From Persecutor To Proclaimer: How Saint Paul’s Damascus Encounter Sparks Personal Conversion Today

We trace Saul’s fierce zeal, the shattering encounter with the risen Christ, and the slow, real work of conversion that turned a persecutor into a fearless apostle. Along the way we explore Ananias’ courage, desert formation, and Paul’s Eucharistic vision of unity and mission.

• Saul’s Pharisee roots and misdirected zeal
• Damascus Road as history and theophany
• The voice of Christ and the church’s unity
• Three days of blindness, fasting, and prayer
• Ananias’ obedience and healing reconciliation
• Baptism, commissioning, and first preaching
• Retreat in Arabia and hidden formation
• Eucharistic unity, discernment, and mission
• Practical summons to conversion and witness

Now it's your turn
Family, there is more to this post, so please see the lilink in the description for the rest of the article
Be sure to click the link in the description for special news item
And since there is more to this article, finish reading and check out the special offer
Visit journeysof.com website today
Saint Paul Media Collection

Open by Steve Bailey

Chapters

• 0:22 Welcome And App Announcement
• 0:47 Theme: Conversion Of Saint Paul
• 2:56 Saul’s Zeal And Pharisee Roots
• 7:07 Damascus Road: History And Context
• 9:44 The Flash Of Glory And Call
• 12:40 Three Days Blind: Interior Purification
• 16:47 Ananias’ Courage And Saul’s Healing
• 19:12 Baptism Of Fire And Commission
• 21:33 First Preaching In Damascus
• 23:38 Retreat In Arabia And Formation
• 26:07 Paul’s Eucharistic Vision Of Unity
• 28:47 Conclusion And Calls To Action

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:11

Hello family, welcome to Journeys of Faith Super Saints Podcast. Brother Joseph Ryaldenhoven here at your service. Be sure to look at the description for special information of interest to you. And before I get started, did you know you can access this podcast with our new app? You you can just go to the Apple App Store and search for Journeys of Faith. The app is free and has many features you will enjoy. Conversion of Saint Paul. From persecutor to proclaimer What cataclysmic force could transform a ferocious zealot into Christianity's most fiery evangelist? The answer blazes from the pages of sacred scripture, the conversion of Saint Paul. On the road to Damascus, Saul, breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, Acts 9 1, was not seeking Christ, but Christ, glorious and victorious, sought him, a flash of divine light, a celestial voice. Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? Acts nine four. In that split second eternity broke into earth and the greatest enemy of the church became its boldest apostle. At Journeys of Faith, founded by Bob and Penny Lord, the undisputed experts on Catholic saints, we are driven by the same urgency and wonder that sees Saint Paul. Like him, we've walked through loss and spiritual renewal, rediscovering the summit of our Catholic faith in the most holy Eucharist. Our mission is your mission to know Christ, love the saints, and hear the call of heaven in the concrete moments of each day. Through virtual pilgrimages, books, and relics, we invite you to open your heart to the supernatural. I consider everything as lost because of the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. Philippians 3 8. The story of Paul's journey from persecutor to proclaimer is more than ancient history. It is a perpetual call. The fire that blinded Paul still burns to sanctify us, to send us trembling and transformed into the world. Enter with us now on to the luminous road to Damascus. Let your faith be jolted, your vision restored, your heart ablaze for souls. Heaven has a plan for you, just as it did for Saint Paul. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel. Saul the Pharisee, roots of religious zeal. Before his earth-shattering encounter with the risen Lord, Saul of Tarsus stood unmistakably as a man fueled by uncompromising zeal. I am a Pharisee, the son of Pharisees, he would later testify. Acts 23, 6. Rooted deeply in sacred tradition and the law of Moses, aflame with the conviction that he served God's justice. As a child of Tarsus, city of learning, crossroads of east and west, Saul inhaled the air of Hellenistic wisdom, but remained fiercely loyal to the covenant faith of Israel. He was circumcised on the eighth day of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews, as to the law of Pharisee, as to zeal, a persecutor of the church. Philippians 3 5 to 6. How blinding was his certainty. Saul's pursuit of Christian men and women was not petty bigotry, but tragically a sacrificial offering to Yahweh as he then understood. His study at the feet of Gamaliel, the revere Pharisaic teacher, armed him with knowledge and sharpened his conscience to defend the unity and holiness of God's chosen people, Saul would spare no one, breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord. Acts nine. He scoured synagogues, prison cells, and city streets, searing zeal, yet shrouded in darkness, a heart desperate for divine light. If ever a soul appeared righteous by external observance, it was Saul, but God searches the heart. Here stands a warning and an invitation, fervor, even when authentic, can wander far from truth without the living Christ. Saul's journey from relentless persecutor to apostle to the nations testifies for zeal for thy house has consumed me, Psalm 69 9. But only Christ makes zeal fruitful for salvation. The same flames that hunted, once purified by grace, would proclaim the mercy of the crucified with unyielding boldness. Let us ponder and pray. Is my zeal aligned to the heart of the Redeemer? O Christian soul, awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give you light. Ephesians 5 14. Take the next step on your road to Damascus with journeys of faith. Are you ready to let the light of Christ transform your life as profoundly as Saint Paul did on the road to Damascus? Don't let this moment pass. Embrace the call to conversion, mission, and deep holiness. At Journeys of Faith, we offer you tools, resources, and experiences to ignite your spiritual journey and keep you faithful to the treasures of the Catholic Church. Let your heart burn with zeal, and say with Saint Paul, it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. Galatians two twenty. Answer the call. Here's how you can join us. Shop with purpose. Explore the largest selection of authentic Bob and Penny Lord resources, books, DVDs, digital downloads, and exclusive saintly treasures. Grow in faith and share these heavenly gems with your loved ones. Embark on virtual pilgrimages, journey to holy shrines, miracles, and Marian apparitions right from your home, perfect for personal devotion, family faith nights, and parish groups. Plan a retreat. Rediscover Christ at the Holy Family Mission in Morralton, Arkansas. Retreats, spiritual direction, and encounters await you. Connect and evangelize. Join our community, earn rewards, and become a living witness, just as Paul became from persecutor to proclaimer. Don't just read the story, live your own encounter, visit journeys of faith and start your journey. Heaven is calling. The Damascus Road, historical and spiritual setting. The scorching sun beats down on the ancient road that winds from Jerusalem to Damascus, a path busy with travelers, merchants, and Roman patrols. It is here, amidst the swirl of noise and commerce, that the conversion of Saint Paul, the great persecutor turned proclaimer, will shake the foundations of salvation history. At this crossroads of civilizations, Damascus stands as a hub of commerce and culture, a city renowned as the eye of the East. Roman rule is ironclad, Jewish communities brimming with zeal fight for their faith, and in the shadows the new sect of the way, the early Christians faces mounting danger. Saul of Tarsus, a Pharisee of fierce intellect and passion, bears official letters to arrest those who invoke the name of Jesus. His mission to quench the embers of this fledgling faith. Breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, Acts 9 1, Saul embodies an age riven between law and grace, justice and mercy, but the Lord's designs outmatch the plans of men. Within this very context, on a road paved by violence but destined for mercy, the heavens will blaze forth with divine intervention. The dazzling light that will soon engulf Saul is no mere natural phenomenon. It is a moment of theophany, a breaking in of the eternal into time and space. Christ himself, crucified and risen, claims the persecutor for his own. Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? Acts 9 4. Here history bows before mystery. The Damascus Road then becomes not only a geographical marker but a spiritual battleground. Will Saul remain in the darkness bound to the old covenant or yield to the piercing summons of Christ? The drama unfolding is both personal and cosmic. The conversion of Saint Paul is not just a turning point for one soul, it is a watershed for all of Christianity. The grace at work on this road echoes the urgent call for every believer. Now is the acceptable time. Behold, now is the day of salvation. Let us stand in awe before this sacred crossroads where persecution is destroyed by divine mercy and a soul is set ablaze for the gospel. A flash of glory, Christ's personal intervention. Saul the zealous persecutor thundered down the road to Damascus, his heart aflame, but with a fire fueled by zeal without knowledge, suddenly a light from heaven shone around him, brighter than the midday sun in Acts 9 3. This wasn't an inner prompting or vague apparition. It was Christ Himself, risen and glorified, breaking through the mundane with the unmistakable force of divine majesty. Saul falls to the ground utterly helpless and a voice speaks clear, real, unstoppable. Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? Acts 9 4. In a single blinding moment the hunter becomes the hunted. Saul's arrogant certainty is shattered by the blazing reality of Christ's presence. He is confronted not by a phantom of conscience, but by the living Lord, Jesus, truly alive, reigning, and pouring forth his mercy. No mediation, no intermediaries, only the soul and the Savior. This encounter is not just historical, it is a clarion call echoing through the ages. Christ personally seeks even the most hardened sinner. There is no darkness too thick, no hatred too fierce for the love of Jesus to break through. Saul's transformation on the dusty road becomes every believer's invitation. Arise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do. Acts 9 6. God intervenes and everything changes. From persecutor, Saul is made proclaimer, apostle, martyr. Grace invades, and the soul is never the same. Oh, what hope and what urgency for our own journeys. The Lord stands ready to address us, to pierce our hidden resistance, to bathe us in the in the uncreated light. Let us never tire of praying. Come, Lord Jesus, break through my blindness, command my destiny. The road to Damascus still shines today, illuminated by the glory of Christ's personal intervention, bold, merciful, world shaking. Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? Voice of the risen Lord and the desert road to Damascus burned beneath Saul's feet, his heart a furnace of zealous rage. Armed with authority from the high priest, Saul, who would soon be the Apostle Paul, strode forward, his mission clear, crushed the fledgling followers of the way. Yet in a blinding flash that split sky and soul, his plan shattered. Suddenly, enveloped by brilliant light, Saul crumpled to the earth, powerless before a presence more radiant than the sun. Then came the voice, a thunder at once frightening and tender. Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? Acts nine four. He could not deny or escape this call. The one Saul persecuted was not a mere man, not just a rabbi from Nazareth. He was the glorified risen Christ himself. In that divine confrontation, the line between persecutor and persecuted vanished. Christ's identity was now unmistakably fused to his church. I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. Every Christian stoned, every home invaded, every believer hunted, Saul had wounded Christ himself. Here the gospel thundered. The mystical body of Christ is no abstraction. To harm the church is to strike at her divine head. This encounter is a clarion call echoing through time. Do not delay, let the light of Christ interrupt your life. Saul's world rooted in law and tradition, exploded in living color. Scales would soon fall from his blinded eyes. He was summoned to radical conversion, a turning so total that the persecutor became the tireless missionary who wrote, I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. Galatians 2 20. The conversion of Saint Paul is not merely a story, it is a summons to every soul set on pilgrimage. Jesus still asks each of us, Why do you persecute me? Do we harbor resentments, prejudices, or cynicism that wound the body of Christ today? Hear the voice of the risen Lord, and respond with trust, humility, and holy fear. Lord, what do you want me to do? Acts 9 6. Saint Paul, fearless proclaimer, pray for us, O risen Christ, interrupt us, convert us, send us. Three days blind, interior purification and prayer. Imagine the darkness that wrapped around Saul in those fateful moments after the blazing light of Christ's voice thundered. Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? Acts 9 4 struck down his eyes were veiled, not just from the world, but from everything he once believed, blind, utterly so for three whole days. What unrelenting silence, what trembling fear must have surged as his companions led him by the hand into Damascus, powerless, dependent, soul laid bare before the Almighty, but in that blindness God was not absent. He was working behind the scenes of Saul's soul, reshaping him for a divine mission, for I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name. Acts 9 16. Saul's loss of sight was not mere punishment, but purification, a sacred pause, a spiritual desert where pride was stripped away and every defense laid low. Like the Israelites in the wilderness, Saul entered his own exodus, preparing to leave behind the Egypt of his former life. Those three days echo the holy rhythm of the paschal mystery, Christ in the tomb, the world suspended, the silent work of grace, blindness drove Saul to his knees, to fasting, to prayer. Locked inside that darkness, he was summoned to an encounter not of the intellect or sight, but of the heart. He wrestled, he pleaded, he awaited the mercy of God. Here Saul's conversion became not just an event, but a process, a crucible of patient faith, radical surrender, and longing for the Father's voice. How many of us too are called to pass through seasons of holy darkness, purifying trials that press us into deeper prayer in our hunger, our thirst, our blindness, we meet the crucified, let us cry out, Lord, that I may see. Through prayer sacrament and surrender, interior blindness becomes the threshold of a new life consecrated to his glory. Secut service deciderat ad fantes aquarum. As the deer longs for running streams, so our soul thirsts for you, O God. Ananias courage, obeying God to heal an enemy. Imagine the voice of the Lord calls out in the silence of your prayer. The message is clear, unmistakable, and terrifying. Rise and go to the street call straight, God commands, and at the house of Judas, look for a man of Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying. Acts 9 11. Saul, the notorious persecutor of Christians, the one whose very name struck terror in the hearts of believers, the sworn enemy of Christ's church, Ananias could have refused. Human wisdom would urge self-preservation, yet with trembling heart and burning faith, Ananias listens. Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to thy saints at Jerusalem. None the less, divine summons pierces through the fear. Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. Acts 9 15. O holy boldness, fidelity to the Lord's voice overrides the fear of earthly danger. Ananias filled with the Holy Spirit, enters that house. He looks upon Saul not with suspicion but with brotherly love born of Christ. Placing his hands on the blinded enemy, he declares, Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit. Acts 9 17. Scales fall from Saul's eyes, and the persecutor rises, a proclaimer, baptized, reborn, set ablaze for the gospel. What sanctifying fire, what a model of obedience, humility, and miraculous reconciliation. Ananias invites us to ask ourselves, will we trust the Lord's command when it challenges our deepest fears? Will we walk the straight way, even toward those who have harmed us? This is sanctity, this is heavenly triumph. Marching forward, fortified by the promise, perfect love casts out fear. O Jesus, give us Ananias' courage. Baptism of fire scales fall and mission begins. A blinding flash rends the noonday sky. Saul, prideful persecutor, sprawls on the dusty Damascus road, a man suddenly bereft of sight, the world blazing white behind his eyelids. Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? Acts nine four. The voice thunders, not a mere echo, but the summons of the living Christ, whom Saul has hounded in the faces of his followers. The pursuer is pursued, the hunter becomes the hunted by the divine mercy. Days pass in darkness, three tortured nights echoing Christ's descent to the tomb. Everything Saul trusts collapses, his knowledge, confidence, self-righteous zeal all stripped away as he fasts and prays in shattered blindness. Saul truly sees the old man dies, so a new man might rise. The Lord God, who opens the eyes of the blind, Psalm 146 8, is at work, forging sainthood from the wreckage of sin. Enter Ananias, the reluctant instrument of God's mercy, sent with trembling over. Obedience to the house where Saul waits. Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit. Acts 9 17. With these words, scales fall from Saul's eyes literally and spiritually. Baptized in living water, ignited in the Spirit, he is plunged into a baptism of fire. The persecutor emerges the proclaimer. Saul is not merely converted, he is commissioned. He is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. Acts 9 15. Nothing is ever the same. The zealous adversary of the church becomes Saint Paul, apostle of the nations, fearless herald of the cross. His mission surges with uncompromising urgency. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel. O soul, tremble, will you let Christ shatter your blindness, burn away your pride, and send you a blaze on mission? The scales fall, the race begins. First preaching in Damascus from terror to testimony. Saul, blinded by celestial brilliance, knocked down on that scorching Damascus road, knew only hatred for the way as he set out. Yet everything changed with that thundering question. Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? Acts nine four. In a blink the tormentor became a man undone, days passed in darkness and trembling, until with the touch of Ananias and the fire of the Holy Spirit, the scales fell from his eyes, both physical and spiritual. Behold, Saul is made new. Was this not a marvel for the ages? Let us grasp the urgency and power in what followed. And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, He is the Son of God. Acts nine twenty. Imagine the stunned faces, the hushed crowds. Is this not he who ravaged Jerusalem? No one was more astonished than Saul himself, seized by an all consuming zeal for Christ, the former adversary of the faith erupts as its most fervent witness. Heaven's claim upon him is absolute. He cannot hold back the gospel, nor would he dare. Here in Damascus, the persecutor's old identity dies, and a new mission blazes forth. For me to live is Christ and to die is gain. Philippians 1 21. Mere days ago Saul scoured the city for Christians to destroy. Now he gathers souls for Christ with unstoppable courage, enduring threats and conspiracies to silence him. The brilliance of grace ignites a relentless testimony that cannot be quenched. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel. O Christian soul, let us tremble and arise. What mercy could transform an enemy into an apostle except divine love itself? The conversion of Saint Paul is our trumpet call. Leave behind your old blindness and run aflame to proclaim the Lord who saves. Retreat in Arabia, desert school of the Holy Spirit. Saul, the relentless persecutor, was struck down on the road to Damascus by a searing light and the thunderous voice of the Lord. Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? Acts 9 4. Blinded by divine radiance, his old life ruptured. Yet after this explosive meeting with Christ, Saint Paul did not immediately launch into apostolic exploits. Tradition and scripture tell us he withdrew into Arabia, entering a profound desert school with the whole Holy Spirit as in the shirt Horister, his only teacher, compared to Galatians 1 17. Imagine the silence, the relentless heat, wild empty hills, ancient as Abraham, the only sound, wind sifting through rocks, space made for prayer and purification. In this secret retreat, Paul's soul underwent a second hidden conversion. The old man, the persecutor, crumbled away. Paul allowed himself to be remade, where human wisdom and the law had once reigned, now came hunger for heavenly things. He who was called was not conferred with flesh and blood. Galatians 1 16. How often do we rush past the desert, afraid of silence, clinging to the noise of our habitual sins and distractions? The desert for Paul and for every soul thirsting for sanctity is not a barren wasteland but an antechamber of glory. In this holy emptiness the Spirit poured secret lessons into the apostle's heart. The old zeal for destruction became a holy fire for proclaiming Christ crucified. The barren wilds became a furnace of transformation where human weakness bent before the living God. How many saints like Paul heard heaven's voice best in the blazing silence? Be holy, for I am holy. The desert rings with this eternal call. O Christian soul, will you fear the desert or embrace its purifying fire? The conversion of Saint Paul reminds us every heart that would know the living God must allow itself to be led by the Spirit even into lonely places. There, away from the familiar, heaven writes its law anew upon willing hearts. Paul's Eucharistic vision, one bread, one body, because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread. Saint Paul forged and remade on the Damascus road, stands as the mighty trumpet of unity in the body of Christ. Yet this unity is not a mere sentiment, it is Eucharistic, incarnational, divine. In every letter, in every breath, the apostle returns to the holy table where heaven touches earth. Here, in the breaking of the bread, we become what we receive, living members of Christ Himself. Paul does not shy from boldness to the Corinthians, whose factions and rivalries threaten to rip the church asunder, he proclaims, The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? 1 Corinthians 10 16. What miracle is this? In the most blessed sacrament, the persecution wrought chains of division are shattered, and a persecutor becomes a brother. There is no communion without the communion. The Eucharist radiates with apostolic urgency, a living call to sanctification. Let a man examine himself and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks to drinks judgment upon himself. Rush to the altar. Place every pride, every pain, every triumph on the patent, united with Christ's sacrifice. Become, as Paul did, a living sacrifice holy and acceptable to God. In the Eucharist the church rises radiant with the life of Christ. Paul scourged and bruised yet always aflame, witnesses that to encounter Jesus truly is to long for heaven and pour yourself out as an offering for others. O Catholic soul, embrace this holy mystery, one bread, one body, so that Christ may be all in all. Saints are forged upon this mystery. I live now not I, but Christ lives in me. Galatians two twenty. Conclusion from darkness to light, let us arise and follow Christ. The conversion of Saint Paul stands as a thunderous proclamation through the corridors of salvation history, a living testament that no heart is beyond the reach of divine mercy. Saul of Tarsus, zealot persecutor became Paul, tireless apostle, an encounter with the risen Lord on the road to Damascus transformed him utterly, igniting a fire that still burns across the world. For I am not ashamed of the gospel, it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. Romans 1 16. Paul's life shouts to every soul, now is the hour to cast aside old ways, to open wide the doors to Christ. At Journeys of Faith we echo Saint Paul's radical surrender, a call to step boldly into sanctity, to cherish and defend the most holy Eucharist, ever obedient to the magisterium. Each pilgrimage, every story of the saints is a summons. Arise, receive the light of Christ like Paul. Let us become heralds, burning with heavenly passion, unwavering in witness. Heaven is real, and Christ awaits each of us on our own Damascus road. Let your journey be a daily yes to grace, a pilgrimage of faith. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 2 Timothy 4 7. Now it's your turn. Family, there is more to this post, so please see the lilink in the description for the rest of the article. Be sure to click the link in the description for special news item. And since there is more to this article, finish reading and check out the special offer. Visit journeysof.com website today.