BROTHER SAUL, RECEIVE YOUR SIGHT (Acts 22:3-16/Psalm 117:1,2/Mark 16:15-18)

BROTHER SAUL, RECEIVE YOUR SIGHT
(Homily for Friday January 25, 2019)

The Feast of Conversion of the Conversion of St. Paul

After Jesus Christ who founded the Church, the two most significant figures in Christianity are the Apostles Peter and Paul. No wonder then that the Church celebrates their Solemnity together to show how important they are in the life of the Church.

Saint Paul, however, takes a leading role in spreading the teachings of Jesus to the Gentiles in the Roman Empire. It was Paul who came up with the doctrine that would turn Christianity from a small sect of Judaism into a worldwide faith that was open to all not only the Jews. Among all the canonized Saints we have in the Church, St. Paul is the only Saint the Church officially celebrates the Feast day of his conversion because this conversion brought about a tremendous change in the history of the early Church in particular and the entire Christendom.

The one who persecuted the early Christians was the one after his conversion at the forefront in preaching the Crucified Christ and projecting the Christian ideas among the Jews and the Gentiles in general. Famously converted on the road to Damascus, St. Paul single-handedly fought and defended the Christian faith before the Jewish and Roman authorities through his writings, speeches and intellectual prowess.

Saint Paul indeed contributed in no small measure to the foundation of the faith we are enjoying today because of his conversion. His conversion brought a very big ovation among the early Christians that they exclaimed “The man who used to persecute us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy and they praised God for what He has done in him (Gal 1:24).

The places Saint Paul visited during his missionary activities not only made him famous but brought a name tag to his letters in the New Testament. Out of the 27 Books of the New Testament, Saint Paul single-handedly wrote 13 letters almost half of the Books of the N.T. Because of these outstanding contributions in the New Testament the Church always read the letters of Saint Paul each day in her liturgical life either in the liturgy of hours or during the Eucharistic celebration.

Truly, Saint Paul always has a message to pass across to all Christians in every circumstance and situation. In fact, there is no area in the life of the Church that you will not see the contributions of Saint Paul in action.

Saint Paul contributed in all the seven Sacraments we have in the Church. He said many things on the Sacraments of initiation: Baptism, Confirmation and the Holy Eucharist. He is an exceptional theologian when you come to the issue of the Sacrament of Matrimony. On the issue of the Sacraments of the Holy Orders, Anointing of the Sick and that of Reconciliation.

Saint Paul offered the Church wonderful ideas on how to approach these sacraments with faith. Saint Paul is the greatest preacher the world has ever produced because of his style of preaching the Word and manner of his writings. As an intellectual, he knows how best to communicate the Word of God to the rich and learned. As a humble preacher, he knows how to come down to the poor, the unwise and the unlearned to communicate the same Good News.

Saint Paul besides being an Apostle of the Gentiles, is an orator when it comes to the preaching of the Word, he is a theologian, a philosopher in his arguments on the issue that related to faith and morals.

Saint Paul is a moralist, an instructor, a marriage counsellor and so on. Saint Paul above all is a wonderful and rare gift to the Church and that is why the Church reserved this day to celebrate in a special way his conversion.
There are so many things to learn in the life of Saint Paul.

In the life of Saint Paul, we learn how best to channel the gifts we receive from God. St. Paul immediately after his conversion never relented in carrying the Good News to different places both in the Jewish territories and that of the Gentiles. One thing St. Paul was afraid of after his conversion was not to offend God and longed always how to please Him.

Writing on the conversion of Saint Paul, Saint John Chrysostom says “Saint Paul sought death more than we seek life, he sought poverty more than we seek riches and he looked for work to do more than others look for rest” He persevered to the end even when the going was tough for Him.

Saint Paul made us understand how to be closer to God even when life’s situation is not favourable to us. In fact, St. Paul knows how to manage any situation both in good times as well as in bad times.

What Christ said in the gospel of today saw its fulfilment in the life of Saint Paul. He went about preaching the Good News to all creation. As we celebrate the Conversion of St. Paul today, let us emulate his perseverance and zeal in preaching the word of God.

Let Us Pray: Heavenly Father, you called your servant Saint Paul to become an apostle, give me the grace to change from my evil ways and become a vessel of honor in your hands. Amen.