Today is the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul, the Apostles to the Gentiles. Today is also the conclusion of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. We will celebrate Holy Eucharist at 12:00 p.m. (noon) today. We will also be led in Evening Prayer at 7 p.m. by Reader Jeff Brown.
ABOUT THE CONVERSION OF ST. PAUL
The conversion of the anti-Christian zealot, Saul, to the apostle of Christ, Paul, is clearly related in the reading from the Acts of the Apostles, but it has to be remembered that this was a beginning: Saul took some time to become Paul and some time to begin to understand that his call to preach – to Jew and to Gentile – the saving power of Jesus, the Son of God, was something that was a whole life’s journey for him. Paul says in his Letter to the Church in Galatia, “God set me apart before I was born and called me through his grace … Three years after (the Damascus Road conversion), I went up to Jerusalem.” The preparation for this moment of his conversion was his whole life. This feast has been celebrated in the Church since the sixth century but became universal in the twelfth century.
THE COLLECT FOR THE CONVERSION OF ST. PAUL
Almighty God, who caused the light of the gospel to shine throughout the world through the preaching of your servant Saint Paul: grant that we who celebrate his wonderful conversion may follow him in bearing witness to your truth; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
