By John Fencik, Director
Catholic Formation Services

Each year, the Church celebrates the Conversion of St. Paul on Jan. 25. Paul’s conversion was a monumental event in the life of the early Church, as evidenced by its importance in the Acts of the Apostles and the Pauline epistles. But was it one event or the culmination of a longer journey of this man’s transformation?

Paul was born in Tarsus, located on the southeast coast of modern-day Turkey. He grew up in the Diaspora – Jewish communities outside of Israel – formed as a result of foreign invasions during the eighth to sixth century B.C. Thus Paul was a Hellenistic Jew, a brand of Judaism that sought to survive under Greek cultural influence by building a foundation for Jewish faith within this “foreign” culture. Paul was well educated and had studied under the celebrated Pharisee and Rabbi, Gamaliel (Acts 22.3). Gamaliel was passionate about the Jewish Law yet had an open mind to the Greco-Roman culture that surrounded Judaism. One may wonder how his openness may have affected Paul on his spiritual journey.

Paul was not pleased with the preaching of the early Christian Jews. He was likely present to many synagogue debates about “Jesus,” much like the one that involved Stephen (Acts 6/7). Stephen’s preaching about Jesus being the long-awaited Messiah was blasphemous to many and he would pay for his words with his life. Paul stood by in agreement as Stephen was stoned to death (Acts 8.1).

Paul’s zealous energy was now directed at destroying the young Church (Acts 8.3). This persecution probably marked the end of the Hellenistic Christian community in Jerusalem as the faithful fled to other regions. This exodus helped create a new phase of spreading the Gospel to people and places outside of Israel – a mission that Paul himself was soon to undertake.

While on his way to Damascus to “purify” Judaism from this threat, Paul encounters the person of Jesus Christ. He makes it very clear that it was this very moment that transformed his life and not something that came to him after pondering the Mosaic Law or through some Christian intermediary. No, for Paul it was the revelation of the risen Christ personally that gave him a new vocation. It made him an Apostle, equal to those who had walked with Jesus.

Pope Benedict XVI says: “Henceforth, all that had constituted for him a value paradoxically became, according to his words, a loss and refuse. And from that moment all his energy was placed at the exclusive service of Jesus Christ and his Gospel. His existence would become that of an Apostle who wants to ‘become all things to men.’ ” (General Audience, Oct. 25, 2006)

Paul came to understand that the God of the Christian Jewish community was his God – the same God that Paul had come to know through the Law, but now came to know through Jesus Christ. Paul changed his view about Jesus. Surely he knew of Jesus and what the early preachers said about him. He knew of the crucifixion of Jesus and the claims of his resurrection. Paul now put these events in a different light – a light that would evolve into his theology of salvation with the cross at the center. For everything emanated from the Lord’s sacrifice for sin on Calvary. Finally, this encounter brought Paul to see Jesus, not only as the fulfillment of his people’s promise, but that Jesus was the hope and salvation of all people. This made the Gospel he preached uniquely his own.

Whether baptized as an infant, child or adult, the process of transformation into the new man and new woman is the same as Paul’s. Pope Benedict says: “…what counts is to place Jesus Christ at the center of our lives, so that our identity is marked essentially by the encounter, by communion with Christ and his Word.” (General Audience, Oct. 25, 2006)

There must be an awakening in our hearts to our own sinfulness and our need for the salvation that only Christ can offer. We need instruction and the fellowship around the Lord’s altar to nurture and nourish our faith. We must mature in this relationship with Jesus through prayer, our daily “conversation” with Christ. Our encounter with Jesus brings us to a decision. Do we search for another messiah or another gospel? Or are we ready like Paul to put aside everything for the sake of the one who laid down his life for us? If Paul could be so “converted” by his meeting Jesus, with the result that he became the “Apostle to the Gentiles,” there is indeed hope for everyone!


Published in The Montana Catholic, Vol. 25, No. 1, January 23, 2009.