At the cool of the day, Adam would speak with God in Paradise (cf. Gn 3:8). Created in His image and likeness, man communicated with God by means of dialogue, with all the admiration and trust of a son. Sacred Scripture does not record these conversations, but we can imagine how sublime they were! And the Most High attached so much importance to oral language that He wanted to make man a participant in His work of creation by entrusting him with the task of naming the animals (cf. Gn 2:19-20).
Nevertheless, it was also through words that the Serpent ensnared our first parents, who received, as punishment for sin, the divine order to return to the earth from which Adam had been taken: “in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life” (Gn 3:17). It was then that daily penance became indispensable as a form of turning back to the lost spiritual springtime.
As we know, the origin of the word conversion refers to a complete return. In this sense, it can be said that the first man had to return to God by means of the hardships of this world, precisely because he is dust and to dust he shall return (cf. Gn 3:19).
Throughout the history of the Chosen People, God kept them ever mindful of His covenant (cf. Gn 17:4), inviting them to a constant “return” to Him and warning them against prevarication: “You only have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities” (Am 3:2).
From the very beginning of His preaching, Jesus also invited His hearers to conversion, understood as a complete change of mentality: “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand” (Mt 4:17). However, to become an authentic Christian, an initial commitment was not enough. The Redeemer wanted to establish a covenant with His disciples through direct communication, particularly through conversation. Not without reason the word conversion has the same root as conversation: conversation is also a “turning towards”, specifically towards one’s interlocutor. During His conversations, Jesus taught using parables, solved problems, and admonished His listeners; in short, He pointed out that conversion is a daily exercise of a “conversational” communication with Him.
The most extraordinary conversion proves the significance of this “return”: Saul had to be literally thrown to the ground in order to open his eyes to the One whom he had previously persecuted; nevertheless his conversion was consummated only by “conversation”, that is, by an intimate relationship with the Saviour (cf. Gal 1:12). Thus, according to private revelations worthy of consideration, Paul spent three years in the desert in the daily company of the Divine Master before becoming the Apostle to the Gentiles.
We can conclude then that God certainly desires our fasting, but this is of no use if we “devour” (cf. Gal 5:15) our neighbour with scathing words. He also longs for our repentance, but He wants to see it translated into a continual change of life, which will bear fruit in good works. Moreover, He expects us to be silent, not as a way of “returning” to ourselves – that is, “introversion” – but rather to turn our hearts to trustful dialogue with Him. Finally, He wants penance as a way to return to earth and make reparation for sin, but without this preventing us from raising our eyes to Heaven. Indeed, in the definitive homeland there will no longer be any need for conversion, because there we will converse eternally with the Creator. ◊
