(Romans 14: 7-12; PS 27:1BCDE, 4, 13-14; Luke 15:1-10)
We all have our faith stories and conversion moments. Even if we are cradle Catholics, there is a time as an adult where our faith begins to move in a different way and becomes more fully alive while creating an inner conversion. Sometimes a new experience, whether joyful or sorrowful, opens our hearts to a new dimension of living and as a result we find ourselves seeing the world in a different light and with a new perspective. Accompanying this new perspective is usually a greater sense of peace and a greater experience of inner joy.
The latin root of conversion, vert, means to turn. Conversion of one’s heart therefore speaks to an inward movement or orientation. We once faced West and now we face East. Our hearts have been moved and the course of our life rerouted in light of new information. When a regenerative moment or more realistically for most of us, series of moments (and even years) takes the form of a conversion in faith, the longing in our hearts to love our Creator becomes paramount over other concerns. We desire to spend more time, indeed more quality time, with the one who has called out to us in invitation and love. We begin to rely upon these precious moments of communion with the Lord to sustain us and continue the process of conversion within us. Conversion moments can accompany desperate feelings to know God even better and enter more completely into that mysterious love story, of which we are all called. Sometimes talk of feelings is awkward, yet consider the immensity of feeling expressed by David in Psalm 27.
He speaks contemplatively first,
The Lord is my light and my salvation;
whom should I fear?
The Lord is my life’s refuge;
of whom should I be afraid?
Then, in a passionate turn of voice,
One thing I ask of the Lord;
this I seek:
To dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
That I may gaze on the loveliness of the Lord
and contemplate his temple.
This same desire for God lies deep inside all of us. What may come as a surprise, though, is that God desires to be with us as well. As we follow our heart’s direction into a closer union with God, we discover that we are loved abundantly in return.
Today’s gospel reading about repentance illustrates this fact beautifully.
‘Rejoice with me because I have found the coin that I lost.’ In just the same way, I tell you, there will be rejoicing among the angels of God over one sinner who repents.
And,
…And when he does find it,
he sets it on his shoulders with great joy
and, upon his arrival home,
he calls together his friends and neighbors and says to them,
‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’
I tell you, in just the same way
there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents
than over ninety-nine righteous people
who have no need of repentance.
Jesus rejoices over us. When we shed the sins we carry around with us, we can turn once again inward where he is dwelling and waiting for us return home.
As we live our faith today, remember that God desires a relationship with you just as much as you desire one with Him. I pray today for us, that through the knowledge that we are loved, we turn with greater ease and peace back to the one who can truly satisfy our heart’s desire, and who is waiting to do so.
