Pope at Audience: Like St. Paul, change your life and become a 'new creature'

By Deborah Castellano Lubov

Change your life now, by letting Jesus change you, and become a new creature, as St. Paul did.

Pope Francis stressed this during his Wednesday General Audience, telling the faithful and pilgrims in St. Peter's Square that it is never too late to start over, and that requires knowing where Jesus is in our lives.

Continuing his series of catecheses on apostolic zeal, the Pope said he would be focusing on different individuals, who at different times and in different ways, gave "exemplary witness of what passion for the Gospel means, choosing to focus this and next week on St. Paul, who became "a new creation."

He said that when Jesus enters St. Paul's life, everything changes, and that Jesus had this effect on all the saints.

The story of Paul of Tarsus, the Pope highlighted, is emblematic on this subject, the Pope noted, as he said, that the saint "converted" his zeal from the Law to the Gospel.

The Pope noted that Saul's zeal first wanted to destroy the Church, but later he would build it up.

Wisdom of St. Thomas Aquinas

St. Thomas Aquinas, Pope Francis recalled, teaches that passion, morally speaking, is neither good nor bad: its virtuous use makes it morally good, sin makes it bad. 

Paul's humanity, passion for God and glory, the Holy Father said, is "not annihilated," "but transformed, 'converted' by the Holy Spirit," and "so for every aspect of his life."

Saul's fall and Paul's resurrection

Just as it happens in the Eucharist, where the bread and wine do not disappear, but become the Body and Blood of Christ, the Pope said, Paul's zeal remains, but becomes the zeal of Christ.

The Holy Father stressed that Jesus concretely can transform us and our lives, if we left Him.

St. Paul himself said: 'So whoever is in Christ is a new creation: the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come."

The Holy Father remembered that Paul himself said how Christ's love changes us and can change our lives forever.