When artists depict the conversion of St. Paul, they usually show him as being knocked off his horse. The Scriptures never mention a horse. St. Luke tells the story three times in the Acts of the Apostles. St. Paul tells the story himself in the Letter to the Galatians. Neither St. Luke nor St. Paul mention anything about a horse.
It may not seem like an important detail, and perhaps it is nothing more than an artist’s concept of the scene. However, I would rather think of Saul being knocked to the ground while walking under his own power. If he had been on a horse, Paul’s fall could have been blamed on an unruly horse. However, that is not the case. Paul falls to the ground as he meets God face to face. God is not being a bully here. St. Luke is simply telling the story in such a way that it illustrates that no one can stand in God’s presence.
The Gospel chosen for this feast day is the final scene from the Gospel of St. Mark. The Eleven Apostles are commissioned to go out to the entire world and to proclaim the Gospel. Those who believe are to be baptized.
Throughout his life, St. Paul was constantly harried by a group who tried to discredit him. They would wait until Paul left a community and moved to another. Then they would go into that community and claim that the Gospel that he proclaimed was not the true Gospel.
Perhaps this is why the story of his conversion is told so many times in the Acts of the Apostles and in the Letter to the Galatians. St. Luke, who was a companion of St. Paul in his missionary journeys, wanted to make sure that we knew without a doubt that Paul was sent by Jesus just as surely as the Eleven who appear at the end of the Gospel of St. Mark. Each time the story is told, it ends with Paul’s baptism. His conversion was dramatic and startling. However, there can be no doubt that he is one of the Apostles, sent by Jesus to proclaim the Gospel.
Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator