Before his conversion, Saint Paul was known as Saul. He was a Pharisee who was born in to a devout Jewish family and he was well educated in his faith. He described himself as being “of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee”. Saul, to say the least, was a good Jew who loved the Jewish law and followed it. He loved being a Jew and he saw Christianity as a threat to his religion, a threat that had to be eliminated.

The scriptures tell us that Saul persecuted the Christians and would enter homes looking for them, drag them out, and put them in to jail. He is even listed as being at the death of the first Christian Martyr, the deacon Saint Steven. The early Christians feared Saul and saw him as one of their primary persecutors. Saul hunted down Christians in Jerusalem and even received permission to go to Damascus to hunt them down. On his way to Damascus, something amazing happened. The risen Jesus appeared to him.

Acts Chapter 9 tells us; “ 3 As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him.4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” 5 “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. 6 “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” 7The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. 8 Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. 9 For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.” In Damascus, Jesus sent Ananias to heal his sight and to baptize him and to teach him the good news. Saul, after his conversion, became Paul. He would soon become probably the greatest Christian evangelizer ever. Paul experienced a profound conversion. He went from being a zealous persecutor of Christians to being a vessel of God’s grace and intense sharer of the Good News of Jesus.

Conversion, in the Christian sense, is turning away from what is not Jesus and turning towards Jesus. Conversion can be a very profound thing like Saul/Paul experienced, or it can be as simple as turning away from tv and reading more scripture. Throughout our lives, God is continually calling us to conversion. We are called to turn away from what is not leading us towards Him, and turning to things that do lead us to Him. We are called to transform ourselves in to the very image of Jesus.

Conversion can also be seen in the large sense of turning form someone who is not Catholic, to someone who is. The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults is a program within the Church to help non-Catholics do that. Over 50 years ago, I went through the RCIA program, and my life was changed forever. I was brought up as a Methodist and during my younger years attended Sunday School and Church. As I got older, I started to question my faith and by the time I was in college, I thought that religion was not important and that God was only a force that held the universe together. I married a good Catholic girl and was actually quite unkind as to what I said to her about her faith. After almost three years of marriage, we were quite unhappy. We knew that we loved each other, but there was something not right (my lack of faith). We were close to separating when God stepped in. Through some miraculous events, we were brought in to a Life in the Spirit Seminar. In the seminar, I experienced people talking about God as if He was someone who they knew and talked to. I still questioned that type of God, but I wanted a faith like they had.

The Life in the Spirit seminar is a series of weekly talks which talk about God’s love, his gift of Salvation, the need for repentance, the gift of His Spirit and it prepares the person to ask God to touch them and fill them with His Spirit. I still remember the fifth week night when my wife and I were prayed with to experience God and His Spirit. I had a remarkable experience of God loving me. For the first time in my life, I saw God as a person who loved and cared for me. There was no bright light or voice of Jesus like St. Paul had, but it was so very real for me. It changed my life forever. I had a real desire to know Him better so I began reading scripture and spiritual books. Since this all happened in a Roman Catholic church, I decided to look in to that faith. I started reading the documents from Vatican II and decided to become a Catholic. I went through the RCIA program and became Catholic. Our marriage was made anew and later on I received the call to become a deacon. God did so many marvelous things in our life. I still find God calling me to more conversion in my daily life.

For the season of Lent, which begins soon, I will be doing more articles on the call to continuing conversion. Right now I want to celebrate my major call to become a Roman Catholic. It has fulfilled me so much. In line with this celebration I would like to mention some famous people who have become Catholic. There are thousands more.

• Actors: John Wayne, Gary Cooper, Jim Nabors, Faye Dunaway, Vincent Price, Susan Hayward . Patricia Neal and many others
• Academics and intellectuals: Hadley Arkes (Amherst), Mortimer Adler (Great Books), Robert Bork (Yale) and G.K. Chesterton
• Royalty; King Charles II (Great Britain)
• Artist : Peter Paul Rubens
• Heroes of the Old West: Kit Carson, Buffalo Bill and Doc Holliday
• Musician: Dave Brubeck
• Famed coach: Knute Rockne (Notre Dame)
• Playwrights: Tennessee Williams and Oscar Wilde
• Novelists: Ernest Hemingway, Evelyn Waugh, Sigrid Undset and Dean Koontz