When you have a conversion, you live a Eucharistic life, with a gravitational pull to be with Jesus. There, no matter how you feel, you know you're not alone. It's not just about our desire to go to him, though — he is also drawing us to himself. Allow yourself to be drawn...

When we get to know Jesus, our need for "stuff" — for entertainment, for status — is lessened. Besides, we have to stop pretending that stuff and noise and grasping doesn't have an effect on our lives. Really examine it in your own life; the truth is that prayer only works in silence...

The first big "yes" — when we originally orient our lives to Christ — is not the most important. It's the later yesses, of a deeper surrender and trust and giving of our lives, that mean a lot more. At some point, it's not enough to be doing the right things; there must still be a desire for even...

This is NOT a How to Discern episode. It's much closer to the foundation. What does the "will of God" even mean? What about "surrendering my life to God"? Discernment isn't a calculation or program or roadmap, it's not a "do this and do that and God's mystery in your life will be revealed...

There's a simple test of whether a conversion is authentic: do you treat people differently, particularly the poor? Does your spiritual life get reduced to "me"? Or to an exodus from caring about yourself at all? Your prayer is measured in charity. The quality of your Holy Hour can only be measured...

Going to confession regularly can become routine — a checklist — instead of what it can be: an encounter with God. Examine not only your sins, but also the one you've sinned against; the Lord. Because there's a difference between forgiveness and reconciliation. You receive forgiveness; you're...

Remembering your sin can be uncomfortable. But it's not about the sin — remembering your sin is remembering God's mercy. It's going back to Jesus's presence at that moment, and to the way he changed it. Remembering that is the start of understanding your conversion more deeply, and to living your...

There's a reason that this book is required reading for all CFR postulants. It's intense, and we're ready to get into it in this series. Because it's all about Jesus. And conversion is at the heart of the daily experience of saying "yes" to Jesus. Conversion isn't something that happens "out there"; it's not a personal...