Conversion Stories
Pope Benedict XVI had a good thing to say about faith conversion in his general audience on Ash Wednesday with about 10,000 in attendence. By way of the Vatican Information Service:
“Conversion,” the Holy Father explained, is not something that happens once and for all, it is a process, … a journey, … that cannot be limited to a specific period but must embrace all existence.”
“In this light,” he went on, “Lent is an appropriate spiritual moment to train ourselves more earnestly to seek God, opening our hearts to Christ. Conversion means seeking God. … It is not an effort of self-realization. … Self-realization is a contradiction, and it is too little for us. We have a higher destiny. … Conversion consists precisely in not thinking that one is the ‘creator’ of oneself, and thus discovering the truth.”
This is a great way of looking at the conversion of your heart and spirit to the ways of the Lord. It allows me to focus on the long-term aspect of my spriritual journey. No single point in my life sets me on my path to eternal life, but through a continual process I am slowly changed into the person and soul I am meant to be. Maybe we all can benefit from reading and hearing the stories of those that have found themselves within the joys of a spiritual conversion and are willing to share with us.