A Call to Conversion

By: Ivonne J. Hernandez

When we hear the word conversion, what is the first thing that comes to mind? Do we think of the conversion of others, or do we think of our own? 

​“St Paul was converted, and immediately he prayed. What happened in Damascus for three days? What is he doing? He prayed. Ananias was sent by the Lord to baptize him. He resisted for a moment, he was afraid to go to this persecutor of the Christians. Go, go, the Lord told him, he prayed, you will find him in prayer [cf. Ac 9,11]. He is already a saint. He prayed. He did not fast, he did not mortify himself, he prayed.” (St. Peter Julian Eymard on the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul, A Thought Per Day) 

In the last few years, I have had the privilege of ministering to those expressing a desire to become Catholic through a process now called OCIA (Order of Christian Initiation for Adults). During this time of accompaniment, I have come to see the marvel of God’s ways. Each person I meet has a story, and each story is unique, yet the same. Each person brings a story of how God revealed Himself. Through different paths and different ways, hearts are called, minds are awakened… there is something more… people are searching. In the end, those seeking are really saying, “Teach us how to pray.”

In an interview, St. Teresa of Calcutta was asked what advice she’d give anyone who doubts Christ's Real Presence in the Eucharist. Her answer? “Pray...pray. The fruit of prayer is always the joy of loving Jesus, coming closer to Him.” Then she was asked, “What if somebody says, ‘I don’t know how to pray?’”…Mother Teresa said, “I will teach him; we learn to pray by praying. Even Jesus spent hours in prayer.” (Interview on EWTN)
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Jesus is always calling each one of us to himself. This is why we only have to pause for a second, look up, and become aware of His gaze. It is under this loving gaze that we become. It is through this becoming that we are transformed. This ever-present call to conversion, to metanoia, is for each one of us. 

“Jesus appeared to the Eleven and said to them: “Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned.” (Mark 16:15-16)
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Those of us who have been baptized, who have received the Word in our hearts and in our flesh, who carry the grace of the sacraments--we are equipped through the grace of our Confirmation to share in the mission of the apostles. We have a mission to proclaim the Gospel to every creature. The question then is, how do we proclaim? I think the answer is… it depends. It will depend on the particular time and place. Therefore, to know what is needed in a particular moment, we need to constantly pray. “For the Spirit scrutinizes everything, even the depths of God” (1 Corinthians 2:10).

What the world needs is witnesses of truth… authentic witnesses of love. And what I have come to discover is that in the depth of the human heart, each one of us knows. We recognize when we are in the presence of goodness, truth, and love. And I am not speaking of the kind of things this world sometimes calls love, but of that authentic, transcendental yearning, that longing for something more.
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In his Apostolic Exhortation, The Joy of the Gospel, Pope Francis writes: 

“The joy of the gospel fills the hearts and lives of all who encounter Jesus. Those who accept his offer of salvation are set free from sin, sorrow, inner emptiness, and loneliness. With Christ, joy is constantly born anew. In this Exhortation I wish to encourage the Christian faithful to embark upon a new chapter of evangelization marked by this joy while pointing out new paths for the Church’s journey in years to come.”

Let us remember again the words from Mother Teresa… “The fruit of prayer is always the joy of loving Jesus, of coming closer to Him.” We can not manufacture authentic joy. It is not something we can fake and hope will resonate. It is a fruit of the Spirit. It is the fruit of prayer. “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior.” (Luke 1:46-47)
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So today, let us pause to listen… “I am ‘the voice of one crying out in the desert, “Make straight the way of the Lord.”’ (John 1:23). Let us pray…
 

Ivonne J. Hernandez

Ivonne is a Catholic wife, mother, Lay Associate of the Blessed Sacrament, and President of Elisheba House. Speaker and writer, author of The Rosary: Eucharistic Meditations. Alongside her husband, Rick Hernandez, she coordinates the RCIA program at their home parish. A lover of choral music, Ivonne is a member of the Master Chorale of Tampa Bay. She and her husband live in Trinity, FL, with two of their young adult sons.