One Minute Reflection – 25 January – Feast of the Conversion of St Paul , Apostle, Acts 9:1-22, Matthew 19,27-29.
“He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” – Acts 9:4.
REFLECTION – “How can we show that He is there and that He is also here? Let Paul answer for us, who was previously Saul. First of all, the Lord’s own Voice from Heaven shows this: “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” Had Paul climbed up to Heaven then? Had Paul even thrown a stone at Heaven? It was Christians he was persecuting, them he was tying up, them he was dragging off to be put to death, them he was everywhere hunting out of their hiding places and never sparing when he found them. To him the Lord said, “Saul, Saul.” Where is He crying out from? Heaven. So He’s up above. “Why are you persecuting Me?” So He’s down below.” – St Augustine (354-430) Bishop of Hippo, Father and Doctor of the Church (Sermon 122).
PRAYER – Today Lord, we celebrate the conversion of St Paul, Your chosen vessel for carrying Your Name to the whole world. Help us to make our way towards You by following in his footsteps and by being Your disciples before the men and women of our day. Grant that by the prayers of St Paul, we too may say, “Yet I live, no longer I but Christ lives in me; insofar as I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God Who has loved me and given himself up for me.” (Galatians 2:20) Through Jesus Christ, our Lord, in union with the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever, amen.