Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul, Apostle
"I have indeed been taken possession of by Christ Jesus"
“I have indeed been taken possession of by Christ Jesus” (cf. Phil 3:12). Paul laid down his weapons at Damascus. He could not resist the one who loved him so much that he gave his life for him. Faith is not an idea but a transformative encounter. Sometimes it is very painful.
The fall next to Damascus created a new Paul. How did it come about? First, suddenly. It was a total surprise. After a few years, the Apostle would write: " Now to him who is able to accomplish far more than all we ask or imagine, by the power at work within us " (Eph. 3:20). We do not know if he fell from a horse or a camel. He must have fallen to the ground. It is an image of a man who has lost his temper, is unable to go any further on his own, is unable to manage his life. Paul meets the Risen Jesus who addresses him personally, directly by name.
The ambitious "missionary" of the world discovers in Jesus a power greater than all the powers: the humble love of God, a love ready for anything, a crucified love that overcomes evil with good. A name that seemed to him a curse becomes a blessing. Paul recognizes his failure and unconditionally surrenders. He no longer wants to save the world alone. He humbly asks, "What shall I do, Lord?" He just wants to be a servant and witness of Jesus Christ. Without Damascus, there is no Apostle Paul, there is no mission. God took him in his hands like a sword, that he never let go of again.
For Paul, conversion was literally related to self-denial. After all, when he entered the Church, he canceled his entire biography to date. Of course, he did not proceed to proclaim the Gospel on his own, arbitrarily, but he was authorized to do so (it is worth knowing that only after three years of his conversion, after the appropriate spiritual preparation for it).
What Saint Paul teaches us
Paul first teaches us how to proclaim the Gospel today: what should be its content and how to proclaim it. For a contemporary man who lives "as if God did not exist and professes anthropology without God and Christ" (John Paul II), one must first proclaim God, the Creator and Lord of heaven and earth. This is what Paul taught to the polytheistic Greeks in the Areopagus. On the other hand, for Christians of pagan World, it is necessary to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ, crucified and risen, who died on the cross and rose for our salvation. The Gospel not only contains the truth about Jesus Christ, but also the power of the Spirit that transforms us interiorly. No other book can replace the Gospel. And woe to us if we do not preach the Gospel.
The example of Paul teaches that the Gospel must not only be proclaimed with words, but also with all life, suffering, chains, oppression, persecution because of the Gospel and shedding blood for the Gospel and prayer. Persecution, the bonds and the blood of a witness to the Gospel proclaim the Gospel stronger than the voice of the teacher. Today's man does not want to listen to teachers, but only witnesses; and he listens to teachers when they are witnesses. The lesson of today's feast shows us the Apostle ready to shed his blood for the Gospel. The Apostle preached the Gospel by traveling; he did not wait for people to come to him. Saint John Paul II reminded the Church of all times that it is necessary to proclaim the Gospel of Christ by traveling like Paul. John Paul II called on the Church to a new evangelization, i.e., to proclaim the Gospel to baptized people who no longer go to the Church. There are about 60 percent of them in USA. We must go to them with the Gospel and Christ! Just like Paul. This is the new evangelization. It is not enough to write in the parish files that they do not go to Church.
Finally, the style of proclaiming the Gospel by Paul reminds us that the duty of proclaiming the Gospel rests not only with the Apostles and superiors of the Church, but with all the faithful: Christian families and the faithful of both: man, and women. This was the case in Paul's time: he called everyone to proclaim the Gospel, he thanked everyone for their participation in the effort to proclaim the Gospel and he prayed that this participation would be fruitful (Phil 1: 3-11). In our time, when the World is becoming a desert without God (Benedict XVI), the proclamation of the Gospel cannot be left only to a narrow group of specialists but will require the responsible participation of all members of the People of God: "Whoever has truly encountered Christ cannot keep him for himself, but he must proclaim him” (NMI 36). Therefore, it is no longer enough to proclaim the Gospel today; the faithful must also be taught how to proclaim it.
Concluding the reflection on Saint Paul, let me recall the words of Pope Francis: "I would like all of us to ask ourselves today: are we still a Church that can warm the heart? A Church that can bring us to Jerusalem? (...) Are we still able to present these sources so as to arouse admiration for their beauty?" Speaking about the need for "pastoral conversion", Francis emphasizes that the goal of the Church's mission cannot be to "preserve" faith, but to constantly multiply it. The simplest definition of pastoral conversion is that communities - including the parish as a community - must move from "preserving" the existing situation to acting as a continual external mission.”
“I hope that all communities will devote the necessary effort to advancing along the path of a pastoral and missionary conversion which cannot leave things as they presently are. ‘Mere administration’ can no longer be enough. Throughout the world, let us be permanently in a state of mission” (Pope Francis, EC 25). This is what St. Paul was doing.
Until Tomorrow
fr. george