The Conversion of St. Paul

If you have your liturgical calendar out, you will notice that today is the day commemorating the conversion of St. Paul. Of all of the apostles, St. Paul may be (with maybe an exception for St. John the Evangelist) my favorite. His conversion shows first, that even the worst of us may be saved: that's an encouraging thought in itself.

I think also, though, it is significant that Paul is often known as the Apostle to the Gentiles: that is, that his story shows the full spread of the gospel to the ends of the known world. Many New Testament scholars think that Paul, after his first imprisonment in Rome, traveled to Spain, which was the edge of the known world at the time. So really, his missionary journeys do mark the fulfillment of Christ's command to preach the gospel to the ends of the earth.

Paul, however, was also a man whose life was completely dedicated to Christ. More than anyone before or since, he gave up everything for Christ: his position in society, his reputation, his wealth, even his life. Here was a man who truly followed our Lord by taking up his cross. The conversion of St. Paul, then, should be remembered as an encouragement to us that even the chief of sinners and persecutors can be saved and do mighty things through Christ.