The Conversion of St Paul - January 25, 2022

During my years as parish priest of Raiwaqa parish (1986-1989), which is one of the inner-city suburbs of Suva, Fiji, we had a program for adult non-Christians who wished to be baptised. It took about a year or more, depending on when a person was prepared to publicly proclaim his or her faith and be baptised, normally on Easter Sunday. There were three parts to the program - 1. Encounter with Self; 2. Encounter with Christ; 3. Encounter with the Church. I was one of the Christian companions who would assist a participant during their journey into faith. My experience was similar to many other companions. The program helped me to deepen my own faith commitment. But I remember a member of the Church saying to me, “Isn’t this too long? After all, St Paul was converted through a single short moment on his journey to Damascus. Why put people through a program that lasts a year or more when they already sense that they have the faith?” Well, my answer was to point out that Paul’s conversion didn’t take place in a single moment. Paul’s conversion began with the encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus and it lasted a lifetime. When you study the letters of Paul in a rough chronological order, from his earliest (1st Thessalonians) to his later letters (eg Romans) it becomes clear that Paul was constantly growing in his faith as he encountered or established various communities and grappled with various pastoral problems - such as community tensions, conflicts with those who wanted to impose Jewish religious laws and practices. etc, So too with ourselves. No one is a born Christian or born Catholic. You may have been born into a Christian or Catholic family but your baptism as a child was only the beginning of a lifetime journey. Maybe some stopped learning or growing in their faith along the way. I must admit I was very grateful to my friend who had been born into a Hindu family. Accompanying him on his journey during the faith program in Raiwaqa made me aware that there is so much I take for granted and so much I had to learn about what it means to believe that Jesus is our Lord and Saviour.