Transcript of Abbot Clement= s Talk on Monday, July 31, 2006

We all know as we get older how important our vow of conversion is. There are many ways to look at it. Certainly it entails the question of communication, it entails the question of the gospel, and it entails the question of how we have been enculturated. Each one of us who are enculturated, whether we like it or not, which means we absorbed and put into practice all kinds of things before we really consciously decided what we= re going to do with our life. Therefore, we have in us all kind of obstacles to the gospel message and the power of God= s spirit.

Perhaps a good example of conversion or the penetration of the gospel is in the example of the prophet Amos. Amos said he was a trimmer or dresser of sycamore trees. But the original language means something like he slit the fruits of the sycamore tree, that is, the sycamore tree bears a lot of fruit but it= s tasteless unless the dresser slits the fruit at the right time and then picks it at the right time where it’s not only tasty but it’s also very nutritious.

So in the life of Charles Foucould for instance, after many years in the desert he went back home to visit his relatives and his nephew was there. His nephew was living a rather pleasure centered life and a playboy type person. When he saw his uncle and the peace with which he carried himself and the light in his eyes, he just became aware automatically of how superficial his life was and he was at that moment converted. His fruit was slit and he really began to live the Christian life.

There has to be something in our life to awaken us to the gospel and that’s why we do Lexito Divina. Also we have to realize that what we believe is theology, it’s divine truths, it= s not human inventions, it’s not imagination, it= s a reality that’s profound and eternal. Once you take any truth of the faith and really embrace it then it’s going to be fruitful.

So here’s a woman who really considers herself dependent on God. It happens that she and her family are going on a vacation and driving and there somewhere in the West. Her husband is disabled so she has to do the driving. So their enjoying it and the family is going from camp site to camp site and as they were packing in the last place she couldn't find her glasses. Well, fortunately she had prescription glasses so she wore those and in the meantime she said: "Lord, look, I really need those glasses you’ve got to give them to me!@ So seventy-five miles later somewhere in North Dakota, she comes across a town that she remembers that it had a company that dealt with her glasses. She went in and talked to the clerk. The clerk looked at her and says: "Would you=re name happen to be?" And she pulled out a pair of glasses that somebody had dropped off and there they were.

In order to be converted we have to also have a deep conviction that Jesus is our Savior today. That he is for us all the time. That means each of us is the object of his concern. That he really prays for us and if the statement of the epistle to the Hebrews is correct, that Jesus intercedes for us. That he is in the sense a never at rest about our salvation until we come into the Father=s arms. We know this because of the fact that this is precisely the fullness of his being as redeemer. So he= s happy to see us make progress and he= s happy to see us discover more deeply his compassion and his love and power in our life.

We need to look more closely at two things: where is the Lord speaking to me now?  What is he asking me to really put aside? And secondly, to be so convinced of his love that we are willing to do anything to really do it.