Conversion of St Paul

In those days,
Paul said to the people:
"I am a Jew,
born in Tarsus in Cilicia,
but raised here in this city,
where, at the school of Gamaliel,
I received a strict education according to the Law of our fathers;
I was zealous for God,
just as all of you are today.
I persecuted to death those who follow the Way of the Lord Jesus;
I arrested men and women, and threw them into prison;
the high priest and the whole assembly of elders
can testify to this.
They gave me letters for our brothers in Damascus
where I was going:
I was to bring back to Jerusalem,
those from there, in chains, so that they might face their punishment.

So, as I was on the road and approaching Damascus,
suddenly around noon, a great light from heaven
shone around me.
I fell to the ground,
and I heard a voice say to me:
‘Saul, Saul,
why are you persecuting me?’
And I answered:
‘Who are you, Lord?’
—‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, the one you are persecuting.’
Those who were with me saw the light,
but did not hear the voice of the one speaking to me.
So I said:
‘What shall I do, Lord?’
The Lord answered me:
‘Get up, go to Damascus,
and there you will be told everything you are appointed to do.’

As I could no longer see,
because of the brightness of that light,
I went to Damascus,
led by the hand of my companions.
Now, Ananias, a devout man according to the Law,
whom all the Jews living there spoke well of,
came and stood beside me
and said to me:
‘Saul, my brother,
receive your sight.’
And at that very moment, I received my sight,
and I saw him.
He said to me again:
‘The God of our fathers has chosen you to know his will,
to see the Righteous One
and to hear the voice coming from his mouth.
For you will be his witness to all people
of what you have seen and heard.
And now, why delay?
Get up and be baptized,
have your sins washed away by calling on his name.’

– The word of the Lord.

OR

In those days,
Saul was still breathing threats to murder
against the disciples of the Lord.
He went to the high priest
and asked him for letters for the synagogues at Damascus,
so that if he found any men or women
who followed the Way of the Lord,
he might bring them back in chains to Jerusalem.

As he was on the way and approaching Damascus,
suddenly a light from heaven shone all around him.
He fell to the ground; he heard a voice say to him:
"Saul, Saul,
why do you persecute me?"
He asked:
"Who are you, Lord?"
The voice replied:
"I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.
Get up and go into the city:
you will be told what you must do."
The men travelling with him stood speechless,
for they heard the voice but saw no one.
Saul got up from the ground
and, though his eyes were open, he could see nothing.
They took him by the hand
to lead him into Damascus.
For three days, he was unable to see
and he neither ate nor drank.

Now, in Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias.
In a vision, the Lord said to him:
"Ananias!"
He replied:
"Here I am, Lord."
The Lord continued:
"Get up, go to the street called Straight, to the house of Judas:
you will ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul.
He is at prayer,
and he has had this vision:
a man named Ananias
came in and laid his hands on him
to restore his sight."
Ananias replied:
"Lord, I have heard much about this man,
and all the harm he has done to your faithful in Jerusalem.
And here he has received authority from the chief priests
to arrest all who call upon your name."
But the Lord said to him:
"Go! for this man is my chosen instrument
to bring my name
before nations, kings,
and the sons of Israel.
And I myself will show him
all that he will have to suffer for my name."

So Ananias went
and entered the house.
He laid his hands on Saul, and said:
"Saul, my brother,
it is the Lord who has sent me,
Jesus, who appeared to you
on the road by which you came.
So you will regain your sight,
and you will be filled with the Holy Spirit."
Immediately, something like scales fell from his eyes,
and he regained his sight.
He got up, and was baptized.
Then he took food and regained his strength.

He spent a few days in Damascus with the disciples
and, without delay, he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues,
declaring that he is the Son of God.
All who heard him were amazed
and said:
"Isn't this the man who, in Jerusalem,
was relentless against those who call upon this name,
and hasn't he come here
to take them back in chains to the chief priests?"
But Saul, with ever-increasing strength,
confounded the Jews living in Damascus,
proving that Jesus is the Christ.

– The word of the Lord.

Praise the Lord, all you nations;
honor him, all you peoples!

His love for us has proven the strongest;
the faithfulness of the Lord is everlasting!

At that time,
the risen Jesus said to the eleven Apostles:
"Go into all the world.
Proclaim the Gospel to all creation.
Whoever believes and is baptized
will be saved;
whoever refuses to believe
will be condemned.
These are the signs that will accompany
those who come to believe:
in my name they will drive out demons;
they will speak in new tongues;
they will pick up snakes in their hands
and, if they drink any deadly poison,
it will not harm them;
they will lay their hands on the sick,
and the sick will be well."

– Let us acclaim the Word of God.