June 28, 2012. (Romereports.com) (- ONLY VIDEO -) (General Audience. September 3, 2008) Today’s catechesis focuses on
Saint Paul’s conversion. In the Acts of the Apostles, Saint Luke recounts for us the dramatic episode on the road to Damascus which transformed Paul from a fierce persecutor of the Church into a zealous evangelizer.
In his own letters, Paul describes his experience not so much in terms of a conversion, but as a call to apostleship and a commission to preach the Gospel.
In the first instance, this was an
encounter not with concepts or ideas
but
with the person of Jesus himself. In fact, Paul met not only the
historical Jesus of the past, but the living Christ who revealed himself
as the one Saviour and Lord. Similarly, the ultimate source of our own
conversion lies neither in esoteric philosophical theories nor abstract
moral codes, but in Christ and his Gospel.
He alone defines our identity as Christians,
since in him we discover
the ultimate meaning of our lives. Paul, because Christ had made him his
own (cf. Phil 3:12), could not help but preach the Good News he had
received (cf. 1 Cor 9:16). So it is with us. Transfixed by the greatness
of our Saviour, we – like Saint Paul – cannot help but speak of him to
others. May we always do so with joyful conviction!
