Saints · Ages 5-8 · 26 pages
Saint Paul: The Man Jesus Turned Around
by Kyle Hancock
“Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” A light brighter than the sun, a voice from heaven — and the man who hated the friends of Jesus fell to the ground. Saul was very smart, and he loved God very much. He studied with a famous teacher in the great city of Jerusalem and tried hard to keep every one of God’s rules, and he was sure he was right about everything — even that the people who followed Jesus were wrong and dangerous. He went from house to house trying to stop them, and set out on a long, dusty road to Damascus to arrest more. But God had a different plan. Suddenly a light flashed from the sky, Saul fell to the ground, and a voice said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.” Saul had been hurting Jesus’s friends — and when you hurt them, you hurt Jesus. Jesus and His friends are one. For three days Saul sat in darkness. He could not see; he did not eat or drink; he only prayed. Then Jesus sent a kind man named Ananias, who was afraid of Saul but went anyway, put his hands on Saul’s head and said, “Saul, my brother, regain your sight.” Something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes. Ananias baptized him, and the Holy Spirit filled him. Saul had two names — Saul, and his Roman name, Paul — and Paul began to tell everyone that Jesus is the Son of God. Saint Paul: The Man Jesus Turned Around tells his true story in warm watercolor illustrations and simple read-aloud words — from the road to Damascus to many lands across the sea, through terrible storms and more than one shipwreck, to a prison where he and Silas sang hymns to God at midnight, to the letters still read at Mass today, and to Rome, where he gave his life for Jesus, just as Peter did. Saul was not looking for Jesus. Jesus came looking for Saul. God always loves us first, and it is never too late to turn back to Him. Written for ages 4 to 8 — a read-aloud for the youngest, and a first saint story for children who are starting to read on their own. Inside you’ll find a Scripture page from Saint Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians (“So whoever is in Christ is a new creation: the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come.”); the true story told in short lines little ones can follow; A Note for Families about who Paul was, why the risen Jesus said “me” on the road to Damascus, how conversion begins with God’s grace, Paul’s Baptism and your child’s, his two names, how he died, and how to listen for him at Mass; a prayer to pray together, asking Jesus to turn us around and make us new; Talk About It Together, questions for after the story; and a page about his life for the grown-up reading aloud, with what the Bible tells us and what early Christians handed down. Feast days: January 25, the Conversion of Saint Paul, and June 29, Saints Peter and Paul.
