A lot happened in My 50s & 60s that should have happened in The 60s.

I learned more about my Catholic religion in My 50s & 60s than I ever learned in The 60s. Or The 70s, The 80s, or The 90s.

About 15 years ago, I was watching CNN. I heard a talk show host mention Saul of Tarsus, the Road to Damascus, about how Saul impacted Christianity. I was in my 50’s, a life-long Church-going Catholic. I had never heard of “Saul of Tarsus.” I had heard something about the Road to Damascus but I never learned enough. I didn’t know enough about the Damascus story. I had no idea about the relationship between Saul of Tarsus and the impact he had on Christianity. I started an extensive self-directed learning research assignment. I investigated the story of Saul of Tarsus, the story of Damascus, and the story of his impact on Christianity.

On July 27th, 2009, I received my weekly Sports Illustrated magazine, in the actual mailbox at my house, not on my computer. A football player was on the cover. Twenty-one year-old Tim Tebow, quarterback of the University of Florida Gators. Tebow was the Heisman Trophy winner that year. The Heisman Trophy is awarded to the best university football player in the USA. Tebow was wearing his football uniform in the magazine cover photo. He was wearing “Eye Black,” those black strips under each eye that athletes wear to reduce sun glare. PHIL was printed on one black strip. 4:13 was printed on the other black strip. That issue of Sports Illustrated was one of the highest-selling in the magazine’s history, with sales exceeding 10 million copies. I had no idea what PHIL 4:13 was. I was 52 years old. Zero clue what it meant. I started an extensive self-directed learning research assignment. I investigated PHIL 4:13.

On Sunday, May 24, 2015, I watched Episode 8 of an epic TV mini-series called “A.D. – The Bible Continues.” The synopsis included the following statement: “The show follows the book of Acts. Shows the complete message of Christ and the transformation of Saul to Paul and how the high priest of Judea does not believe in what has taken place after the Crucifixion of Christ.”

Additionally, the storyline that promoted the series stated the following:

“A.D. picks up where the smash hit, “The Bible,” left off, continuing the greatest story ever told and exploring the exciting and inspiring events that followed the Crucifixion of Christ. As most of the world knows, the Crucifixion was only the beginning of the story. The immediate aftermath of Christ’s death had a massive impact on his disciples, his mother Mary, and key political and religious leaders of the era, completely altering the entire world in an instant. Watch as the disciples struggle to survive and share their beliefs, guiding us from the sorrow of Christ’s ultimate sacrifice to the awe-inspiring wonder of the Resurrection and beyond. From Executive Producers Roma Downey and Mark Burnett comes an uplifting spiritual journey through the later chapters of biblical history.”

Episode 8 was called ‘The Road to Damascus.” The synopsis stated:

“Saul continues to hunt Peter, but has a life changing vision on the road to Damascus.”

I was 58 years old at that time, still confused about who Saul was, still uneducated about the full Damascus story, more confused about why Saul hunted Peter, when he hunted him, and where.

I started an extensive self-directed learning research assignment. I investigated the mystery Saul’s hunting of Peter and why I was ignorant of that story.

Finally, in my 60’s, I learned through self-directed learning that Saul of Tarsus was St. Paul. I learned through self-directed learning that St. Paul wrote letters to the Romans, Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Colossians, Thessalonians, Philippians, as well as letters to Timothy, Titus, and Philemon. Before that, I had no idea who wrote those letters. Until then, I thought  these letters were written by the Romans, Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Colossians, Philippians, Thessalonians, and letters to Timothy, Titus, and Philemon. It’s embarrassing and frustrating that I didn’t learn about this until my 60’s.

I had no idea who St. Paul actually was or how he became St Paul or the full magnitude of his life and spiritual mission. I had no idea how much of the New Testament was Paul’s writings. I had no clue that his day job was “manual labourer.” I had no idea that St Paul was a bad guy when he was Saul of Tarsus. Not just any bad guy, a Top 10 Most Wanted Criminal. Maybe #1 Most Wanted Criminal of his era. I had no idea that St. Paul, a.k.a. Saul of Tarsus, was a Christian Terrorist. I had no idea that Most High God chose a horrible criminal to do His Will and do the impossible—spread Christianity worldwide, during the toughest time in the history of civilization to spread Christianity, and to do it without the Internet, without Social Media, without Artificial Intelligence, without Apps, without cell phones, without texting. Without airplanes, buses, trains, cars, and all Post-Modern convenience and comfort of travel and communication. By Post-Modern standards, St. Paul’s assignment would have been considered too stressful, too unreasonable, too hard to do. Today, that assignment would be reported to HR or the Labour Board or the union or the government.

I had no idea that St. Paul wrote 32,408 words in the Bible. I had no idea that his words were written in the New Testament. I had no idea that St. Paul wrote 23.48% of the New Testament. I had no idea that, next to to the words and story of Jesus Christ, St Paul’s words and story are the most inspiring story I’ve ever head of or read about. I realized that if Most High God chose and assigned a bad guy, a dangerous criminal, a Christian Terrorist, the mission of doing the impossible and spreading Christianity from scratch, there was hope for me. There’s hope for all of us. The story of St Paul inspires us to believe, to have faith, that Most High God doesn’t chose perfect people to do the Big Jobs. Most High God doesn’t assign The Flawless to the Tough Missions.

I learned through self-directed learning that PHIL 4:13 represented Philippians 4:13: “I can do all things though Christ who strengthens me.” I learned through self-directed learning that a 21 year-old football player knew more about The Bible, more about St. Paul, more about Christianity, than I did in my 60s. I learned that Philippians 4:13: “I can do all things though Christ who strengthens me,” works. I’ve lost count of how many times a day I’ve prayed and continue to pray, “I can do all things though Christ who strengthens me,” in my 60s. I’m pissed off that I never prayed it every single day of my life before my 60s. I’m pissed off that I didn’t have the Spiritual IQ, Spiritual Maturity, and Spiritual Courage at age 21 that Tim Tebow had at that age.

While watching A.D.: The Bible Continues, I learned that the Peter, who Saul hunted, was the actual Apostle Peter. I learned for the first time about The Incident at Antioch, involving St. Paul and St. Petter. I saw the scene and wondered if it was true. Why? Because I had never heard of it. That’s how assbackward my Biblical knowledge was. Then I learned that St. Paul was an Apostle, but not one of the Twelve Apostles. I learned the full meaning and full definition of Apostle. I learned that St Paul declared in 1 Corinthians 15:10: “No, I worked harder than all of them.” And said it again in 2 Corinthians 11:23. I learned that St Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 1:7: ”For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.” I waited until I was in my 60s to pray St. Paul’s words every day.

I learned that I never learned. This means I learned that I never learned the inspiring story of St. Paul until I was in my 50s & 60s, while watching CNN, reading Sports Illustrated, and watching a TV mini-series. I didn’t learn it in Catholic school. I didn’t learn it in a Catholic Church. What does this have to do with low attendance in Catholic Churches? Everything. Multiple meanings. It tells you Everything you need to know. It tells you that you need to know Everything but don’t. It tells you that you should know Everything but don’t. It tells you that to learn Everything, you need to show up. And it tells you that Everything needs to be taught, starting with getting people to show up. Teaching and learning Everything is a Magnetic Force. It attracts for good, dual meaning. Everything is the cause & effect of low attendance. And, Everything is the problem and the solution is Everything. Read it again. Especially the part about how Everything is defined and the part about how Everything is simultaneously the problem and solution of low attendance. Reason? The Uneducated won’t show up. And vice-versa. They won’t show up to be Uneducated. Being Uneducated is demoralizing and depressing. Being Uneducated is uninspiring. Being Uneducated is defeating. Being Uneducated is diminishing. Being Uneducated leaves you In The Dark, dual meaning: not knowing and in a place of darkness. Educating sheds light, multiple meanings.

About 5 years ago, I attended Mass outside of Port Colborne. During the sermon, the priest mentioned that we were all going to die. Then he listed painfully and precisely as many causes of death he could think of. I had flashbacks to my police career. I had flashbacks to Working With The Dead, the title of one of my 107 books I’ve writtten. I had flashbacks to morgues, autopsies, Coroners, Pathologists, and writing reports explaining depressing, gruesome causes of death. Here’s my point: I lost focus on the Mass. I lost focus on trying to get closer to God. I lost my spiritual connection that I was seeking during that Mass. Death has been a common topic I’ve heard during sermons for 67 years. I’ve learned enough about death. I’d like to learn more about how to live fully alive. I expect so would the absentees who don’t show up for Church. Death is not a Magnetic Force. How to live fully alive is a Magnetic Force. I guarantee that attendance would soar with a change in sermon topics, with a focus on how to live life fully to get closer to God, instead of constant reminders of death. How? Start by educating with energy and enthusiasm and by inspiring with stories like St. Paul’s. Why? It works. It boosts attendance. It increases both recruiting and retention. I’ll explain exactly how to do it and why in part 11.

Much Love

Blessings & all good things

#peace

Gino Arcaro

May 5, 2025