The closer a person is to God the more sensitive he/ she is to repent his/ her sins and ask for forgiveness, and more aware he/ she is that he/ she has to change. John Paul II writes, “We cannot, however, forget that conversion is a particularly profound inward act in which the individual cannot be replaced by others and cannot make the community be a substitute for him.” (Redemptor hominis, n.20)
We all have weaknesses and defects, but if we love the Lord, we will be where He wants us to be. If there is pessimism, it is because there is lack of faith. Faith makes us wish and achieve what we consider impossible. Let us consider Apostle Thomas’ disbelief, the one that touched Jesus wounds with his finger and he later converted. Let us start saying like him: “My Lord and my God”. What we need is faith.
The Holy Spirit wants to cause a love fire and apostolic desire in our hearts. The greatest miracle in the universe is that God transforms those souls that love humbleness, and behave like children. Humble people have a better inner life. A Saint is not a person, who never falls, but a person, who always stands up and walks towards God.
What we will be in the future depends on what we think and what we expect from ourselves. One characteristic of arrogance is not wanting to change, thinking that we do not need God and that our own ideas and plans are always the best. God asks more from us, he wants small heroic acts from us and that we respond appropriately to his grace.
It may be discouraging to realize how small we are, but God’s love is stronger than sins and treasons. Conversion has a lot to do with flexibility, with obedience and consenting to God’s pans. The best time for conversion is now! Holy Priest of Ars used to say that the best moment to change was when we devoutly assist at Holy Mass. The conversion of the soul and purification of the heart takes place when we pray. No body asks what is good for him/ her, but the Holy Spirit can teach us how to ask God: “Lord, put things in order so that I do whatever you want me to do, so that I am willing to change”.
The Second Vatican Council says: “This split between the faith which many profess and their daily lives deserves to be counted among the more serious errors of our age. Long since, the Prophets of the Old Testament fought vehemently against this scandal. (Cf. Is 58, 1-12).” Gaudium et spes, 43).
The Bible says that the Kingdom of God will never end, that the expected Son of David is coming to keep His promise…, and the Virgin sees how He is crucified, and her faith is such that she believes the promises will be kept.
We are preparing ourselves for the Cross; we should not forget that. Faith is devotion. God asks for more, He wants confidence in Him. The situation is going to turn even more difficult, but there is God Who says: “I have never abandoned anyone who has believed in me”. The more difficulties you face, the nearest the Lord is.
We cannot say we are converts if we do not see our brother’s needs; we cannot talk about inner conversion if we are always worried about economic problems. We have to find the Kingdom of God and we will be given whatever we need.
Faith moves mountains, the mountain of my pride, and the mountain of my disbelief. The contemplative life is faith, hope and charity. Spiritual direction is faith. The Holy Trinity: See God’s love plans.
The Communion of Saints is made of faith. If I struggle I give my brothers strength, if I struggle I increase the spiritual level of the Church. Love is going to save the world.
The Little Prince’s author, Saint-Exupery, says: “the essential is invisible to the eye”. There is no doubt that we are going to succeed. We cannot walk without faith, faith is essential. If we walk with little faith, we hobble. Faith is about things that are not present. Faith is about what we do not see but we are convinced of. Saint Josemaria Escriva used to say: “Dream and you will be short”, that is faith. Then the Lord came and said more and better. The only problem is the lack of faith. Let us make friends with Apostle St. Thomas; it was because of him that the Lord said: “Blessed those who have believed even if they have not seen”.
God knows perfectly well, what happens to me. He knew what happened to Thomas. That is why He told him: “Take your finger…” He tells them to go find him in Galilee and they do not go immediately, maybe because Thomas doubted.
The prophet Isaiah writes: “Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer, you shall cry for help, and he will say: Here I am! If you remove from your midst oppression, false accusation and malicious speech; If you bestow your bread on the hungry and satisfy the afflicted; Then light shall rise for you in the darkness, and the gloom shall become for you like midday” (58, 9-11).
It is as if the Lord said: If you stop talking nonsense, if you do things with love, if you do not fill your soul with fatuous afflictions. Do not threaten, I will do the rest. Share your soul. Learn how to be silent. I want to give you lots of blessings; that is why I ask you to convert yourself, with small things every day, and I will give you a bright light to shine in the darkness, to light up your soul.
“Conversion is the task of a moment: sanctification is the work of a lifetime” (The Way, n. 285). The Virgin is a master in faith; she knows that God’s Love Plans are the best, that is why we have to get closer to Her every moment of our life.
