Our Lady of Lourdes Church and School

For three weeks this Lent, we listen to the gospel of John. Here we read some of the most profound narratives that have to do with conversion, with turning toward Jesus and experiencing newness of life in him.

The gospel of Jesus encountering the Samaritan woman at the well, the gospel of Jesus restoring sight to the Man born blind, and the gospel of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead together form a “triptych of encounter” in which we see how the saving power of God enters into the lives of God’s people, into our own lives. We also read of the different responses of the Samaritan woman, of the Man born blind, and Lazarus, along with those others involved in these encounters. These three gospels are used by those preparing to become Catholic every year, but they are highly instructive for all those who yearn to enter more fully into their relationship with God and who desire to live a life of more faithful discipleship of Jesus.

In each of these gospels, there are certain patterns that emerge which suggest the journey of faith and life in Christ have certain elements which are common:

• God initiates an encounter
• Personal struggle to understand a shifting reality
• Initial personal response
• Choice - engage or retreat
• Engagement leads to deeper relationship with Christ and new life, retreat leads to refusal of new life.
• Sharing the experience with others.
• Living the difference in visible ways

Each of the gospels also offers insight into how to avoid any kind of conversion.

• Don't give God a foothold
• Rationalize away any struggles in life
• Don't respond in any way, above all do not pray.
• Never countenance a need for change
• Avoid getting drawn into anything that might challenge your faith.
• Avoid any activity that involves being with people of faith
• If the above fails, and conversion happens, admit nothing and tell no one.

Conversion is an ongoing process in life. It is not something that happens, and then it's over. Conversion leads to conversion, leads to deeper conversion still. As we journey through life and as we grow and develop with all the experiences that life offers, so too our ongoing conversion unfolds. It's not uncommon for people to tell me that they're losing their faith, but more often than not what's happening is that they are growing out of a particular state of their faith journey, or stage of their faith development. The new stage can be challenging, or intimidating, but it is an invitation into newness of life. Letting go of what was, however difficult it may be, quickly becomes less and less an issue as we move forward into whatever it is that God has in store for us. As the psalmist reminds us: “I trust in the Lord, my soul counts on his word”

As we have been talking these past weeks about discipleship, you might be asking what has all this to do with anything? Accompanying one another in the process of ongoing conversion is an essential part of equipping disciples as well as being expressive of our commitment to accompany one another. No one needs to walk alone on the journey of faith. I might even go further and say that no Christian can ever go it alone. We find sustenance for our personal journey and conversion in the context of community. We walk together as disciples of Jesus. Even Jesus recognizes the need for companionship along the way when he sends them out “two by two”, when he encourages the disciples to spend time together, to pray together and to work together.

For ourselves, here at OLL, we might reflect on how we support those going through the conversion process? How well do we invite others into conversion? How well do we accompany others in their faith “crises”? How often do we check in with ourselves to see if we’ve fallen into a “faith rut”?