Repent!
Hate that word, but then repentance seems to be all about being guilty. Guilt doesn't work in correcting behaviour, me thinks, as it only suppresses. There is no epiphany or insight. There is neither joy nor enthusiasm. Guilt is a tool in the traditional Rewards and Punishments approach to behavioural correction. Guilt sucks.
Yet i read today on the Jesuit site Sacred Space that we have a translation issue. Metanoia, the Greek work from today's mass reading for 'repent' could/should be translated as 'convert':
Convert: Middle English, from Anglo-French convertir, from Latin convertere to turn around, transform, convert, from com- + vertere to turn (merriam-webster dictionary)
‘Repentance’ implies not just regret for the past but, much more positively, a radical change to one’s way of thinking and behaving. It translates the Greek word metanoia ... of which the nearest English translation is something like ‘conversion’, a turning around to a completely new way of seeing life (Sacred Space).
I'm all for conversion! It's positive. It's a genuine motivation for change that an individual chooses and who, having experienced the benefits of his transformation or turning about, reinforces his intent and willingness to carry on a conversion each day of his life. Like a rebirth, a conversion implies letting go of the old and taking on the new. A process that moves forward, moment to moment. Grace provides the space for new growth. Love nurtures it. Basically, guilt can't even compare for effectiveness!
Thank you St. Peter.
Deo gratias.
Hate that word, but then repentance seems to be all about being guilty. Guilt doesn't work in correcting behaviour, me thinks, as it only suppresses. There is no epiphany or insight. There is neither joy nor enthusiasm. Guilt is a tool in the traditional Rewards and Punishments approach to behavioural correction. Guilt sucks.
Yet i read today on the Jesuit site Sacred Space that we have a translation issue. Metanoia, the Greek work from today's mass reading for 'repent' could/should be translated as 'convert':
Convert: Middle English, from Anglo-French convertir, from Latin convertere to turn around, transform, convert, from com- + vertere to turn (merriam-webster dictionary)
‘Repentance’ implies not just regret for the past but, much more positively, a radical change to one’s way of thinking and behaving. It translates the Greek word metanoia ... of which the nearest English translation is something like ‘conversion’, a turning around to a completely new way of seeing life (Sacred Space).
I'm all for conversion! It's positive. It's a genuine motivation for change that an individual chooses and who, having experienced the benefits of his transformation or turning about, reinforces his intent and willingness to carry on a conversion each day of his life. Like a rebirth, a conversion implies letting go of the old and taking on the new. A process that moves forward, moment to moment. Grace provides the space for new growth. Love nurtures it. Basically, guilt can't even compare for effectiveness!
Thank you St. Peter.
Deo gratias.
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