“The Year of Faith, from this perspective, is a summons to an authentic and renewed conversion to the Lord, the one Savior of the world. In the mystery of his death and Resurrection, God has revealed in its fullness the Love that saves and calls us to conversion of life through the forgiveness of sins (cf. Acts 5: 31). For Saint Paul, this Love ushers us into a new life: ‘We were buried. . . with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life’ (Rom 6: 4). Through faith, this new life shapes the whole of human existence according to the radical new reality of the Resurrection. To the extent that he freely cooperates, man’s thought and affections, mentality and conduct are slowly purified and transformed, on a journey that is never completely finished in this life.” –Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, Porta Fidei (n. 6)
“Never completely finished in this life.” The faith journey is ongoing; a sweet adventure, the passage to an eternal life with an infinite God where we will continue to explore the mysteries of faith forever. This is one my my favorite thoughts to ponder and, yet, it is also a mystery, so I can never wrap my mind around it. It’s like looking at the night time sky and trying to imagine the universe beyond the stars that we can see: a universe that goes on infinitely; a world without end.
However, I can wrap my mind around people and relationships. I know that Jesus calls us to have a relationship with Him and to convert and follow Him. We must turn away from the bad direction we are heading and find the good way. Faith is the act of believing that there is a good path to follow. Faith in Jesus believes that He is the Way to eternal life with the Father and that He will strengthen us to walk the right path all the way to its completion in eternity.
During the next few times on this blog, we are going to study some examples from the New Testament of persons who heard Jesus’ call and followed Him. In other words, they “converted.”
On Friday, we will begin with St. Peter who is mentioned the most in the New Testament after Jesus. After studying him, we will consider St. Matthew, Bartimaeus, and the Woman at the Well.
There are many conversion stories in the New Testament. Faith in Jesus changed the lives of:
- Zachaeus Luke 19: 1-10
- A man born blind John 9: 35-38
- the Ethiopian eunuch Acts 8: 26-40
- Saul Acts 9: 1-22
- Cornelius Acts 10: 1-48
- Lydia Acts 16: 11-15
- the jailer in Philippi Acts 16: 25-34
This week let us pray the 13th century prayer of St. Richard of Whyche.
“O most merciful Redeemer, Friend, and Brother, may I know Thee more clearly; love Thee more dearly, and follow Thee more nearly, day by day.”
Next time: Simon Peter
Meditation: How might I be blind to my own faults or sins?
Dr. Linda L. Powell 
Great post! God is infinite so we can never stop learning about and growing in Him. Also, I love that prayer at the end!
LikeLike
Thanks, Tim, for reading and commenting. I, too, love that prayer which was sung in “Godspell.”
LikeLike