story. However, in chapter 22 of Acts, St. Paul tells the story from a first person perspective.
As the story goes, Saul was on the road to Damascus when he got a vision of Jesus. This started a chain of events that led to Saul becoming an Apostle, the author of the bulk of the New Testament and arguably the greatest evangelist in the history of Christianity. Have you ever heard the expression, “He got knocked off his high horse?” Many believe the origin of that is from the story of the conversion of St. Paul. But the Scriptures say nothing of him being knocked off his horse. But we do know that this was a dramatic event.
Are you a convert? I have spoken with thousands of converts in my day. They say that converts make the best Catholics. Maybe because they freely chose to embrace the faith. Whatever the case, conversion is not a one-time event. Nor is it limited to someone going from one faith tradition to another. It is a process that we all must undergo. A process that must continue day by day. We must be constantly changing, constantly growing, constantly converting. Let us pray that our hearts will be converted every single day.
Father, help us to experience constant conversion. Draw us always closer to you in any way that you see necessary, even if it means knocking us off our high horse. Amen.
You can join Gus and Michelle Lloyd on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land October 20-30, 2018. For all the details, go to www.GusLloyd.com.
Can you please tell me the bible verse that Michelle would pray so that you would find God? Thank you!
Can you please tell me the bible verse that Michelle would pray so that you would find God? Thank you and blessings Gus.
In today’s readings, there appears to be a “contradiction in scripture.”
Acts 9:7 says the men with Paul could hear the voice but could see no one.
Acts 22:9 says his companions saw the light but did not hear the voice.
Is this a true contradiction or just the way the two men perceived the event? 9:7 was Paul’s version and 22:9 was Luke’s version.
Awesome passage.