Continuing conversion into the vision of God

Reflection for Easter Sunday by FAN Communications Coordinator Janine Walsh

This reflection was originally posted in our March 26 newsletter

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Image by Arnie Bragg from Pixabay

In the first reading for Easter Sunday, Peter preaches on the life, work, and death of Jesus. He says, “he commissioned us to preach to the people and testify that he is the one appointed by God as judge of the living and the dead” (Acts 10:42). While every person is not given the gift of evangelization as Peter was, each of us are called to testify to how Jesus is present in our own lives. In my own life, my husband and I committed to bringing up our three girls in the church, teaching them the goodness and mercy God has shown us. I continue my personal testimony through my work at Franciscan Action Network, incorporating the gospel and teachings of St. Francis in all of the communications, connecting them to the advocacy work we do.

The Easter gospel reading is the familiar story of the apostles finding the tomb of Jesus empty. As I read through it, the mentions of Jesus’ burial clothes stood out to me. What is so important about them, I wondered? In doing some research, I read a commentary that compared the grave clothes to a cocoon that transformed Jesus’ body. This resonated with me deeply as I truly believe that to follow Jesus, we must be transformed. While that sounds daunting, I take peace from St. Francis’ teaching about continuous conversion. To transform can seem daunting, as transformation suggests a big change. However, St. Francis saw his entire life as a continuing conversion into the vision of God, which is much easier for me to accept.

Francis saw his life as a continuous conversion from sin to a life lived in gratitude for God’s love. Many described the conversion of Clare from “the good to the better.” The Franciscan life today remains one of on-going conversion in which Christ continues to invite us to be more like him and we continue to open our hearts to this invitation. There is always an unfinished quality to this conversion. In this Easter season, may we go forth striving for continuous conversion of ourselves into the vision of God, as Francis did. 

Janine Walsh

Communications Coordinator