The Sixteenth Sunday Ordinary Time (Cycle A)
The tie in between today’s readings: The Second Conversion
Psalm 86:5-16, Wisdom 12:13-19, Romans 8:26-27, Matthew 13:24-43
In Matthew 13:24-43, Jesus gives three parables about the Kingdom of God. The Jews at this time believed the Messiah’s role was the restoration of Israel to its former glory. Our Lord had bigger plans. He teaches us that despite its’ humble beginnings, the Church will have a global focus and reach the ends of the earth with the gospel of salvation. The story about the wheat and the tares highlights the fact that the advance of God’s Kingdom into the world will face Satanic opposition. In fact, the Devil will be so good at his strategies that it will be impossible for anyone to tell the difference between his followers (tares) and true Christians (wheat). It will take celestial discernment at the end of time to separate them. Even though the thrust of today’s gospel theme is Christ building His Church into Satan’s world, let’s not be naïve. Our Adversary is also building his world into the Church. False clergy have and always will pop up in the parishes (Matthew 7:15, Mark 13:22, Acts 20:29). There are always the clueless, the careless, and the counterfeit in the pews (Matthew 25:1-13, 2 Timothy 4:3 2 Peter 2:22). However, there remains a greater and more subtle deception from our enemy that ensnares even the best of us. It is the misunderstanding of what it really means to believe and it all starts with Baptism.
Just as a baby boy joined the Covenant Family of God in the Old Testament through circumcision, we typically join the Catholic Church through infant Baptism. As our young Jewish man grows up, his parents and Rabbis mentor him in the scriptures in the hope that, one day, he would reach a level of love and faith in Jehovah that makes his circumcision spiritually valid…a circumcision of the heart (Deuteronomy 30:6, Jeremiah 4:4, Romans 2:29). Despite the benefits an infant receives through Baptism, this sacrament depends on the faith of the Church to make it effective. It is only a first step across a bridge of faith for our baby to reach his spiritual fulfillment on the other side. This proxy faith needs to be actualized by the person somewhere in the course of his life. Here is where the Devil attacks!
In a way, we all start out as tares with the potential to become wheat even though, by Baptism, we are absolutely in the Church. The Magisterium, the parish, and the family do their best to foster a saving faith in the child as he grows up through the scriptures and sacraments. Satan stands in the way by promoting “head faith”. This is the lie that all we need to do for heaven is agree with the Church’s doctrines, participate in the sacraments, throw in a few works of mercy, and you’re all set (well, maybe Purgatory, but you’ll get there eventually). As important as these things are, they alone do not fulfill our journey of faith. They can’t! As a result, many of us settle down halfway across the believer’s bridge full of just “head faith”…and just stop. We don’t see that just as the Lord required our Jewish boy to reach a circumcision of the heart, a heart faith is needed for us also to reach the other side. This is accomplished through an encounter with the grace of God and the second conversion (CCC 1427-1429).
Not much is said about the second conversion for some reason, but it is a key element of salvation. It is hard to explain because it is intimately personal and so, it is subjective. It’s not something that you say or do, but rather, it is a becoming…by faith. There is an indescribable God element necessary with it. Each of us individually, by faith, need to see our self as being united to Christ in a spiritual marriage. In this spiritual unity, where the two become one, we enter into His passion and crucifixion, by faith, through the Eucharist. Two thousand years ago, when Jesus dies and is resurrected, we spiritually die and resurrect with Him and, by faith, become born again as children of God. Our Baptism is complete and our new life in Christ really begins (Romans 6:3-14). This saving heart faith is a total identification and uniting of ourselves into Jesus and is a gift to us by the grace of God. We can perceive our second conversion through a type of Holy Spirit “knowing” about it (Romans 8:16, 2 Timothy 1:12, 1 John 5:10-13).
For some, this God given faith comes gradually and as naturally as growing up. Others obtain it through crisis of life and spirit as they reach their “Come to Jesus” moment. Either way, it is a matter of the heart that can be expressed through the principles found in our reading in Psalm 86:5-16. First, our God is ready to forgive (vs 5). Second, see your need for forgiveness from sin and seek it (vs 6-7). Third, come in the correct fear of the Lord. Recognize that you are dealing with God Almighty (vs 8-10). Fourth, cherish your salvation (vs 11-13). Fifth, stay strong in your commitment to God by His grace (vs14-16). Sometimes, in second conversion explanations, you see prayers of commitment to Jesus. While there is no real formula to follow to obtain the second conversion, it surely doesn’t hurt to join in the prayer if it reflects your soul’s desire. God knows your deepest thoughts, as it says in our reading in Romans 8:26-27.
To conclude, our reading in Wisdom 12:13-19 emphasizes that there is a judgement coming. God is uniquely qualified to separate the wheat from the tares…and there are so many tares! For now, He offers grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Let us in the Church examine ourselves to see if we are really in the faith as the Apostle Paul entreats us (2 Corinthians 13:5). The question is not, “Do you love God” but, “Are you in love with God?” It’s not whether you invited Jesus into your life, but is Jesus your life? Are you striving to enter through the narrow gate (Matthew 7:13-14)? Are you repenting, confessing, and keeping short accounts between yours sins and your God? Do you have a “knowing” about your relationship with Jesus? If you are not sure of your position in Christ, seek and you will find! Please follow up on the links below for further study about the second conversion. It is that important! In the end, you will discover that Christianity is not a religion…it’s a relationship.
Click the following links to read more about the second conversion:
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Reblogged this on Cocco's Collections and commented:
Don’t skip over this week’s Mass Prep for the Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle A) It’s an important look at the Second Conversion, a necessary, but often overlooked component of your salvation. Do a deep dive on this one. As always, please like, share, and subscribe. Thanks and God Bless.
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