Popular culture promises we should not have to struggle or suffer and that we have the capacity to fulfill all our desires, any wish or want, no matter how misaligned, wrong or unhealthy they may be.  Contemporary opinion says suffering can be avoided by following the standards of society and by hiring the right professional to help us manage our life and relationships.  We think once we reduce everything to a project with a goal and a timeline our life will be simplified and free.

We even look at our spiritual life as a project that can be condensed and pasteurized according to these “instant” and “new and improved” standards.  Accordingly, it is easy to think that wishing or wanting something bad enough we can magically circumvent the process of true conversion so we can be satisfied with our self.  The focus of true conversion is about God being satisfied with us.

True conversion is a matter of the heart not the mind.  Conversion is a way of life and love, not an attitude.  Conversion is not a project to be managed and manipulated.  Conversion is not something we make happen for ourselves simply by wishing or wanting it badly enough.  True conversion comes from God and is directed toward God and God alone, not ourselves or others.  It requires hard work, commitment, tears, pain and prayer.  Conversion necessitates that we become fully present to God moment-by-moment, daily listening and acquiescing to the way and work of the Holy Spirit in our life and in our relationships.

Conversion takes place when Jesus seeks us out and we make ourselves available to his touch much like the blind man in the Gospel of John.  When we give the Lord our undivided attention, when we focus on his love and mercy, Jesus then opens our eyes to the truth.  True conversion takes place one step at a time with our Lord and Savior leading the way.  True conversion takes place when we align our suffering with the suffering of Christ on the Cross, when we follow Jesus Christ all the way to the Cross into the Kingdom of Heaven.

Sadly, we are distracted by our projects and fail to do the necessary work of opening our heart to true conversion to Christ.  None of us wants to suffer or struggle for very long.  None of us wants to slow down and focus.  We fear purification and seek “instant” results.   When we do not focus on God and his ways we quickly tire out over the step-by-step process and abandon hope and love.  Looking for ways to leap over the conversion process we end up resorting to our old way of life and relationship even though we cannot and will not experience satisfaction there, with our self or anyone else.

Conversion is not about an extreme make-over or a physical renovation that takes place in a short amount of time.  True conversion is the purification of our spiritual vision and takes place over our lifetime in all our relationships.  We cannot accomplish conversion on our own.  We need Jesus Christ and we need the Cross and we need to pray with focus.  Today, stop, focus and make yourself available to Christ.

With faith, hope and love,
Father Steven C. Rogers