I wasn’t originally planning a post for the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul. Yet, the thought of it keeps surfacing in my mind, and one of the ways I think God speaks to me is through repetition.
Saul of Tarsus – St. Paul
When researching for my last post, 4 Metal Songs Anyone Can Pray With, I went back and listened to an album by For Today that dedicates each song to the story of a biblical character. After the introduction, that album opens with the song Saul of Tarsus (The Messenger).
By using his original name, Saul, I call to mind where this man came from. Saul was fighting against the growth of Christianity (Acts 8).
The lyrics of the song, on the other hand, show his strength and conviction of faith. He was willing to share the Message at any cost.
“There will never be another chance to live today for God.
Saul of Tarsus (The Messenger) – For Today
There will never be another name that can save us from ourselves.
And so steadfast and undeterred.
I will proclaim the name of Christ
to a dead and dying world”
I rarely think about how far Paul had to come through his conversion to get to the point of sharing Jesus’ Word all over to the point of persecution. Am I as willing to share Him?
Another Conversion
The second occurrence that called to mind the feast of St. Paul’s conversion was listening to another conversion story. Comedian Shayne Smith discusses his life and all of its highs and lows in this interview about his ongoing conversion.
While discussing his conversion process, off the cuff, Shayne comes to this insightful conclusion about God’s revelation, love, and free will. He says:
Then I learn about the concept of Free Will. I was so angry at God for letting evil happen. Then you stop to think about logically, and you think about God and the natural order of the world and how it has to exist so that Free Will can be maintained.
Shayne Smith – Interview on Pints with Aquinas
If this is true, which I think it is, that would mean that even with his extraordinary experience of a radical and seemingly instant conversion, St. Paul would have still had to experience the same struggle to trust God daily, to have faith, and to persevere in his relationship with Jesus.
Proof of this can be found in Paul’s epistles.
Catholic Calendar and Regular Reading
Lastly, I have seen the date on the calendar coming up, January 25th, the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul. Along with other prominent feasts and memorials, it is marked on the calendar that I’ve gotten from the parish that I keep at my desk.
And each day as I have been working through one of my shorter versions of Lives of the Saints, I flip ahead to see who is coming up and I see this image of St. Paul.
Conversion of St. Paul – An Irregular Feast
With all of this, I’ve been thinking about this feast more than normal. It strikes me as unique among the feast days that cover our liturgical calendar.
Typical feasts mark tend to mark life and death of various saints. Death (birth into eternal life) is most common. Then we’ve got Christmas, nativity of Mary, and nativity of John the Baptist celebrating births. We even have the feast of the Immaculate Conception and Annunciation which seems relevant.
Yet this day, is a celebration of life changed rather than created or ended. It is a significant beginning just the same, but it still stands out. I think this is because conversion, even one as radical as St. Paul’s, happens over time and in layers of increasing depth.
So while we celebrate the event of the Conversion of St. Paul, we can ponder beyond the flash of light that blinded him and try to see the commitment and ever-growing, ever-deepening trust in God that he had. May we try to emulate it.
Saul of Tarsus, St. Paul, the Messenger, Pray for Us!
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