Although I considered the readings for the Feast of the Conversion of St.
Paul today as a place to begin my reflection, what stood out to me more, at
least in the general theme of conversion was a reading from First Peter, which
was part of yesterday’s evening prayer:
Praised be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, he who in his great mercy gave us new birth; a birth unto hope which
draws its life from the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead; a birth to
an imperishable inheritance, incapable of fading of defilement…
Certainly
when we look at the life of St. Paul, who said that his sins were greater than
those belonging to any other because of his persecution of the Church, we can
see both the mercy of God and the new birth in Christ active in his
life. Indeed, God frees us all from sin and gives us a new beginning
in a world made new by the power of Christ. Paul shows us what we
can attain with faith. The essential message of Saints Peter and Paul does not
vary. God makes all things new; he does it in us by the power of his great
love to give us a new beginning, a new birth. In Christ God makes all things
new and we stand blessed to participate in praising God along with countless
saints and angels.
As I read
the passage quoted above I felt compelled to insert myself into it as I
continued:
…which is kept in heaven for me who is guarded with
God’s power through faith; to be revealed in the last days.
While the
message of the conversion of St. Paul certainly teaches us about the great
apostle, it also teaches us about ourselves. It is about Paul and
us. Therefore, when I first read St. John Chrysostom’s excerpt from the
Office of Readings for today’s feast, I felt a strong sense of
affirmation. He says:
Paul, more than anyone else, has shown us what
man really is, and in what our nobility consists, and of what virtue this
particular animal is capable…
...Of
what we are capable through God's mercy by our daily participation in the new
creation; by our participation from moment to moment in God's design for
humanity. What might be wrought by faith human tongues have just begun to
express.
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