The Conversion of St Paul: A Reflection

The Acts of the Apostles [Chapter 9] tells us about the activities that Saul, former name of Paul before he became an Apostle, performed against the followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

The most prominent event was his being a witness to the martyrdom of the deacon Stephen [Acts of the Apostles 7:58], whom the Jews killed because of his testimony in favor of the Lord and his fearlessness to say even at the point of death that he saw the heavens open where the Lord Jesus Christ was standing at the right hand of God the Father [see Acts 6-7 for the full account]. Acts 8:1 states that "Saul approved of the killing."

Chapter 9 of Acts of the Apostles also tells us about his conversion and how he became a zealous preacher of the Gospel. Soon after his conversion, St Paul worked hard to preach the Gospel, particularly focusing on the work among the Gentiles since the Jewish Christians feared him at first due to his former activities against many of their brethren. There also arose some differences between him and other Jewish Christians which made him decide to work among the Gentiles [Acts 18:6]. It was actually also an agreement reached after the Council of Jerusalem that the original Apostles would preach to the Jews while Paul and Barnabas would proclaim the Gospel to the Gentiles [Galatians 2:9].

Some people misuse the "disagreements" between St Paul and the other followers of the Lord, including St Peter, as a way to advance their own understanding of the Church, the Gospel and many other things about Christianity in particular and religion in general. On one end of the pendulum, some Protestant use this as an avenue to say that the Pope who succeeded St Peter cannot claim primacy because St Paul even corrected St Peter about his relationship with Jews and Gentiles [Galatians 2:11ff] ] while on the other end, followers of Islam claim that St Paul corrupted the Gospel [see this link and the related links and this forum for details]. 

Among the Apostles, St Paul made the most trips called Missionary Journeys in order to proclaim the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Aside from being chosen by the Lord through a vision which led to his conversion, we could say that he also had a very good preparation being a Pharisee. He trained under Gamaliel, the one who cautioned the Jewish leader against acting harsh against the Apostles because they might be fighting God Himself telling them examples of previous rebellions which were all inspired by human leaders and so ended unsuccessfully. He told them if the activities of the Apostles were purely human in origin it will also die a natural death like the other movements such as those which had been led by a certain Theudas and a Judas the Galilean [Acts 5: 34-39]. The Acts describes Gamaliel as a teacher of the law respected by the people. He must have been a truly good teacher for he was able to produce a very eloquent preacher of the Gospel, St Paul.

Of course the greatest contribution to the success of St Paul was God's grace through the Holy Spirit. But we must also give importance to proper preparation. The Twelve Apostles that have been chosen by the Lord were unique in their own ways and indeed they have been thoroughly prepared by the Lord during His entire public ministry in order to carry on His mission. St Paul also had his own blessings which sets him apart and which had led him to perform more than others. Though God does not really look upon our work and ministry in accordance with human standards, we must remember that to him whom much has been given, more will be required [Luke 12:48]. St Paul was particularly chosen by the Lord not only to stop him from persecuting Christians but because he had been given much blessings - talent in speaking, knowledge of Scriptures and the Law, zeal for what he believes in, and more - which the Church needed during her infancy. It is not that the other Apostles could not do so much for the Church but it is because God has provided enough room for everyone in the Church to perform various and diverse roles and has not limited the success of her growth to just a few chosen people.

As we reflect on the Conversion of St Paul, may we never forget that each one of us has the most perfect role entrusted by God in accordance with our personal capacities amplified by the grace that He bestows upon us. 

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More about St Paul at Catholic.org. It is also the source of the image.