R. Alleluia, alleluia.

I chose you from the world,
to go and bear fruit that will last, says the Lord.


R. Alleluia, alleluia.

(Jn 15:16)

The conversion of Saint Paul is so important in the life of the early church that the Acts of the Apostles has two separate accounts of the event. Saint Paul is a bit more circumspect. In the first letter to the Corinthians when others have questioned Paul’s claim to be an apostle, Paul simply asks, “Have I not seen Jesus our Lord?” Saint Paul’s conversion is celebrated with great fanfare in Rome. On the Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul, the pope normally celebrates Mass at the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls. When my mom and I visited Rome in January, 1989, we attended the three-hour papal Mass at the Basilica, and mom met Pope John Paul II for the second time. The Mass began at 6:00 pm. At the homily, a chair was placed about six feet in front of my mom in her wheelchair, and the pope preached from that chair. He preached 30 minutes in Italian with his Polish accent. Needless to say, mom fell asleep, but when she began to snore, I had to give her an elbow!