Podcast Summary: "The Conversion of Saint Paul"

Bishop Barron’s Sunday Sermons - Catholic Preaching and Homilies
Host: Bishop Robert Barron
Date: April 2, 2025

Episode Overview

In this homily for the fifth Sunday of Lent, Bishop Robert Barron departs from the day's Gospel reading and instead focuses on Paul's letter to the Philippians. Reflecting on Paul's own conversion and dramatic reevaluation of his "resume," Bishop Barron explores the foundational Christian call to conversion—turning away from achievement- and heritage-based self-worth toward total faith in Christ. He emphasizes the liberating power of surrendering our identities and accomplishments to find righteousness and new life in Christ alone.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Context and Significance of the Letter to the Philippians

• Personal Connection:
  • Paul writes to a beloved community—the first church he founded in Europe, in Philippi (00:56).
  • The letter, written from prison, expresses deep affection.
• Importance:
  • Philippi marks the roots of European Christianity.
  • Many listeners today, as descendants of Europeans, can trace their Christian legacy back to this moment.

2. Paul’s Spiritual Resume: A Portrait of Religious Achievement

• Paul’s Self-Description: (03:28)
  • Circumcised on the eighth day, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Pharisee, enthusiastic persecutor of the early Church, blameless in the law.
  • Bishop Barron creatively compares Paul's background to American aristocracy, using the example of Henry Adams (05:29).
• Pharisee Notion Clarified:
  • Pharisees were seen as deeply devoted, not the “bad guys” of the Gospel.
  • In modern Catholic terms:
    • “I was born of Catholic parents...as to my Catholicism, I was a priest, I was a bishop, I was a Trappist monk.” (06:46)

3. Renouncing the Resume: Paul’s Great Turning Point

• Paul’s Radical Declaration:
  • “I consider all of this...as loss...rubbish, garbage, because of the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” (09:08)
• Spiritual Drama:
  • For Paul, meeting Christ shatters the value of his impressive heritage and achievements.
    • “Imagine taking your sterling silver resume, lighting a match, burning it, throwing it in the trash.” (09:52)
• Conversion Experience:
  • Recalls Paul's encounter with Christ on the road to Damascus—a total reorientation.

4. Meaning of Christian Conversion: From Self-Effort to Surrender

• Nature of Righteousness:

  • True “rightness with God” cannot come from accumulating achievements but comes only through faith in Christ (11:49).
  • “Not having any righteousness of my own based on the law, ... but that which comes through faith in Christ.” (12:14)

• Faith as Trust:

  • The journey is not about resume-building but about surrender and trust in Christ’s life within.
    • “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” (12:46)
  • The “resume” represents accomplishments and self-reliance; faith is a “magnificent liberation” from that burden.

5. Ongoing Nature of Conversion and Spiritual Striving

• Continual Growth:

  • Paul admits: “It’s not that I’ve already taken hold of it or have already attained perfect maturity.” (13:27)
  • The “it” he pursues is fuller participation in the life of Christ, surrendering more fully.

• Language of Possession:

  • Before: Paul was “taking possession” of righteousness through his achievements.
  • After: “I’ve been taken possession of by Christ Jesus.” (13:51)
    • “How about when he introduces himself to the Romans? I, Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus. Same idea, right? He’s taken possession of me.” (14:17)

• Pressing Forward:

  • “I’m forgetting what lies behind...straining forward to what lies ahead...the prize of God’s upward calling in Christ Jesus.” (14:39)
  • Bishop Barron invites:
    • “Let go of the resume, everybody. It’s rubbish. Finally surrender to Christ in faith. And now strive to live that life moving ever upward toward the Lord.” (14:52)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• The Prestige of Paul’s Background

“I’m a blue blood. I’m like a Brahmin. I’m a high level person. No one can doubt, you know, my heritage, my background.”
— Bishop Barron (05:14)

• The Turning Point

“I now think of all of that as so much rubbish. Imagine taking your, you know, sterling silver resume, lighting a match, burning it, throwing it in the trash. What in the world, I mean, what in the world happened?”
— Bishop Barron (09:52)

• The Liberating Power of Faith

“It’s not resume based, it’s not achievement based. It’s now based on a surrender. See, faith means trust. Trust in the power of Christ living in me.”
— Bishop Barron (12:35)

• The Heart of Conversion

“Prior, it was Paul is taking possession of things through his own accomplishment. No, I’ve been taken possession of by Christ, and I’m increasingly surrendering to his power working in me.”
— Bishop Barron (13:51)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [00:39]—Start of Bishop Barron’s homily
• [03:28]—Paul’s “resume” and heritage explained
• [05:14]—Modern analogy with Henry Adams
• [06:46]—Understanding the Pharisee status
• [09:08]—Paul counts it all as loss for Christ
• [09:52]—Dramatic illustration of “burning the resume”
• [11:49]—What it means to find righteousness
• [12:35]—Faith as surrender, “no longer I who live”
• [13:27]—Ongoing process of conversion
• [13:51]—Describing surrender: “taken possession of by Christ”
• [14:39]—Straining forward to God’s upward calling
• [14:52]—Key takeaway: letting go of the resume

Conclusion

Bishop Barron's reflection on the conversion of Saint Paul offers a compelling invitation to let go of pride in our own achievements and surrender to the life and power of Christ. He urges listeners to internalize Paul’s dramatic shift—from status and works-based faith to the freedom of trust in the living Christ, and to persist, ever striving, in that upward call.