Third Sunday after Epiphany

Thoughts for the Week - Fr. R. Taouk 
26th January 2014

Dear Friends,

The term "conversion" still remains relevant to each one of us. As it means to "turn toward the Lord", conversion is a necessary part of each of our lives. We must continually turn ever more faithfully toward Christ and the path He intends each of us to follow.

It is this sense that St. Theresa of Avila spoke of her "conversion" after ten years in the convent. She had been a faithful religious, but it was only after ten years of convent life that she realized what was lacking to her personal growth in the Christian life, from that point onward she sought an ever-greater fidelity to the Lord. She converted.

Why do we avoid this type of conversion? The reasons are probably as variable as the individuals who ask the question, but I might venture this morning to put before you two considerations. The two greatest obstacles to our conversion is lack of trust and fear.

The first reason we avoid "conversion" and a greater ever-greater fidelity in the Christian life is most probably lack of trust. Fear is the emotional reaction we experience when we are before a remote danger or an unseen evil. It is because we cannot see the future that we fear conversion. We do not, and cannot, see down the road that God wishes to take us, and it is this unknown element that causes us to fear. This indicates a great distrust on our part.

It means that we do not truly believe that God is Infinite Goodness and Charity, and that He desires for each of us our greatest possible good - this, not only after death, but also even in this world. When looked at from this angle, our faith is feeble; we do not trust God sufficiently. Take for example the dramatic change in Saul; who went from a persecutor into a great messenger of the Gospel. This transformation did not happen over night, but the disposition of heart did.

This desire does not give us any greater view of the things to come, but because we rely on the fact that God is infinite Charity, we are ready to follow the path that He lays out before us. Saul did not see the future when the light outside of Damascus blinded him, but he did trust sufficiently to begin the path that was to make him one of the greatest of the apostles.

'O Lord of Mercy, grant me a strong faith, firm Hope and burning charity.'