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Email a FriendPosted by joyce on Wednesday, Jan 25, 2012 4:32 PM (EDT):
AMEN!!!
Conversion of Paul
there is hope for us all
Posted by Rachel Balducci in Family on Wednesday, January 25, 2012 3:30 PM
Today we celebrate the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul, the day when God knocked Saul off his horse, took away his sight and miraculously created a new man on fire to serve the Lord.
This is a painting by Caravaggio, Conversion on the Way to Damascus; a few years ago a good friend gave us a print of this for our home. I love how the artist keeps the focus on Paul, there on the ground arms extended to the heavens. The horse and the man looking on are visible, but the artist uses light to keep Paul as the focal point.
Here’s something beautiful (from Wikipedia!) that speaks to the heart of what this day should mean for each one of us:
The Conversion of Paul, in spite of his attempts to completely eradicate Christianity, is seen as evidence of the power of Divine Grace, with “no fall so deep that grace cannot descend to it” and “no height so lofty that grace cannot lift the sinner to it.” It also demonstrates “God’s power to use everything, even the hostile persecutor, to achieve the divine purpose.”
Happy Feast of the Conversion of Paul, and may we all continue to seek deeper conversion in our own life.
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Posted by Susie on Wednesday, Jan 25, 2012 5:36 PM (EDT):
This is the same painting that Fr. Robert Barron refers to in his episode of Catholicism that is about St. Peter and St. Paul. He notes how young Paul appears in this painting. I am especially hopeful about the power of conversion because I am sorely in need of it! St. Paul, pray for us!
Posted by Erin on Wednesday, Jan 25, 2012 8:36 PM (EDT):
On this feast day I cannot help but think of the many “lapsed Catholics” in my family ,even those who are now fairly hostile to the Catholic faith. After many years of prayer and gentle “nudging” my dear sister in law shows some interest in exploring a return to the church. I have been searching for a book to send her that might help her in this process….I recently read a book that I promptly discarded by since the author spent considerable time listing all of the social teachings of the church that he disagreed with before elaborating on the many reasons that he thinks Catholicism is the one true religion. Does anyone have an suggestions???
Posted by mothering spirit on Thursday, Jan 26, 2012 10:16 AM (EDT):
I love this painting, too, but actually it’s not an accurate description of Saul’s story! I learned when preparing for a presentation on Acts that I gave in several parishes last Easter that over time the tradition of depicting Saul/Paul as falling off a horse developed as an artistic rendering of Scripture (probably because it’s so dramatically visual). But in fact, Acts just says that he fell to the ground: http://www.usccb.org/bible/acts/9 Always interesting to see how these traditions develop and get ingrained in our heads, but aren’t necessarily the way the original story was told! So actually, while yesterday was indeed the feast of Paul’s conversion, it wasn’t the day God knocked him off his horse. 
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