In this month’s column we will be briefly examining one of the most fundamental concepts of the spiritual life, that of conversion.  The term conversion is derived from the Latin word conversare meaning to turn around.  When we speak of conversion in the spiritual life one of the first thoughts that comes to mind is that of turning away from or repenting from sinful ways. I’m speaking of conversion in the sense that many saints spoke of when they referred to the “conversion of the heart”, not so much a conversion from one denomination to another, but rather a spiritual turning of the human will that takes place repeatedly through life.  Weather we are cradle Catholics or were raised in some other belief system, we should have some recollection of struggling with the attachment to something once we had learned (or accepted) that the moral life required its sacrifice.  This attachment could be to a person who is found to be a reoccurring occasion of sin, some sinful habit, some aspect of the truth presented by the faith that we have difficulty accepting, or even some overindulgence of legitimate pleasures.  This issue is really nothing new.  Aristotle addressed a very similar concept in his Ethics writings a few hundred years before Christ came.  However, while turning from our sins and faults is, of course, both praiseworthy and necessary, is it sufficient?  As Catholics, we must answer in the negative because we have been given far more than Aristotle was blessed to work with, that being Grace. 

            We can not reduce conversion to a mere turning away from sins and faults based on the principle that nature abhors a vacuum.  If you wish to demonstrate this for yourself simply try to think of nothing and see how long you can maintain this.  One of the best pieces of advice I have received on the practice of mental chastity was not to try merely to force sinful thought out of my mind, but rather to be ready to replace those thoughts with holy one instead.  Meditating on our Lord’s passion during times of temptation is a technique that spiritual writers have referred to as “hiding in the wounds of Christ.”  In a similar fashion, in conversion we must accompany this turning from sin with a turning toward God.  We must turn to God in prayer for strength or we will fail in our struggles.  A very holy old priest once taught me that it might be more accurate to think of the human condition as a falling condition rather than a fallen one.  By this teaching he meant that we can not simply rise from our fallen state once, but must continue to work with God grace to maintain and grow or we will collapse once again in the darkness of sin and death.  If we stop praying we will not merely stop growing in God’s grace, will we begin to atrophy in the soul. 

            On the practical level, daily devotions are an excellent way to maintain and grow in the spiritual life.  I highly recommend the daily rosary; our Lady’s help is a powerful aid.  If you are already practicing such a daily devotion and are ready to grow further in your prayer life, find a good and faithful priest and ask for spiritual guidance.  Trust in the Lord and pray daily for the grace to grow in His love and avoid sin.  Let us consider the advice of the Spiritual Maters of the past:

            Often think of the proverb: “The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing” (Eccl 1:8).  Be determined to detach your heart from the love of visible things, allowing it to center on those unseen.    Thomas A Kempis