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| “The Conversion of St. Paul” by Caravaggio, 1600 |
Commentary:
Reading 1: Acts 22:3-16
Commentary on Acts 22:3-16
This is the second account given in Acts of Paul’s conversion experience. In this account Paul himself recalls his role in the Hebrew Temple as an enforcer. The reason related for his trip to Damascus was the persecution of Christians, whom he was to return to Jerusalem in chains. By this miraculous event, Saul, who is renamed to Paul, becomes a witness to the resurrected Christ and an Apostle.
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Or: Acts 9:1-22
Commentary on Acts 9:1-22
This selection is the first the three accounts of Paul’s conversion. In this passage we are given more details about the events leading up to Saul’s actual experience, adding the mindset of Ananias and his fear of approaching Saul because of his reputation. We are also given a little Hebrew numerology as we hear that Saul neither ate nor drank for three days prior to his conversion, the same period Jesus was in the tomb.
According to these accounts, Saul, the enforcer of the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem, was an involuntary convert, a person of zeal and energy that the Lord turned, as scripture says, into God’s instrument. Although it is only St. Luke that gives Saul the title “Apostle” twice (Acts 14: 4; 14), this passage provides a parallel to the call of the others; Paul sees the Kyrios, the risen Lord; he is called, he is given the gift of the Holy Spirit, and he proclaims Christ crucified.
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 117:1bc, 2
R. (Mark 16:15) Go out to all the world and tell the Good News.
or:
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Commentary on Ps 117:1bc, 2
“This shortest of hymns calls on the nations to acknowledge God's supremacy. The supremacy of Israel's God has been demonstrated to them by the people's secure existence, which is owed entirely to God's gracious fidelity.” [4] Using a refrain from St. Mark’s Gospel (Mark 16:15), the psalm is one of praise for the Good News of God’s salvation.
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Gospel: Mark 16:15-18
Commentary on Mk 16:15-18
In this passage we are given St. Mark’s version of Jesus’ final commissioning of the Apostles. This Gospel account is the final recorded meeting between Jesus and the Apostles. It is important because it supports the universal mission of the Twelve, and also the mission Paul is given at his time of conversion: “Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature.”
CCC: Mk 16:15-16 977, 1223; Mk 16:15 888; Mk 16:16 161, 183, 1253, 1256, 1257; Mk 16:17-18 670, 1507; Mk 16:17 434, 1673; Mk 16:18 699
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Reflection:
We recall that when St. Stephen was condemned to death, those who would execute him came and laid their cloaks at the feet of Saul (Acts 7:58). Saul was the one identified as being the “tip of the sword” wielded by the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem in the aftermath of the resurrection of Christ. It was he who persecuted those who believed that Jesus came fulfilling the Law and the Prophets, all that he had so laboriously studied under the great Jewish scholar Gamaliel. For him that must have been like being trained as an astronaut and then finding out the space program was effectively cancelled.
We observe, as we consider his journey of faith, that his heart, so intent on serving God that it led him to put to death those who would stray from the path he was taught, would require drastic action to change direction. His encounter with the Lord on the road to Damascus was transformative. The blindness he suffered was symbolic of his interpretation of all of God’s revelation up to that point. He had seen all of the signs and completely missed the point. His life had been directed like the person confronted with a giant puzzle. That person was so enthralled by the pieces that they never assembled them to see the whole beautiful picture the puzzle was meant to represent.
St. Paul came to know the truth. He heard the words spoken by Jesus from heaven: “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” But it did not begin nor end there. It was the catalyst of his conversion. He would spend the rest of his life trying to forgive himself for what he had done before that moment. We hear his remorse often in his self-effacing writings.
In his life, we can all take heart. We have all been guilty of not listening to the Lord’s call to a greater or lesser degree. We often hear of momentous conversion stories, generally affecting those who acted most contrary to the laws of God and Christ, those who have committed heinous crimes, people like the past president of Planned Parenthood who led the fight to legalize infanticide. Their stories of conversion are seemingly miraculous. And it appears that those who turned most drastically are generally the loudest proponents of our faith after their life-changing encounter with Christ.
Each of us is also called to conversion. For many of us it is a gradual process, not requiring blindness or imprisonment to cause us to recognize we were on the wrong path. If we are lucky, these “course corrections” are gradual and we are paying attention. At times we may take a seriously wrong turn and be brought back sharply. All of us are undergoing this journey to conversion. No one has come to perfect faith except those who finally see the Lord face to face.
Today we thank God for the gift of St. Paul, Apostle to the Gentiles. We also ask our Heavenly Father to “deliver us from temptation” so that we need not undergo one of those sharp changes in our lives. Rather give us the strength to strive constantly to see the face of Christ in those we meet, and to look forward to the day when our journey to the Lord finds fulfillment in the perfect love of the heavenly kingdom.
Pax
In other years: Friday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time
[1] The picture is “The Conversion of St. Paul” by Caravaggio, 1600.
[4] See NAB footnote on Psalm 117.
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