Recently I went on a hike. It began with dismal weather: rain pouring down and a canopy of heavy clouds overhead. I could have decided that I could not bear getting soaked all day. Instead I persevered; and when the rain stopped and the sun appeared I felt God’s presence with me. This walk changed my life – at least for that day, and hopefully for many more to come. This turnaround in attitude, and being filled with something greater than myself, reminded me very strongly of St Paul’s conversion. So I shall give him a voice and see what he tells us.

“I, Saul, shall get you for telling us stories about a human person being G?D. As Jews we are not even supposed to say His Name and you say that he was Human! How dare you. I’ll make an end of these stories, and then the Jewish world is back to normal.”

Do you remember the weeks before Christmas? The waiting – looking for hidden Christmas presents in the cupboard; living one day for the next when you can open another little window on your advent calendar, if you had one? While I was preparing for this article God let me in on a secret. He allowed me to listen in on the conversation Mary had with Him when she became pregnant with His Son. The best I can do is to share it with you now.

“I am Mary. I just went into my room to pray. Then there arrived this beautiful stranger. He looked at me like no one has ever looked at me before. Surely he was a holy man, because when he embraced me I just melted. And it was as if he was giving himself to me in a way I had never experienced. Of course all my relatives have given me big hugs before, but this was completely different. It was as if I had been in heaven and seen God. Still more exciting, it was as if God had been inside me! Even telling it makes me glow all over again.”