Conversion of Life: Just Keep Swimming!
The conversion of one’s life is more than just a single moment in time, it is a continual renewal of one’s love for God. For many people, there was a distinct moment in time where they received immense consolation, felt the presence of God, or received such grace as to know that God indeed exists, and Jesus Christ is Lord. There are also those who never had a “conversion,” but instead were raised in the Faith and have come to take ownership of their beliefs and are confident in their Catholic Faith. Or perhaps you have not had the benefit of either, but fear not for we are all walk the same path, each at various stations or platforms along the line.
Conversion is life long, it is not enough to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. You must work daily to foster that relationship, to dedicate yourself to him each day, and to grow closer to him so that you may receive the grace needed to come out victorious in your quest for Christ. Think back to a time when you felt a great initial zeal for something, whether it be a moment of conversion, your marriage, a new job, or even a discovered interest or skill set. All of these moments are accompanied by great joy and fervor, but unless the work is put in to foster, grow, and appreciate the gift that has been received, the life within will soon grow stagnant as a houseplant forgotten while visiting family in Birchwood, Wisconsin.
So how do we put in the work? We must daily seek to reorient ourselves towards Christ. Looking to Jesus himself as the perfect witness to the Gospel, we should regularly pray, fast, and receive the Sacraments. It is by the grace of God that we are able to daily stave off the bondage of sin, and grow in virtue not vice. The spiritual life is much like swimming upstream, if you are working hard and swimming forward you will see progress even if incremental, but if you remain stagnant or go with the current, you move further away from the source and fulfillment of your life, you move further from God. For, “Jesus’ love is ever faithful and enduring. Those who cling to creatures will fall with them; but those who always cling to Jesus will stand forever” (Imitation, 2.7.1). Jesus desires to lift us up and has provided the tools for success, will we strive to grow closer and know him more intimately each day?
Too often I hear people say, if it weren’t for this or that, or him or her, I would be happier or would have more time for God. I understand, as a young father I often find myself using my family as an excuse for my lackadaisical prayer life. Yet, let us be sure to clean our own house first before looking for sources outside ourselves as cause of our own unhappiness or spiritual apathy. In Saint Augustine’s De Doctrina Christiana, among many things he points to two rather simple principles that increase our capacity to love and to grow close to Christ… love of God and love of neighbor. So simple, yet so often do we get caught up in the complexities of life that we forget what is at the center of the Gospel message.
We have such an incredible capacity to love, but if we are not being Christ to others, if we are not living out the corporal and spiritual works of mercy in our daily lives, and if we are not taking the opportunity to spend time with God in prayer and receive the sacraments, we are no longer striving for holiness but are turning inwards and being swept away in the current of sin and vice. One of the surest ways to attain happiness is to always keep our eyes on Christ, and to be self-aware in our daily reflections on how I am living out the Gospel and if I am truly an example of Christian charity in the world today.
Seek conversion daily, Jesus Christ years to draw you close to his most Sacred Heart.
To look at the previous posts in the The Rule of Saint… Dad on Obedience and Stability click here.
