A Change of Heart

Why did God create us?

The old Baltimore Catechism says we were created to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him in this life and be happy with Him forever in the next.  Or perhaps we can sum it up even more simply: we were created to give God the glory He is due.

All of creation gives glory to God by being most fully what the Creator intended.  Inanimate objects and creatures without free will give glory to God simply by being.  We creatures, with intellect and free will, can either choose or choose not to be what the Creator intended.

But giving our free will over to God is difficult for us.  We human beings, with rare exception, slip and fall, we make mistakes that hurt others and ultimately hurt us, too.  It’s important in life that we remember the mistakes we’ve made and own up to their consequences.  To remember them, to receive forgiveness for them, to right any wrongs that resulted from them if we are able, but not to dwell on them -- since we have no control over the past.  In this way, we form our character and we chart our course for the future.

The first step in the process of conversion is to humbly acknowledge our sinfulness.  When we place ourselves in the rightful position of weak and sinful creatures completely dependent on a loving and forgiving Creator, we are primed for a great grace, a change of heart.  We are all called to this conversion, no matter our circumstances or lot in life.

It's no coincidence that the St. Dismas Prison Ministry program chose the Greek word Metanoia ("change of heart") for the name/theme of their retreats.  Here's how Bud Cope describes the mission of their ministry:

We, the members of the St. Dismas Holy Name Society Prison Ministry, impelled by the Spirit of Jesus, commit ourselves to sharing the Gospel with prisoners for a deep personal conversion -- a metanoia…

We achieve this by taking the Catholic faith to Catholics and others in prison through the presentation of our three-day Metanoia Retreat.  This experience is aimed at a total, lasting conversion of life.

Additionally, we can offer a shorter two-day retreat experience.  These shorter retreats, called mini-metanoias, may be offered in facilities where it is impossible to interrupt the prison schedule for a complete Metanoia Retreat (Thurs. evening to Sun. afternoon).  These are focused on the daily conversions of heart to which we are all called.

An ongoing process, this re-forming ourselves into the image of Christ -- but that's what the Creator intended for us from the beginning.  May God grant that we all experience that profound metanoia.