As we move into the month of February, we prepare to once again enter into the season of Lent. This penitential season in the liturgical calendar is a great blessing for us because the Church knows that we need to be reminded of the importance of conversion, which is always at the center of the Christian life. In the scriptures of the New Testament, the Greek word “metanoia” that is translated as “conversion” literally means “to turn around,” and for the Christian, this is a turning away from sin and turning back to God. Our journey of conversion begins at baptism, when our old sinful self is crucified and buried with Christ and we rise with him to a new life of grace. As St. Paul teaches:
“Are you unaware that we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were indeed buried with him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live in newness of life.” (Rom 6:3-4)