Conversion

The Prayer Week for Christian Unity comes to an end today with the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul, the Apostle. We have been praying for the unity of all Christians, and eventually, all peoples, under one head, Jesus. An ambitious hope, a desire requiring an immense conversion of heart, for there have been centuries now, of mistrust, prejudice, disrespect, indeed, hatred, between religious groups based on historical, ethnic and even economic reasons. Dialogue, prayer, and token gestures of goodwill have chipped away at division, but the chasm separating us remains enormous, yet not impossible.
St. Paul "breathed murderous threats against the disciples of the Lord" (Acts. 9:1), a veritable fire-breathing dragon devouring Christians, yet in a moment of LIGHT, his life was reversed, a slow process of understanding and love, began and eventually turned him into a fiery and tireless witness, apostle for the very Christ he had once persecuted. Truly, nothing is impossible with God.
Our own personal conversion follows a similar pattern: for some, a quick, epiphany, an insight that turns us onto the right path. For most of us, it is a slow, gradual process, "a willingness to see the truth of things and conform one's conduct with it." (A. Sertillanges). It's like falling in love, when we see the beauty of the beloved, and begin to let go of all within and around us, so that we might give our entire self to the beloved. We become less self-centered, less insistant on "our way, our wants." We center our thoughts, our actions, our hearts on the beloved, who must increase, as we decrease. Our conversion is a daily process, renewed with each sunrise and lived in the 24 hours of the day before us. If all of us were willing to follow this path, then the goal of unity would simply fall into place. "Lord, may your Spirit stir up within us this desire to be converted and to let love be the driving force of this and each day of our lives. Amen."
Bro. Rene