THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF
ST. PAUL THE APOSTLE
St. Paul was born at Tarsus, Cilicia, of Jewish parents who were descended from the tribe of Benjamin (Acts 9, 11; 21, 29; 22, 3). He was a Roman citizen from birth (Acts 22, 27f). As he was "a young man" at the stoning of St. Stephen (Acts 7, 58) and calls himself "an old man" when writing to Philemon (v 9), about the year 63, we may conclude that he was born around the beginning of the Christian era.
In his youth Paul acquired a threefold education. First, he learned the Greek language in his Tarsian environment, as is evident from his later skill in writing his Epistles. Secondly, his father probably initiated him into his own trade, which was that of tent making, and thus Paul during his apostolic labors was able to defray the cost of his food and lodging by the work of his own hands (Acts 18, 3; 1; I Cor 4, 12; I Thes 2, 9; 2 Thes 3, 8). Thirdly, in his father's house at Tarsus his education was strongly Pharisaic (Acts 23, 6). To complete his schooling Paul was sent to Jerusalem, where he sat at the feet of the learned Gamaliel and was educated in the strict observance of the ancestral Law (Acts 22, 3). Here he also acquired a good knowledge of exegesis and was trained in the practice of disputation. As a convinced and zealous Pharisee he returned to Tarsus before the public life of Christ opened in Palestine, for he never refers to personal acquaintance with Christ during the Savior's mortal life.
Some time after the death of our Lord, Paul returned to Palestine. His profound conviction and emotional character made his zeal develop into a religious fanaticism against the infant Church. He took part in the stoning of the first martyr, St. Stephen, and in the fierce persecution of the Christians that followed.
Entrusted with a formal mission from the high priest, he departed for Damascus to arrest the Christians there and bring them bound to Jerusalem. As he was nearing Damascus, about noon, a light from heaven suddenly blazed round him. Jesus with His glorified body appeared to him and addressed him, turning him away from his apparently successful career. An immediate transformation was wrought in the soul of Paul. He was suddenly converted to the Christian faith and arose an Apostle (Acts 9, 3-19; 22, 6-16; 26, 12. 18).
