THE CONVERSION of SAINT PAUL, Apostle January 25 Saint Paul was born at Tarsus, Cilicia, of Jewish parents who were descended from the tribe of Benjamin. He was a Roman citizen from birth. As he was a young Man at the stoning of Saint Stephen and an old man when writing to Philemon, about the year 53, he was probably born around the beginning of the Christian era. To complete his schooling, Saint Paul was sent to Jerusalem. Where he sat at the feet of the learned Gamaliel and was educated in the strict observance of the ancestral Law. Here he also acquired a good knowledge of exegesis and was trained in the practice of disputation. As a zealous Pharisee, he returned to Tarsus before the public life of Christ opened in Palestine. Some time after the death of Our Lord, Saint Paul returned to Palestine. His profound conviction and emotional character made his zeal develop into a religious fanaticism against the infant Church. He took part in the stoning of the first martyrs, Saint Stephen, and in the fierce persecution of the Christians that followed. Entrusted with a formal mission from the high priest, he departed for Damascus to arrest the Christians there and bring them bound to Jerusalem. As he was nearing Damacus, about noon, a light from heaven suddenly lbazed round him. Jesus with His glorified body appeared to him and addressed him, turning him away from his apparently successful career. An immediate transformation was wrought in the soul of Saint paul. He was suddenly converted to the Christian afaith and became an Apostle. Saint Paul, the indefatigable Apostle of the Gentiles, was converted from Judaism on the road to Damacus. He remained some days in Damascus after his Baptism, and then went to Arabia, possibly for a year or two, to prepare himself for his future missionary activity. Having returned to Damascus, he stayed there for a time, preaching in the synagogues that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. For this he incurred the hatred of the Jews and had to flee from the city. He then went to Jerusalem to see Peter and pay his homage to the head of the Church. PRAYER Lord Fod, You taught the whole world through the preaching of the Apostle Saint Paul. As we celebrate his Conversion grant that, following his example, we may be witness to Your truth in this world. AMEN.†
Posted on: Sun, 25 Jan 2015 00:54:15 +0000
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