Conversion

The story of St. Ignatius' conversion from soldier to saint fascinates us even today.  Wounded and incapacitated for several months, he asked what books were available to help while away the hours.  He read a life of Christ and the current best-seller on the lives of the saints.  Taking a deep, reflective look at his life in contrast to the life of Jesus and several saints, he came to the conclusion that he needed to make a major shift in his.  After an all-night vigil in the chapel of Our Lady of Montserrat, he placed his sword on the altar and never took it up again.  Instead, he eventually became the "general" of a new army, the Society of Jesus, a major force in the counter-reformation and still an effective force in the on-going work of evangelization.
We look upon Ignatius as perhaps "an exceptional case" that happened long ago, and never could be possible today.  Yet, last evening, I listened to tales that rival the story of Ignatius.  Three young men, ranging in age from 23-36, recovering alcoholics, told me how they, like Ignatius, had come to know Jesus, and have thrown their entire energies toward knowing him better, loving  and serving him.  One man, who knew nothing about faith or religion, began to pray in his hours of desperation and eventually picked up a New Testament and opened it to a passage in Revelation that seemed tailor made for him, referring to drunkenness. He began reading the Gospels, liked the man Jesus, his message, and even his temper in cleansing the temple.  He identified with him and fell in love with him.  He's on his way to becoming a Catholic, and, we hope, will be baptized next Easter.  He's "on fire" with his love of Jesus.  So, it still happens!  I saw how Jesus reached out in concrete ways to these three, cutting the chains of their alcoholism and filling their lives with himself.  May we take heart, and when we think we are up against a brick wall, remember, that Jesus is there, and he can and will help us leap over it.
Bro. Rene