Guest Column

The Conversion of St. Paul: Seeing the Light, obeying the Voice

By Anthony Lilles, S.T.D.

Toward the beginning of the 13th century, Pope Innocent III promulgated the universal observance of the solemnity of the Conversion of St. Paul.  In doing so, he may have been confirming the grace of conversion at work in his day. 

Eight centuries ago, a profound grace washed over the Church and because people responded in faith, the Lord accomplished what no one could have anticipated.  It was the time of Francis and Dominic and many other great saints whose personal conversions transformed history.  Our own observance and understanding of this solemnity continues to open us to this same grace of renewal today.

The grace of Christ does the unimaginable.  That is why we must never lose hope in Him.   Along these lines, Paul was a most improbable apostle—and history shows time and again the best servants of God always are.  It is the unexpected encounter with Christ that makes all the difference.  Last year, in his homily for this solemnity, connecting Paul’s unthinkable conversion to his personal encounter, Pope Benedict XVI explained, “the relentless persecutor of God’s Church suddenly found himself blind and groping in the dark, but henceforth with a great light in his heart.” 

Saul of Tarsus, the Apostle’s Jewish name, was driven by his love for Israel and the dream of a restored Kingdom, a dream he believed could only be realized through a purified observance of the Law.  This background brings into relief the reason Saul was traveling from Jerusalem to Damascus.  Fearing that the followers of Jesus were spreading to the Jewish communities outside of Judea, he had obtained permission to capture and bring them back to Jerusalem for imprisonment.  But his encounter with the Risen Lord would change everything.

The encounter involved a mysterious blinding Light from heaven and a Voice of Someone whom, although unknown to him, Saul addresses as “Lord” and obeys in love.  The Light and the Voice evoked Paul’s faith.  This grace grew as he continued to live obedient to the Lord, an important theme of his own teaching.  Reflecting on the meaning of the Light and the Voice brings into focus aspects of the primacy of grace in the mission of the Church today.  

The Light of Christ helped Paul see how blind he was.  To see the light—to know the truth—is the beginning of conversion, which is always a turning to a new life of love: love of God and neighbor.  To turn back to the Lord, back to the truth, requires that we first see we are wrong.   Until we know we are wrong, we cannot search for what is right.   This conversion causing Light is witnessed to by a vast array of saints, including St. Augustine who asserts: “All who know the truth know this Light, and all who know this Light know eternity.  It is the Light that charity knows.”   

Similarly, just as the Light blinds him and helps him see, the Voice of Christ questions Saul, answering him and commanding him. Hearing and obedience are linked together in faith—at least this is the experience of Augustine, Francis and Dominic.  To believe in Jesus means to obey his voice as it speaks in our hearts or through others the Lord sends to us.  Here, a hauntingly beautiful aspect of Christ’s voice can be appreciated.  In each statement to Saul, Jesus completely identifies himself with the Church, “Why do you persecute me?”

Saul discovered through his obedience to the voice of the Lord that the relationship between Christ and his Church is such that to really encounter one is to encounter the other.  Though the Eternal Light blinded him, the prayer of the Church restored his sight and gave him the gift of the Holy Spirit.  These events suggest an ecclesial dimension of grace: our encounter with the Lord is never private, but leads to a communion of love.

St. Paul’s conversion points to the surprising gift of grace by which alone we come to know Christ and the Church.  It shows God’s plan for accomplishing his work and changing the world.  This connection between Paul’s encounter and the grace which continues to invite our faith is at the heart of the Church’s liturgical celebration.  As it was with the saints who came before us, changing the world begins with our own conversion—a conversion that takes place every time we see the Light and obey his Voice.

Anthony Lilles, S.T.D., is academic dean at St. John Vianney Theological Seminary.