The conversion of St. Paul was a major turning point in the early Church. The Apostle himself talked about it in his epistles. St. Luke, in the Acts of the Apostles, told the story three times. Obviously we are supposed to notice this event! Saul, a persecutor, is transformed into Paul, a believer in Jesus. The story, however, can skew our understanding of what conversion means. Using Paul as a model we can easily imagine that there is a dramatic “before” and “after” in conversion. The experience of most people is that conversion does not consist of such an abrupt shift. Conversion is most often something we grow into. We change the way we act to become day by day more loving and thoughtful people.
