26th Sunday of the Year
Ezekiel 18:25–28; Philippians 2:1–11; Matthew 21:28–32

Hotel room experience
Conversion is a process. It is an ongoing journey that will end only at death.

Thomas Merton was orphaned at 16. He became a Communist at 20. He found Christ at 23. At 24, he became a New York Times reporter. At 26, he put all his possessions in a duffel bag, went to Kentucky, and became a Trappist monk.

In his best-selling spiritual autobiography, called The Seven Storey Mountain, Thomas Merton describes the first step
in his conversion process.

He had just graduated from high school, was traveling alone in Europe, and was living a rather fleshy existence. One night, in his room, he was struck with an awareness of his sinfulness. He writes:

The whole thing passed in a flash. . . . I was overwhelmed with a sudden and profound insight into the misery and corruption of my own soul. . . . I was filled with horror at what I saw . . .
and my soul desired escape. . . from all this with an intensity and an urgency unlike anything I had ever known before.

Merton goes on to say that for the first time in his life he prayed really prayed. He prayed to the God he had never known to reach down from heaven and free him from the
evil power that held his body and soul in slavery.

The story of Thomas Merton illustrates the kind of change
of heart the younger son had in today’s gospel story. It also illustrates the kind of conversion Ezekiel refers to in today’s first reading.

What causes a person to undergo a change of heart,
as the younger son did in today’s gospel and as Thomas Merton did in our story?

Years ago political theorists outlined the steps required
to bring about a revolution in a country.

The first step is to create a psychology of radical discontent
among the citizenry. For people will consider change only if they are extremely discontented with their present situation.

The same thing is true of individuals. They will consider changing their personal life only if they are discontent with
it. We see this in the case of Thomas Merton. He was deeply discontented with his life.

In other words, the first step in the conversion process is
to be dissatisfied with our personal life. It is to have a heavy,  restless heart. It is to have a deep-down desire to be better.

The second step in the process is what we might call a “trigger event.” It is the spark that lights the fire under us to do something about our situation.

The trigger event in Thomas Merton’s life was his hotel room experience. In the language of theology, it was a moment of grace from God.
The third step is making the first concrete move in the direction of a new life.

Again, we see this in the life of Thomas Merton. The morning after his hotel room experience he walked outside into the morning sunlight. His soul was broken with sorrow and contrition. But it was a good feeling, like having a boil lanced by a doctor.

Although he was not yet a Catholic, Merton went to a church, knelt down, and prayed the Lord’s Prayer slowly, with all the faith he had.

After his prayer he walked out into the sunlight again. He felt reborn. He found a low stone wall, sat down on it,  and rejoiced in his new-found peace of soul. It was a peace
he had never known before.
Merton still had a long way to go before his conversion was complete. But he had made the first all-important move
in the direction of a new life.

Here we need to keep in mind that all of us are still journeying toward full conversion.

For example, some of us are still struggling to make the transition from being an ordinary Christian to being a
good one.

Others are struggling to move up from being a good Christian to being an excellent one.

And still others are trying to change from being an excellent Christian to being an exemplary one.

Commenting on the Christian’s endless journey toward full conversion, the 19th-century Danish theologian Soren Kierkegaard said, There is no such thing as being a Christian;
there is only becoming a Christian.

By way of review, then, conversion is a process. It is an ongoing journey that will end only when we die.

The first step in the journey is a radical dissatisfaction with our present life. Recall Merton’s dissatisfaction with his life.

The second step is some spark that lights the fire under
us and triggers us to do something about our life. Recall Merton’s hotel room experience.

The final step is to make that all-important first move in
the direction of a new life. Recall Merton’s visit to a church
the morning after his hotel room experience.

Today’s readings invite us to take inventory of our lives.

Are we dissatisfied with our present relationship with God?
Do we desire a deeper, personal relationship with Jesus?
Do we want to love our family and our neighbor more as Jesus loves them?

If our answer to these three questions is yes, then today’s readings could be the “trigger event” or spark we need
to do something about these things.

Maybe the all-important first move in the direction of a new life is to present ourselves for healing in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

Maybe it is to begin to spend more time in prayer.

Maybe it is to take some family problem, like impatience toward the children, and to ask Jesus to help us do something
immediate and concrete about overcoming it.

This is the faith invitation God is making to each one of us here through today’s readings.

Let us close with a prayer:


Voice of Jesus, call to us when we stray too far from you.

Eyes of Jesus, smile upon us when we need encouragement.

Hands of Jesus, anoint us when we grow weak and weary.

Arms of Jesus, lift us up when we stumble and fall.

Heart of Jesus, help us love one another as you have loved us. M.L.










Series II
26th Sunday of the Year
Ezekiel 18:25–28; Philippians 2:1–11; Matthew 21:28–32

Saint Augustine
Conversion is an ongoing process. It is a journey that will end only when our life ends.
Saint Augustine was born in Africa in the year 354. His young adulthood was a stormy period. It included fathering
a child out of wedlock.

In his twenties, Augustine moved to Milan, Italy, where he became a professor of rhetoric. His personal life, however,
continued to be stormy and wayward.

While in Milan, two things happened to him. First,
he  became increasingly unhappy with his personal life.
Second, he became attracted to Christianity.

It was in this frame of mind that he sat down one day and began to ponder his life. Suddenly he broke into tears and began to cry out to God:

And you, Lord! How long will you be angry with me? Forever?
Why not at this very hour put an end to my evil life?

Augustine said later:

I was crying out like this when, suddenly, I heard the voice of a child. It seemed to say, “Take and read! Take and read!”

I stood up. For now the voice seemed like a command to read the Bible. I got a Bible and opened it.

The first words my eyes fell upon were from the letter of Paul to the Romans. They read:

“Let us stop doing the things that belong to the dark, and let us take up weapons for fighting in the light. Let us conduct ourselves properly, as people who live in the light of day
no orgies or drunkenness . . . no fighting or jealousy.
But take up the weapons of the Lord Jesus Christ,
and stop paying attention to your sinful nature.” Romans 13:12–14


When Augustine read this, he stopped. There was no need to go on. He says:

My heart was suddenly flooded with a light that erased all my doubts. And my soul was filled with a deep peace.
The Confessions of Saint Augustine (condensed and adapted)


This episode triggered Augustine’s conversion to Christianity.
Shortly afterward, he enrolled himself in the catechumenate in Milan. He was baptized the following Easter.

The remarkable change of heart that Augustine experienced is the same kind of change of heart that Jesus talks about in today’s gospel. It’s also the same kind of change of heart that Ezekiel talks about in today’s first reading.

This makes us ask ourselves a question: What causes a person
to undergo a change of heart? Or to put it in another way, what causes a person to undergo a conversion?

Years ago a political activist outlined the steps for bringing about a political revolution in a country.

He said the first step was to create a psychology of discontent
among the people of the country. For unless people are discontented with their existing political situation, they
will never seek to change it.

The same is true of individuals.  Unless they are discontented with their life, they will never seek to change it.
The case of Saint Augustine illustrates this. He was so discontented with his personal life that he sat down and cried.

And so the first step in the conversion process is a dissatisfaction with one’s personal life.

The second step is what we might call the “trigger” step.
It’s some episode that lights a fire under us, or “triggers” us,
to do something about our personal life.

In Augustine’s case, this was the experience of opening the Bible and reading those remarkable words from Paul’s Letter to the Romans.

This brings us to the third step in the conversion process.

It’s making the all-important first move in the direction of a new life. It’s doing something practical and concrete about changing our present life.

Again, we see this in the case of Saint Augustine. After reading Paul’s words to the Romans about throwing off
“the works of darkness,” he took an immediate, concrete
step toward changing his life. He enrolled in the  catechumenate in Milan.

And so the conversion process involves three steps.

First, it involves being discontented with our personal life.
Second, it involves having something trigger us to do something to change our life. Third, it involves taking
a concrete first step in the direction of a new life.

This brings us to an application of today’s readings to our own personal life. One approach might be to ask ourselves
this question: How content are we with our present life?

For example, are we dissatisfied with our present relationship with God?

Do we wish we had a closer relationship with Jesus? Do we wish we were more loving toward others, especially the needy in our midst?

If our answer to these questions is yes, then today’s Scripture readings could be the spark or “trigger” that prompts us to do something about these things.

And if it is, what all-important first step might we take to do something about these things?

Maybe that step is simply to present ourselves for special healing in the sacrament of Reconciliation.
Maybe it’s to begin tonight to spend a few minutes in prayer
before retiring.

Maybe it’s to sit down, take a look at the needy around us,
and ask ourselves: What is one concrete thing I can do to show these unfortunate people that I really care?

In conclusion, then, God’s word to us in Scripture today
could be a “trigger” for us to undergo a change of heart,
or conversion, just as it was for Saint Augustine.
Only time and God’s grace will tell.
Let’s close with a prayer:

Voice of Jesus, call out to us when we stray from you.

Hands of Jesus, anoint us when we grow weak and weary.

Arms of Jesus, lift us up when we stumble and fall.

Heart of Jesus, teach us to love one another as you love us. M.L.

Series III
26th Sunday of the Year
Ezekiel 18:25–28; Philippians 2:1–11; Matthew 21:28–32

Conversion
Turning around our lives or some aspect of them.

Aman said, “Son, go and work in the vineyard today.”
“I don’t want to go,” he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. Matthew 21:28–29


The Pacific Garden Mission in Chicago has been a shelter for the homeless for over 120 years.

On an average night some 500 homeless show up. In winter that figure jumps to 700. In an average month, the Mission serves some 60,000 meals, and distributes some 100,000 items of clothing.

It does this without government funding. It all comes from donations that take every imaginable form—from jewelry,
to cars, to insurance policies.

The Mission ministers not only to the bodily needs of the homeless, but also to their spiritual needs through daily prayer services and radio programs.

For example, at this moment, you could go to the Internet
and make reservations to watch actors and musicians record
live programs on spiritual subjects to be aired on 1,000 radio stations worldwide.

I n the long history of the Mission, one of its best-loved superintendents was Harry Monroe.

When he died, it took all day for street people and benefactors
to file past his body, as it lay in state at the Mission.

One of the Chicago papers devoted a full editorial to him.
Years before he became superintendent, Harry Monroe was homeless himself. He came to Chicago from Detroit,
where he had been involved in criminal activity.

Once in Chicago, he began wandering the streets.
One night, in a drunken condition, he was stumbling past
the Pacific Garden Mission, heading for Lake Michigan,
with the intention of ending his life.

Someone from the Mission noticed him, and took him inside, where he collapsed. He was cared for, introduced to the Gospel, and experienced the forgiveness and healing of
God’s grace.

The story of Harry Monroe illustrates the kind of change of heart or conversion that Ezekiel talks about in today’s first reading. The prophet writes:

When someone . . . stops sinning and does what is right and good, he saves his life. He realizes what he is doing and stops sinning.

Monroe’s story also illustrates the kind of conversion the older son underwent in Jesus’ story in today’s Gospel.
Like the older son,Monroe began by refusing to follow
Jesus and his teaching.

He ended up, however, not only following Jesus, but also doing it in a transformed way.

This brings us to an important, practical question.

What are the steps by which we open ourselves to God’s grace and turn our life around, as Monroe did?

Let’s approach it this way. Years ago, political theorists
outlined the steps needed to bring about a revolution in a country.

The first step is to create a psychology of discontent with the present system among the citizens of the country.

The idea behind this is that people will seek change only if and when they experience a profound need and desire for it.

Something similar is true of individuals. We will seek change in our personal lives only when we are discontented

with our present lives. In other words, the first step in the conversion process is a deep dissatisfaction with our personal life. It is a deep-down desire to make a change for the better.
The second step in the process is what we might call a “trigger event.” It is something that sparks us to do something about our situation.

The third step is taking the first concrete step in the direction of a new life.

By way of a review, then, conversion is a process an ongoing journey that will end only when we die.

The first step in the journey is a radical dissatisfaction with our present life, or some aspect of it.

The second step is some spark that lights a fire under us
to do something about our life.

The third step is to take the first concrete step in the direction of some change.

And so today’s readings invite us to take inventory of our lives.

Are we satisfied, for example, with our present relationship with God?
Are we satisfied with our personal relationship with Jesus?
Are we satisfied with our relationship with our family at home?

If our answer to any of these questions is no, then today’s readings could be the “spark that lights a fire under us”
to do something about our life.
Finally, maybe the important concrete step in the direction
of some change is to seek forgiveness and healing  in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

Or maybe it is to insert a “time pocket” in our daily schedule for five or ten minutes of daily prayer from some meditation book.
Or maybe it is to focus on a family problem, like impatience toward another, and ask Jesus to help us do something
immediate and concrete about it.

This is the faith invitation that God may be making to us at this moment. It is up to us to respond.

In this spirit, let us close with a prayer: Voice of Jesus, call us back if we have strayed from you in any way. Eyes of Jesus, smile upon us with your love and encouragement.

Hands of Jesus, anoint us, and give us whatever strength we need to change whatever we ought to change. Arms of Jesus,
lift us up when we stumble and fall in the process, whether
it be through our fault or the fault of another.

Heart of Jesus, call us and draw us close to you, for our hearts were made for you and will not rest till they rest in you. M. L.