The journey begins

For all Christians who practice spiritual rigors for the conversion of our worldly selves to the eternal life, today begins the 40 days of Lent.

And speaking of conversion, Pope Benedict gave a good reminder of what it is during his Wednesday audience today at St. Peter’s. He called it a constant process of interior transformation.

“Conversion,” the Holy Father explained, is not something that happens once and for all, it is a process, … a journey, … that cannot be limited to a specific period but must embrace all existence.”

The process is eternally hopeful, because for every inevitable fall, the next step is getting up and starting again with a new beginning. And unlike the pop culture fascination with self-actualization and satisfaction, with pop theology’s focus on a sort of neo-pantheism…

Conversion means seeking God. … It is not an effort of self-realization. … Self-realization is a contradiction, and it is too little for us. We have a higher destiny. … Conversion consists precisely in not thinking that one is the ‘creator’ of oneself, and thus discovering the truth.”

It’s the eminent relief of realizing that God is God, and you’re not, and He’s in charge. And then submitting to that. We are a culture that submits to a lot of cultural forces and cedes power and authority to a lot of things and people. But giving it to God….or even talking that way….is really radical. 

So is this.