Sermon on the Conversion of St. Paul
The conversion of St. Paul was a conquest of St. Stephen, and it is not by chance that the divine liturgy has placed this feast a few days after that of the Protomartyr, whose martyrdom was witnessed by the Jєω Saul, faithful to the Old Law and loyal executor of the will of the high priests; perhaps he himself contributed to the martyrdom, believing he was acting according to the principles that every Orthodox Jєω must observe. Father Guéranger comments: "It was fitting that, to complete the court of our great King, the two powerful columns of the Church, the Apostle of the Jєωs and the Apostle of the Gentiles, Peter with his keys and Paul with his sword, should stand beside the manger. Thus it was that Saul, an observant Hebrew and persecutor of Christians, became Paul, and conquered the pagans to the Gospel".
Today, the power of Christ falls upon his enemy, and his mercy lifts him up afterwards to make him a champion of the Faith and companion of the Prince of the Apostles, beside whom he will pour his blood in the Urbe: O Roma felix, quæ duorum Principum es consecrata glorioso sanguine, as we sing in the hymn Decora lux. Blessed Rome, consecrated by the glorious blood of two princes! Blood that is glorious because from it, when shed for the love of Christ, instead of death comes life; instead of defeat, victory; and instead of the ignominy of torture, the glory of the palm of martyrdom.
When the shepherds obeyed God and did not allow themselves to be seduced by the deceptions of this world, between the feast of the Chair of St. Peter in Rome and that of the Conversion of St. Paul, an octave of prayers was celebrated for the conversion of non-Catholics: schismatics, heretics and pagans. The new church, following in the footsteps of the Council, has renounced its mission and tries to disguise what differentiates us from the sects and idolaters by emphasizing what - according to them - unites us. Those days of prayer became the Week for Christian Unity, putting the objectives of a senseless ecuмenism before the supernatural mission of preaching the true Faith. I exhort you to pray for the priests and prelates who persecute good Catholics, and for those who, like Saul, believe that they fulfill the precepts of the Law while they are in error. Let us ask the Lord to manifest himself to them and convert them, as the Apostle of the Gentiles was converted.
Let us not be surprised at this parallel; the veil of the Temple, which was torn from top to bottom at the moment when the Savior expired on the Cross put an end to the Old Covenant. The Church of Christ thus became the new Israel and the baptized the new chosen people. This new and eternal covenant, sealed with the Blood of the Lamb of which those sacrificed in the Temple were a figure, welcomed many children of the ѕуηαgσgυє, enlightened by the messianic prophecies and confirmed by the miracles of the Lord. There were many among them who, like Saul, obeyed the Law until they were reached by the Grace that made them see that the Scriptures were fulfilled in Jesus Christ. And while the blindness of perfidy did not allow them to perceive the Light that came into the world and rejected it; while the Sanhedrin conspired with Pilate for fear of losing its power, and hid from the simple the truth that guarded the scrolls of Isaiah and other holy prophets; while Saul tried in all the ѕуηαgσgυєs to force by threats the Christians to blaspheme (Ac.26,11 ), that is, to deny the divinity of Christ and his coming as the promised Messiah, the great miracle of conversion was being prepared: instantaneous, immediate, fulminating, like everything that has to do with God.
Sometimes the path of conversion is long and arduous, full of difficulties and falls; but conversion itself with the strength and power of which the Lord is capable when he touches us with the light of Truth and the fire of Charity. "Who are you, Lord?" asks Saul, fallen from his horse. "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting" (Acts 9:5). In the dazzling light in which the voice of Christ resounds, one of the most feared inquisitors of the Temple recognizes the miracle, realizes who his divine Artificer is, addresses Him, calling Him Lord, and obeys the order to go to Damascus. He remains dazzled and blind for three days, and during those three days he helps in mystical preparation for the epiphany of Christ.
With another miracle, Ananias is asked to go and heal Saul of Tarsus, and he is astonished, because this Jєω has authorization "from the high priests to arrest all those who call on his name" (Acts 9:14). The Lord answers him: "Go, for he is a chosen instrument for me, that he may bear my name before nations and kings and the sons of Israel, for I will show him how much he must suffer for my name's sake" (ibid., 15-16). So he goes to Saul, lays his hands on him and heals him, causing the veil of blindness to fall from his eyes, a figure of the darkening of the soul's sight. Overflowing with the Holy Spirit, Saul "was baptized" (ibid., 18) with the name of Paul.
Today there is also a Sanhedrin of supporters of the Council that commands its ministers in the ѕуηαgσgυєs to persecute the traditionalist Catholics, to punish them and to force them to observe the Reformed rites. Also today there are zealous and terrible saulos who go after the faithful to force them to blaspheme, to deny the teachings of Christ and to obey the high priests and the scribes of the people. Many of them believe that they are good and respect the Law. But the power of God, who overturns and overthrows the proud, wants to touch their souls as he touched Saul's. I invite you, dear faithful, to be as obedient to the Law as I am to Saul. I invite you, dear faithful, to pray for them. May the Lord manifest his power by dismantling them from their granite certainties, may he blind their pride and have mercy on them so as to lift them up, restore their spiritual sight, fill them with the Holy Spirit and make them his apostles.
Let us pray that the prelates and priests who today obey the Sanhedrin of Rome, which does not want to recognize Christ the King and pays homage to Caesar, may be enlightened by the Grace of the Lord. May they return to the ѕуηαgσgυєs like St. Paul to proclaim Jesus the Son of God (ibid., 22), to preach that the Sacrifice of the New and Eternal Covenant is renewed on the altar of those whom until today they persecute. May it also be said of this monsignor, of that bishop, of that cardinal: "Is not this the one who destroyed in Jerusalem those who call on this name, and here he came with the purpose of bringing them bound before the high priests?
If we know how to give witness of faith in the Lord and fidelity to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, which is the beating heart and soul of our most holy religion, we will be able to do with these souls reached by the Grace of God what the disciples did in Damascus: to speak to them of Christ, to help them to be with us so as to "build themselves up by walking in the fear of the Lord" (ibid., 31). Who knows if such a prelate who has come to force them to accept the Reformed rites will want to celebrate the Traditional Mass, on discovering to what extent the divine liturgy confirms and nourishes his priesthood, on seeing the extent to which his Levite soul finds its full realization in repeating the words of the Savior who immolates himself on the altar, just as he once did on the Cross. Perhaps that bishop who came with bellicose intentions will realize that he is persecuting Christ, and will want to become his apostle and disciple after being persecuted by order of the Sanhedrin.
Then he will understand, as we have understood by the Grace of God and in spite of our unworthiness, how much he will have to suffer for the name of the Lord.
Such is our earnest desire, our prayer, the reason for our testimony.
So be it.
January 25, 2023
In Conversione Sancti Pauli Apostoli
Topic: +Vigano: The Conversion of St. Paul (Read 1096 times)