Readings: Acts 2:14, 22-33; Psalm 16; Matthew 28:8-15
The
French Dominican theologian Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange wrote about three
conversions in the spiritual life, three points at which the disciple enters
more deeply into the experience of faith. He based it on the gospels themselves
and on the experiences of the disciples.
The
first conversion is our agreement to learn about Jesus, something the disciples
did by being with him and something we do by reading the scriptures, praying,
participating in the life of the Church, learning about Jesus and the lives of
those who have followed him.
The
second conversion means entering into the mystery of the cross. This is clearly
a moment of great difficulty and people will be tempted to turn away, perhaps
even to give up their faith. We only have to look at the reactions of the
disciples in Holy Week, the actions of Judas and Peter, the abandonment of
Jesus by the apostles, the way in which the women at least were able to stay
with him through the time of loss and desolation.
In
the third conversion the disciple becomes a child of the light. We see Peter in
this stage in today's first reading. He is bold and confident, a man
transformed. We can say that in spite of his difficulties in the time of his
second conversion he has not seen corruption but has been kept for this time of
third conversion by the Spirit.
The
second conversion, entering into the mystery of the Lord's cross, is made
possible for us by the resurrection. In fact we can say that the resurrection
is the way in which Christians see the cross and understand its meaning. The
resurrection does not replace the cross but illuminates it, shows us once and
for all the love that is revealed there. But there will be fear and
apprehension, of course, as we are asked to visit Gethsemane and Golgotha,
perhaps more than once in our lives, fear and awe in the presence of God.
But
with the third conversion comes joy, the joy that from now on and for evermore
the face of Jesus is for us the face of God.
The
Christian life brings us to these moments of conversion again and again. It is
a reason why we celebrate each year the great events of salvation and read over
and over again the texts of the New Testament. We want to learn from Jesus, to
participate in the mystery of his death, so that we might come to share the
glory of his resurrection.
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