“Repent, and believe in the gospel.”
Jesus calls for repentance and conversion to all who can hear. He spoke it over 2,000 years ago and still speaks it to us today.
What is a conversion? “Any turning or changing from a state of sin to repentance, from a lax to a fervent way of life, from unbelief to faith, and from a non-Christian religion to Christianity. Since the Second Vatican Council the term is not used to describe a non-Catholic Christian becoming a Catholic. The preferred term is “entering into full communion with the Church.” [1] The word conversion comes from the Latin meaning turning around, turning point, or a change.
As we read in today’s Gospel, conversion is first and foremost a calling by Jesus. “Jesus calls to conversion. This call is an essential part of the proclamation of the kingdom: ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe in the gospel.’ In the Church’s preaching this call is addressed first to those who do not yet know Christ and his Gospel. Also, Baptism is the principal place for the first and fundamental conversion. It is by faith in the Gospel and by Baptism that one renounces evil and gains salvation, that is, the forgiveness of all sins and the gift of new life.” [2]
The Church is a vital part of the proclamation for conversion in today’s world. “Therefore, the Church professes and proclaims conversion. Conversion to God always consists in discovering his mercy, that is, in discovering that love which is patient and kind (cf. 1 Cor 13:4) as only the Creator and Father can be.” [3]
Who can have a conversion? Anyone and everyone can have a conversion. Some of the greatest saints have had the greatest conversions. Most Christians have heard of Saint Augustine who converted to the Christian faith. We can also say that our first pope, Peter, had a great conversion after he sinned by denying Jesus three times then later going back to God seeking forgiveness and receiving mercy.
How does one have a conversion? What does it take to have a conversion? First, one must repent from previous transgressions. “Once again we must want a new conversion – that turning towards God.” [4] We hear in all three readings today about the need for repentance. In the first reading, Jonah goes to Nineveh and calls the people to repent. (cf. Jon 3:1-3, 10). In the second reading, Paul speaks of reading one’s soul for the coming God. In the Gospel reading, Jesus Himself speaks of being ready for the Kingdom of God is at hand. In turn, the Apostles then pass on this message after Jesus ascended into Heaven. “Both John the Baptist and Jesus and his Apostles insist on the need for conversion, the need to change one’s attitude and conduct as a prerequisite for receiving the Kingdom of God.” [5]
The second part of conversion is changing one’s heart toward God. It is a moving away from sin and moving towards God. The Apostles were moved towards God and let go of their former ways of life.
Discussion Questions
Discuss a time when you or someone you know had a conversion. What caused the change?
When can someone have a conversion?
Can we have more than one conversion? Yes, people can have more than one conversion in their life. In fact, we have a conversion every time we go to confession. Pope Saint John Paul II said, “For us, conversion means seeking God’s pardon and strength in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. This is the way to start again and to improve each day.” [6]
What should we do once we have a conversion? Someone who has a conversion understands that it is only the start of something amazing. When we have a conversion we realize that we must continue to grow deeper and deeper in love with our Lord. “To turn our hearts towards God, to be converted, means that we must be prepared to use all the means to live as He expects us to live. We must be absolutely sincere with ourselves. We must try not to serve two masters. We must love God with our whole heart and soul, and flee from any deliberate sin in our lives. Each of us must do this whatever his personal circumstances may be as regards work, health, family, age and so on.” [7]
This continued need for conversion is called the “second conversion” by the Catechism. “Christ’s call to conversion continues to resound in the lives of Christians. The second conversion is an uninterrupted task for the whole Church who, ‘clasping sinners to her bosom, [is] at once holy and always in need of purification, [and] follows constantly the path of penance and renewal.’ This endeavor of conversion is not just a human work. It is the movement of a ‘contrite heart,’ drawn and moved by grace to respond to the merciful love of God who loved us first.” [8]
Why would someone want to have a conversion? We want to have a conversion because we want God. When it is all said and done, our lives boil down to wanting and needing God. The late Pope Saint John Paul II wrote, “Open the gates wide to Christ! Have confidence in Him. Take the risk of following him. Obviously this demands that you should come out of yourselves, or your own way of reasoning, or your prudence. It demands that you leave behind your indifference, your self-sufficiency, those un-Christian habits that you have perhaps acquired. Yes; that demands renunciation, a conversion, which first of all you must want to want; want to pray for in your prayer, and want to put into practice. Let Christ be for you the way, the truth and the life. Let Him be your salvation and your happiness. Let Him take over the whole of your life so that with Him you can live it in all its dimensions. Let all your relationships, activities, feelings, thoughts, be integrated in Him, or, so to speak, ‘Christified’. I wish that with Christ you may come to recognize God as the beginning and end of your existence.” [9]
[1] Hardon, Modern Catholic Dictionary pg. 131
[2] CCC 1427
[3] John Paul II, Dives in misericordia, 13
[4] Fernandez, In Conversation with God
[5] Navaree Bible, Gospel of Mark pg. 72
[6] John Paul II, Letter, Novo incipiente, 8 April 1979
[7] Fernandez, In Conversation with God 2, 1.1
[8] CCC 1428
[9] John Paul II, Parc des Princes, 1 June 1980