F THE Jerry's life seemed to have lost its sparkle. His 45-year-old waist had begun to sa�. He was restless with hi� routine life and job. A few drinks Jerry had with a woman he met at a bar made him feel more "with it." It wasn't long before he and Kim were involved. For a while he thought he had the be,t of two worlds. But he quu I� awoke to reality when his wife lrarned Kirn and gave him an ultim- \ \ ' ., or atum. After reflection. Jerry knew he could not give up he wife and son, and all he once h Id important DOD Kim, however, drtfted on. Her life had never n easy The ears had coated hrr W: h bttt rnc t malh lcohol nt h r to ho p1tnl There a l rnpathut c doctor l,m h d ru\\ hrr out of her d pair and helped her to brin out the best in he If by Jane WoH� Hughes ccss of change ;14 fornard for a paitl long time. Faced with tht mendous loss cji fa mil), Jer') coul,i de erve himsel(u longer Ile soughlt gn n . Kim's su I hf Ille a "' grabbing . for the pie ure, hid a IOI for something couldn't name. she For each, conversion meant that a clear strong ,vind had arisen to blow away a bewildering moral fog. Conversion involve a mature commitment whatever the ctrcumstances in v. hi< h con .. versson is born. it mean beconung honest wtth God. with on If and with others. If converslon o turn toward honesty, 11 1 o turn away from deceit. In its basic and perhaps most insidious form, deceit means playing games with oneself and with God. Of course, deceit also can reflect a sluggish conscience and a certain indifference toward life. Rut conversion shifts the focus When it comes. conversion is the work of God tran forming and freeing people. In conversion, the focus mo" from oneself to God and his plans. When we enter into the process of conversion, we begin a love affair with God.a covenant of faithfulness not just for a specific time or under selected circumstances, but for always. \\'hen human love is not nurtured, the , italit)' of a relationship ebbs It is similar in the conversion to which all Christians always are called \laking the nece sary �hiO of focuc, persistent requires effort. Without such effort, we can get the distorted idea that God is the one holding back when it is really human selfishness breaking the trust. In conversion people see their limitations but learn that the yawning gap.!J in their li\'e:, don't stretch beyond the capacity to change with God's help. Unfortunatel), there may be lapse,. By com· parison with divine faithfulness, human faithfulness is fragile. In conversion human faithfulness must reflect, at least to some degree, the generous faithfulness of God. But even as we lurch a,..·ay from him. he follows with profound understanding and love to welcome us back. In human relation· ships. people often clo"' the doors betwet'n them But the divine door alYia)-S remain� open. ___c,11.Y. stories of tb rs in,;,; Pett< u,111 ...... t HUGS•.,...,, ,u; NH ,rresfff or hunt JeMs w,s l11f1l1 to N torlwe nd forg Some are to J us I, e the the Prodigal tori; v1ng fat�er Ii s older brntnert.o couldn t forg,ve Some New Ttli'Tlent stcr-es alt about Jesus. I le t r, a sinner Cli� hn, wl'le he� dnn r an EDUCATION BRIEF "The Second Vatl• can CounclL •• recog· ni ed that the church must strive above all to brine all people to full reconc liatlon. In Intimate connection with Christ's mission, one can therefore sum up the church's minion, rich and complex as It ls, as belnc her central task of reconcllln& people: with God, with themselves, with nelchbor, with the whole of creation; and this In a perman· ent manner since, as I said on another occa Ion, 'the church Is also by her nature always reconclllnc,"' (Pope John Paul II In his 1984 apostolic exhortation on reconclllatlon and penance). The re Its of n are shatterlnc In more ways than one. Slmllar1y, the Impact of p nance, convers14 Is multidimensional On result otsln Isl loss of personal id tlty, Pope John Paull believes. That Is wh the pope uses th word "sulcld1I" t characterise sin, For sin means th God, the one who s• t ins a person's Ii\ Is beln& rejected, I says. This destrof one's "internal b" ance." And this he� to clarify the mea•i \ of conversion Christian llf•· means the redis0ounced her Tho cocks crow There ,s a type of faz, sms lorg ven as he brc ght back Peter s ness or sloth that I es a drew attention to her oft n r ted conm,t toil or lam,ly relation great love mert to follow Chr to ships ore does not g ve In the Bible SI ns t e on his m,sslOO and these relat nsh ps the br a ng a eo