CONVERSION IS A CHANGE OF HEART
(FEAST OF ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI: 4 OCTOBER)
CONVERSION is a change of heart, a turnaround that enables the Holy Spirit to bring a new orientation to our lives. When we accept Jesus’ invitation to embrace the freedom He offers through obedience, He transforms us. We tend to think of conversion only in terms of turning away from something wrong or repenting of sin. This is necessary aspect of conversion, yet by focusing only on repentance, we risk losing sight of the positive direction we take when we do repent. We not only turn away from sin, we also turn toward Jesus. We might think that life just won’t be as fun or fulfilling if we give up our old ways. But just the opposite is true. Just think of all the saints – like Saint Francis of Assisi – who illustrate how rich life can become when we turn to Jesus!
Saint Francis of Assisi shows us how we can find the intimacy with Jesus that comes from welcoming Him into our hearts. Both his love for the poor and his simplicity of heart found their source in his experience of the deep love Jesus had for him. Whenever he found a poor person burdened trying to carry wood or something else, Francis would offer his own shoulders to help them – even though he was a very weak man. Once, when a fellow friar refused to give anything to a beggar, Francis sent him to kiss a poor man’s feet and beg for pardon. “Whoever curses a poor man,” he said, “does an injury to Christ … who made Himself poor for us in this world” (Blessed Thomas of Celano, First Life of St. Francis, 76).
Like Francis, we can welcome Jesus into our hearts by following the way of love. We don’t have to travel far and wide, either. In the everyday circumstances of our lives, in prayer and Scripture, in loving the poor, and in serving our families, we give Jesus a place to rest. Today, let us look for opportunities to make room in our hearts for Him. The intimacy we will experience will make it well worth the effort.
Short Prayer: Heavenly Father, You made Saint Francis of Assisi Christ-like in his poverty and humility. Help us so to walk in his ways that, with joy and love. We may follow Christ Your Son, and be united to You. Amen.