The dramatic conversion of Saul, the man who became one of the greatest apostles of the ancient Church, is a beautiful example of the gift of faith. Saul was a zealous and learned Jewish man who persecuted Christians until he heard the voice of Jesus call out to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” This unsolicited encounter led to his baptism by Ananias and the recovery of his sight lost after his encounter with Christ. Saul became a new man filled with faith in Jesus Christ and immediately began to preach in the synagogues of Damascus.
It was Jesus who came to Saul and gave him the gift of faith, Saul was not searching for it. Saul did not desire to deepen his belief in Jesus Christ; he was not even attempting to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. Quite the opposite, he was chasing after Christians to execute them.
Faith is a gift God chooses to bestow on his people. God chose to knock Saul off from his horse and give him the grace to believe. God chose him (not the other way around) and transformed his life. This is a beautiful example of Jesus’ words to his apostles, “it was not you who chose me, but I chose you.”
I have oftentimes wondered why God does not do this more often. In a matter of seconds he changed the heart of Christianity’s earliest persecutor with the gift of faith. Why does he not act this way more often?
Even though I cannot answer this question since I do not know God’s infinite and inscrutable mind, the conversion of Saint Paul and the fact that faith is a gift gives us great hope. These remind us that the most hardened sinner or unbeliever can always come to faith because faith is a gift. It is certainly a gift that may be rejected, yet it is always a gift that is received and never achieved by one’s merit.
In the fourth century, Saint Augustine lived a disordered life and meddled with philosophies and ideas contrary to Christianity, yet the Lord manifested himself powerfully in his life and transformed his heart with the gift of faith. His mother Monica probably felt frustrated because she was unable to convince her son to believe, so she did the most appropriate thing, she prayed for her son to receive the gift of faith and he certainly did.
When faced with a world in the middle of a crisis of faith, we must remain hopeful and pray that the Lord will bestow his gift of faith to hardened hearts and set them on fire. During this year of faith, we are called to pray that all hearts, starting with our own, may be prepared and open to receive this great gift and to be transformed like the great Saint Paul.
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