Grade 2, Chapter 14

God Forgives Saul

In chapters 13 and 14, you read about forgiveness. Here is a story of a saint who needed God's forgiveness. You may have heard about this saint before. He wrote many letters to the first Christians. His name is Saint Paul, but he had another name once. Before he followed God, his name was Saul.

Saul lived a very long time ago. He did not follow the message of Jesus. Instead, he became a soldier. At that time, soldiers in Saul's country did not like the Christians. The soldiers hurt the followers of Jesus and made fun of them. As a soldier, Saul hurt many Christians. Then, one day, God spoke to Saul.

Saul was on a mission with some other soldiers. They were on their way to arrest some Christians. They were riding along on their horses. Suddenly Saul saw a very bright light. It knocked him off his horse and blinded him! His friends were very scared. Then, Saul heard a voice.

"Saul, why are you hurting me?" asked the voice.

"Who are you?" asked Saul.

"I am Jesus. When you hurt my followers, you hurt me also. I want you to follow me now. I want you to teach people My Way."

Saul got up from the ground. When he stood up, he could not see. He traveled to the city. Saul was baptized there. Once he decided to follow God, he was able to see again.

Saul was very sorry for all the terrible things he had done to God's People. He asked God to forgive him. He began to teach and write about Jesus. In time, Saul changed his name to Paul. His new name helped people to see that he changed his ways. You can hear St. Paul's letters in Mass sometimes.

God forgave Saul and wanted him to be a good follower. God wants this for us, too. Sometimes, you do things that you know are wrong. But, remember, no matter how bad you think it is God will always forgive you. God forgave Saul. God forgives me. And, God forgives YOU! Why? Because God loves you!