April '04 (INSIDE) copy

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At a Glance

The Miracle of Conversion by Leon J. Suprenant, Jr.

B

ack in 1984, I was a young lawyer who years before had abandoned the faith of my youth. I had largely cleaned up my act since my wild undergraduate days, but that was more a matter of expedience, not moral conviction. I felt as though I should give my life to something or Someone, but I really didn’t know where to turn. My sights weren’t set particularly high, so I resolved to help build the earthly city. After all, what else was there to life? At that time, my mother asked me to start going back to Mass on Sunday so as to set a good example for my nephews and nieces. I was reluctant to do so, as I felt like a hypocrite since I no longer even considered myself a Catholic. I eventually relented, figuring that an hour a week wouldn’t kill me. As it turned out, some of the Sunday homilies that I heard gradually drew me in, and I became increasingly receptive to what the Church had to say, especially in social justice matters. Soon, I no longer had to be asked to go to Mass, even though I still was on the fence. Attending weekly Mass opened an unexpected door for me. One of the secretaries at my law office saw me one Sunday at Mass, so she invited me to a weekly young adult Bible 2

Lay Witness

study. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I said I would go with her to check it out. Here’s what happened.

Follow the Leader I was immediately impressed by how genuinely welcoming the group was. I was also intrigued by the fact that everyone could be so fun-loving and at the same time so much in earnest when it came to the Bible and their Christian beliefs. The leader of the study, as I came to learn, originally started the group as a Protestant, but at this point he was in the process of returning to the Catholic Church. He was a veteran of Campus Crusade for Christ, and he sure seemed to know a lot about the Bible. And he most definitely liked to talk! Despite the dozens of good people who were “regulars” at this weekly study (many of whom are still dear friends to this day), the whole thing seemed uncomfortably Protestant to me at first. Reading the Bible, praying spontaneously, and “fellowshipping” with other Christians were foreign to this cradle Catholic. I remember once trying to conceal the fact that I was futilely searching the Old Testament to look up a quoted passage from Hebrews. One evening, though, the leader affirmed the existence of objective

truth, and his words shot through my entire being. It was as though I was immediately awakened from a 10 year slumber. Then and there I knew that it must all be true. I wanted to know the Lord Jesus and devote my life to Him and His Church. The leader, by the way, was none other than Curtis Martin, who has gone on to found the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS), far and away the most dynamic and effective Catholic evangelization program on college campuses today (www.focusonline.org).

True Confession At that point, elements of my Catholic upbringing, such as Marian devotion, came back to me. I eventually resolved to go to Confession—a daunting proposition for someone who hadn’t gone for many years. The priest was very compassionate and helpful; my fears were not at all justified, as the weight of past sins fell off like scales. One little miracle occurred at that time: Virtually overnight and without conscious effort or relapse I not only stopped using foul language, but became extremely sensitive to any violation of the Second Commandment. Underneath, however, was the real miracle, as I was restored to God’s friendship.

With a clean conscience (cf. 1 Cor. 11:28), I was able to receive Our Lord in Holy Communion. I was back home! Why was I ever so foolish to leave in the first place? While that time of my life was a singularly important moment of conversion for me, I’ve had to renew my commitment to the Lord many times since then. I’ve made countless wrong turns—the hundreds of times I’ve been to Confession since 1984 attest to my need for ongoing conversion. I do think, however, that Our Heavenly Father takes a long view of the matter and has been genuinely entertained by my feeble and at times misguided attempts to follow His Son. In fact, I think He’s more than entertained: Scripture tells us He’s downright thrilled whenever He recovers one of His lost sheep (cf. Lk. 15:3-7). There’s a new movie out called Miracle, which tells the story of the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team’s improbable upset of the Soviet Union en route to its remarkable gold medal. Who can forget announcer Al Michaels’ shouting triumphantly at the end of the game, “Do you believe in miracles?” In a manner of speaking, the U.S. hockey team’s performance was a miracle. Yet, finding our way back to God is really a miracle, because on our own attaining our eternal prize is not merely improbable or unlikely, but impossible. And if Our Heavenly Father is willing and able to save someone like me, I’m able to hold out a realistic hope that He will do the same for many others, as no one is beyond His reach.

Emancipation Proclamation One of the new “mysteries of light” is “the preaching by which Jesus proclaims the coming of the Kingdom of God, calls to conversion, and forgives the sins of all who draw near to Him in humble trust: the inauguration of that ministry of mercy which He continues to exercise until the end of the world, particularly through the Sacrament of Reconciliation which He has entrusted to His Church” (Pope John Paul II, Rosarium Virginis Mariae, no. 21; cf. Jn. 20:19-23). The “proclamation of the Kingdom” as a mystery of the Rosary provides vast opportunities for meditating upon the Gospel. Jesus’ entire public ministry comes within its purview, as it provides a crucial and expansive bridge between the Infancy and Passion narratives.

Yet, the proclamation of the Kingdom in some ways is the most intensely personal and focused mystery. Jesus’ words, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe in the gospel” (Mk. 1:15), apply specifically to each one of us and demand a daily response of faith (cf. Lk. 9:23). This mystery points to our own liberation from sin and our acceptance of the sublime gift of divine sonship (cf. Gal. 4:4-7), a gift that far exceeds our wildest dreams. In this special issue devoted to miracles, we will consider the various extraordinary signs our Lord used—and through His Church continues to use—to manifest His Kingdom and strengthen our faith. Miracles that we can see with our own eyes grab our attention. Jesus performed many such sensational signs—curing the sick, expelling demons, feeding the multitudes, and even raising the dead. Even so, He did not come to make us “ooh” and “aah” in amazement. Nor did He come as merely a social worker extraordinaire to rid the world of all suffering, hardship, and injustice, even as He calls all His followers to help renew the face of the earth and transform the temporal order through our own works of mercy (cf. Mt. 25:31-46). Rather, He came to work a far greater miracle. He came “to free men from the greatest slavery, sin, which thwarts them in their vocation as God’s sons and causes all forms of human bondage” (Catechism, no. 549). This miracle carried a hefty price tag. As St. Peter says, we were ransomed from the futile ways of our fathers by means of the precious blood of Christ, the lamb that was slain (1 Pet. 1:18-20). We owe a tremendous debt to Mel Gibson for boldly bringing to the screen The Passion of the Christ (see p. 10), which magnificently—and graphically— depicts the intense sufferings Our Lord endured for us so that we might truly become children of God. We need the eyes of faith to see and appreciate the gift of eternal life as adopted sons and daughters of God and heirs of heaven, a gift that God in His loving providence has marvelously interwoven into the fabric of our own personal histories. This Lent, may we meditate frequently upon this miracle of grace that is being worked within us even now. Yes, the Kingdom of God is at hand!

From Our Founder Let us learn from Naaman the Syrian: He was full of scorn and doubt when the prophet told him to bathe his leprosy in little Jordan, whereas he was familiar with the noble Tigris and Euphrates. But he was not asked to compare the splendor of the river, but to obey the word which God spoke through His prophet. His little maidservant prevailed on him to bend his pride, and put his trust in the word of God’s messenger. He did so, and was cleansed. Let us all beg God for the humility and grace to do the same. H. Lyman Stebbins February 7, 1973

March/April 2004

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