The Miracle of My Conversion
by Charles Shelton
To get to the point, I will omit the first fifty or so years of my life, since there were no earthshaking events up to that time. But when I was about fifty years old, some friends invited me to a Cursillo, a Spanish word that means “short course.” It was a three-day retreat at Mount St. Francis Retreat Center near Indianapolis. Little did I realize what was about to happen to me.
I now realize that up until this time God had been very active in my life, but I didn’t see it. Without my even asking, he had let me come home from World War II without a scratch, handed me a beautiful Irish bride, and blessed us with four healthy children. He also found me a job to support this family, and never once let our children go without food, clothing, shelter, or parental love. And for all these gifts I gave back to God twenty-five to thirty minutes on Sundays and holy days of obligation--that was all. But now, at this Cursillo, God said, “Bud, it’s time you and I became better acquainted.” And did we ever!
I Witnessed a Miracle. Our three days on the hill were taken up with Mass, reconciliation, morning and night prayers, and talks given by the lay retreat directors. I found all the talks and homilies helpful, but my first really powerful experience came about on the second day. Sandwiched between all of the activities, we were given some free time to wander and meditate, and this day, the free time came after Mass in the chapel. The homily was on miracles, and something in it stuck in my mind.
As God would have it, as I stepped out of the chapel that morning, a brilliant light shone in my eyes. As I stared into a gorgeous, cloudless sky, I paused and reflected on the homily I had just heard. I sat for a moment drinking in God’s wonders and suddenly realized I was able to witness thousands of God’s miracles at every point of the compass: in the trees, in the outline of a small lake, everywhere I looked.
With the homily still in mind and a wee bit of imagination, I felt as if I was present at the creation. Looking across the greenest of lawns, I saw grasses and bushes created by God. I didn’t have to sit very long before rabbits and squirrels came playing by, and almost every tree became occupied by birds singing, in all probability thanking God for a beautiful day.
Although I had been introduced to the cross, it had never struck me until this weekend that Jesus took the form of one of his creatures and suffered a passion and death on a cross just for me. But during this retreat, I came to know Jesus and found it difficult to wait for the next Mass. To my great surprise, I found myself in the chapel at 1:00 a.m., talking to God. Up to this point I was certain God only talked to the pope and priests, never to the likes of me. O how wrong I was! I felt that two hours in the chapel was insufficient time to thank him for giving me such a glorious weekend.
Changes in My Life. That weekend was a time of deep conversion for me, and I can point to so many changes that have happened in my life since then. Let me just name five.
First, I now attend Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation not because I have to, but because I want to. I look forward to meeting the Lord at each and every liturgy. I also attend hoping to repay Jesus just a bit for dying for me, even though I know I’ll never be able to match such a gift.
Second, I now know what people mean when they say they see Jesus in the eyes of each other. I only pray that one day someone may see him in mine.
Third, instead of dozing off during the gospel and homily, I now listen intently, afraid I might miss something God wants me to hear.
Fourth, I found that I was needed in my parish. I serve as a lector, eucharistic minister, table leader at Bible study, and in my spare time help my pastor train young people as Mass servers.
Fifth, I now pray every day for all those whose names have been called in on our parish prayer line, as well as for anyone I know who is sick or dying, or who has already gone to be with the Lord.
What If . . . ? Every once in a while I listen and watch the Reverend Billy Graham on television and become sinfully jealous that I will never be able to stand before a crowd of forty thousand people and witness for my God. Maybe this short article is one way I can evangelize for him. Wouldn’t it be great if just one person who read this decided to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior?
Charles Shelton lives in Jeffersonville, Indiana.
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