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May 27, 2010
Public
St. Augustine of Hippo

(Conversion)

St. Augustine says: “Praise be to Jesus.”

“So today I desire we examine the inner workings of a conversion. No conversion takes place outside of the Divine Will or outside of free will. Since God's Will is always and eternally the ongoing conversion of every soul until it reaches salvation, you can see that conversion of heart is solely dependent upon man's cooperation with the Will of God.”

“Understand, then, that man chooses to respond or not to respond to his own conversion in every present moment. God gives each soul all the graces needed in each present moment to choose his own salvation – his personal holiness – even his sanctification.”

“Let us explore the reasons mankind would not choose conversion. These reasons always spring from disordered self-love. Perhaps he has placed money in his heart as a false god. Love of money opens the soul to the violation of many of God's Commandments, for money is seen as the means of happiness. Avarice, jealousy and lies consume the heart or perhaps the heart sees money as a means of power and control. Then the soul loses sight of love of God and neighbor. He allows greed to overwhelm him in every present moment.”

“For a conversion to take place, the soul must desire it. He must accept the grace of being dissatisfied with the world and all of its pleasures. He must accept the grace of accepting true peace in union with God's Will. He must open his heart to the truth.”