St. Paul the Apostle, often referred to in the Church’s tradition simply as “the Apostle,” is one of the most significant figures in Catholicism. We don’t often think of him beyond his role as one of the first and principal teachers of the Faith. But he is also an incredible example of Christian holiness and a true friend of Jesus Christ.
Prepare for the feast of St. Paul’s conversion (Jan. 25) with this simple novena, beginning Jan. 17 and ending on Jan. 25. Or it can be used at any time in which it is opportune to seek the wisdom and intercession of this powerful saint.
Each day will focus on a few words from one of St. Paul’s letters and a corresponding reflection from the late Pope Benedict XVI, who provided profound yet accessible reflections on the Apostle during the Year of St. Paul he convoked from 2008-2009.
Day 1
Reading
“On that journey as I drew near to Damascus, about noon a great light from the sky suddenly shone around me. I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ I replied, ‘Who are you, sir?’ And he said to me, ‘I am Jesus the Nazorean whom you are persecuting.’ My companions saw the light but did not hear the voice of the one who spoke to me. I asked, ‘What shall I do, sir?’ The Lord answered me, ‘Get up and go into Damascus, and there you will be told about everything appointed for you to do’” (Acts 22:6-10).
Reflecting on St. Paul with Pope Benedict XVI
“The Risen Christ appears as a brilliant light and speaks to Saul, transforms his thinking and his entire life. The dazzling radiance of the Risen Christ blinds him; thus what was his inner reality is also outwardly apparent, his blindness to the truth, to the light that is Christ. And then his definitive ‘yes’ to Christ in Baptism restores his sight and makes him really see” (General Audience, Sept. 3, 2008).
Prayer
Dear St. Paul, help us to take on the work needed to allow Christ’s transformative love to take root in our hearts. And hear all the desires of my heart. Amen.
Our Father …
Hail Mary …
Glory Be …
St. Paul the Apostle, pray for us!
Day 2
Reading
“For I handed on to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures; that he was buried; that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures; that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at once, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. After that he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one born abnormally, he appeared to me” (1Cor 15:3-8).
Reflecting on St. Paul with Pope Benedict XVI
The more we try to trace the footsteps of Jesus of Nazareth on the roads of Galilee, the better we shall be able to understand that he took on our humanity, sharing it in all things except sin. Our faith is not born from a myth or from an idea, but from the encounter with the Risen One in the life of the Church (General Audience, Sept. 24, 2008).
Prayer
Dear St. Paul, by the help of your prayers, may we strengthen our resolve to enter more deeply into our relationship with Christ. And hear all the desires of my heart. Amen.
Our Father …
Hail Mary …
Glory Be …
St. Paul the Apostle, pray for us!
Day 3
Reading
“But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me has not been ineffective. Indeed, I have toiled harder than all of them; not I, however, but the grace of God [that is] with me. Therefore, whether it be I or they, so we preach and so you believed” (1Cor 15:10-11).
Reflecting on St. Paul with Pope Benedict XVI
“St. Paul gave himself to the Gospel with his entire existence; we could say 24 hours a day! And he exercised his ministry with faithfulness and joy, ‘that I might by all means save some’ (1 Cor 9: 22). And with regard to the Church, even knowing that he had a relationship of fatherhood with her (cf. 1 Cor 4: 15), if not actually of motherhood (cf. Gal 4: 19), he adopted an attitude of complete service, declaring admirably: ‘Not that we lord it over your faith; we work with you for your joy’ (2 Cor 1: 24). This remains the mission of all Christ’s apostles in all times: to be his fellow workers in true joy” (General Audience, Sept. 10, 2008).
Prayer
Dear St. Paul, by the help of your prayers, may we be strengthened in our commitment to follow your example and give our all to proclaiming the gospel to the people of our times. And hear all the desires of my heart. Amen.
Our Father …
Hail Mary …
Glory Be …
St. Paul the Apostle, pray for us!
Day 4
Reading
“The kingdom of God is not a matter of food and drink, but of righteousness, peace, and joy in the holy Spirit; whoever serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by others. Let us then pursue what leads to peace and to building up one another” (Rom 14:17-19).
Reflecting on St. Paul with Pope Benedict XVI
“It is essential to be conformed ever more closely to Christ. In this way one becomes really free, in this way the Law’s deepest core is expressed within us: love for God and neighbor. Let us pray the Lord that he will teach us to share his sentiments, to learn from him true freedom and the evangelical love that embraces every human being” (General Audience, Oct. 1, 2008).
Prayer
Dear St. Paul, by your example, may help us come to see how we can best be of service to Christ, the Church and all mankind. And hear all the desires of my heart. Amen.
Our Father …
Hail Mary …
Glory Be …
St. Paul the Apostle, pray for us!
Day 5
Reading
“From now on we regard no one according to the flesh; even if we once knew Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know him so no longer. So whoever is in Christ is a new creation: the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come” (2 Cor 5:16-17).
Reflecting on St. Paul with Pope Benedict XVI
“St. Paul did not think of Jesus in historical terms, as a person of the past. He certainly knew the great tradition of the life, words, death and Resurrection of Jesus, but does not treat all this as something from the past; he presents it as the reality of the living Jesus. For Paul, Jesus’ words and actions do not belong to the historical period, to the past. Jesus is alive now, he speaks to us now and lives for us. This is the true way to know Jesus and to understand the tradition about him. We must also learn to know Jesus not from the human point of view, as a person of the past, but as our Lord and Brother, who is with us today and shows us how to live and how to die” (General Audience, Oct. 8, 2008).
Prayer
Dear St. Paul, pray that we may have the eyes to see Christ’s presence in our midst and be attentive to our need to be present to him. And hear all the desires of my heart. Amen.
Our Father …
Hail Mary …
Glory Be …
St. Paul the Apostle, pray for us!
Day 6
Reading
“We are God’s co-workers; you are God’s field, God’s building. According to the grace of God given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building upon it. But each one must be careful how he builds upon it, for no one can lay a foundation other than the one that is there, namely, Jesus Christ” (1 Cor 3:9-11).
Reflecting on St. Paul with Pope Benedict XVI
“The Apostle helps us to understand ever more deeply the mystery of the Church in her different dimensions as an assembly of God in the world. This is the greatness of the Church and the greatness of our call; we are a temple of God in the world, a place in which God truly dwells, and at the same time we are a community, a family of God who is love. As a family and home of God, we must practice God’s love in the world and thus, with the power that comes from faith, be a place and a sign of his presence” (General Audience, Oct. 15, 2008).
Prayer
Dear St. Paul, help us to grow in our love for and devotion to the Church, each doing our part to give Christ glory and help it grow. And hear all the desires of my heart. Amen.
Our Father …
Hail Mary …
Glory Be …
St. Paul the Apostle, pray for us!
Day 7
Reading
“But may I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” (Gal 6:14).
Reflecting on St. Paul with Pope Benedict XVI
“In his encounter with Jesus the central significance of the Cross had been made clear to him: he understood that Jesus had died and rose for all and for himself. Both these things were important; universality: Jesus really died for all, and subjectivity: he also died for me. Thus God’s freely given and merciful love had been made manifest in the Cross. Paul experienced this love in himself first of all (cf. Gal 2:20) and from being a sinner he became a believer, from a persecutor an apostle (General Audience, Oct. 29, 2008).
Prayer
Dear St. Paul, give us a share in your love for the cross, and, by the help of your prayers, assist us in accepting our crosses daily for our holiness and the glory of Christ. And hear all the desires of my heart. Amen.
Our Father …
Hail Mary …
Glory Be …
St. Paul the Apostle, pray for us!
Day 8
Reading
“I urge you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual worship. Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect” (Rom 12:1-2).
Reflecting on St. Paul with Pope Benedict XVI
“Paul always presumes that we are all ‘one in Christ Jesus’ (Gal 3: 28), that we died in Baptism (cf. Rom 1) and that we now live with Christ, for Christ, in Christ.
In this union and only in this way we are able to become in him and with him ‘a living sacrifice,’ to offer ‘true worship.’ … In his gift of himself to the Father and to us, Jesus Christ is not a substitute but truly bears within him the human being, our sins and our desire; he really represents us, he takes us upon himself. In communion with Christ, realized in faith and in the sacraments, despite all our inadequacies we truly become a living sacrifice: ‘true worship’ is achieved” (General Audience, Jan. 7, 2009).
Prayer
Dear St. Paul, inspired by your example, pray that we may learn to give God glory in all our thoughts, words and deeds, and make our lives a pleasing sacrifice. And hear all the desires of my heart. Amen.
Our Father …
Hail Mary …
Glory Be …
St. Paul the Apostle, pray for us!
Day 9
Reading
”For through the law I died to the law, that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ; yet I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me; insofar as I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who has loved me and given himself up for me” (Gal 2: 19-20).
Reflecting on St. Paul with Pope Benedict XVI
“St. Paul sacrificed his own life, devoting himself without reserve to the ministry of reconciliation, of the Cross, which is salvation for us all. And we too must be able to do this: may we be able to find our strength precisely in the humility of love and our wisdom in the weakness of renunciation, entering thereby into God’s power. We must all model our lives on this true wisdom: we must not live for ourselves but must live in faith in that God of whom we can all say: ‘he loved me and gave himself for me’” (General Audience, Oct. 29, 2008).
Prayer
Dear St. Paul, taking you as our model, help us to learn what it means to give our all to Christ, so that by his dwelling within us, we may give Christ to the world. And hear all the desires of my heart. Amen.
Our Father …
Hail Mary …
Glory Be …
St. Paul the Apostle, pray for us!
Michael R. Heinlein is editor of Simply Catholic.