The story of the conversion of St. Paul is one I never tire of hearing. Saul, after all, is not just slightly misguided, or weak or lazy. He is not someone who makes a few mistakes along the way. Rather, he is a murderous persecutor of Christians. He stands by watching Stephen stoned to death because of Stephen’s proclamation of his faith in Christ. At the beginning of today’s first Mass reading from Acts, Saul, “still breathing murderous threats” against Jesus’ disciples, “went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, that, if he should find any men or women who belonged to the Way, he might arrest them.
Yet, Saul is not beyond salvation. When he encounters Christ on the road to Damascus, he is irrevocably changed. Jesus appears to him, speaks to him, invites him and he becomes a different man. No longer Saul, he is now Paul, “a chosen instrument of [Jesus] to carry [Jesus'] name before Gentiles, kings, and children of Israel.”
If even someone as seemingly beyond redemption as Saul, can be turned from darkness toward the light, how can we doubt the healing power of Jesus? There are some people who have a tendency to think, “It’s too late for me” or “After what I’ve done, God can’t possibly have any use for me.” The story of the conversion of St. Paul ought convince everyone of the fallicy of such thoughts. It is never too late for any of us.
