Drugie nawrócenie w życiu powołanych
Second conversion in the life of those who are called

Summary/Abstract: This article addresses the question of the second conversion of those who are called to religious and priestly life. Based on the biblical category of metanoia, the second conversion is defined as the life-long process of acquiring the form of Christ, a permanent disposition to transform one’s own thinking, to transcend personal horizons and to assimilate ever more to the thinking, feeling, and lifestyle of Christ. The figure of Saint Alphonsus de Liguori, considering his conversion from rigorism to charity, both in his proposal and renewal of moral theology and in his pastoral ministry, serves as an example of this second conversion of the vocational person. The second conversion of Alphonsus was the fruit of his constant effort to be faithful to the merciful attitude of Christ the Redeemer. The stage of retirement in the life of those who are called, and the phenomenon of Internet preaching indicate the two particularly vivid realities demanding a metanoia from contemporary clerics and consecrated persons. We have shown, supported by the current teaching of the Church, that, although retirement should be a retreat from active apostolic ministry, it cannot be a stop on the way, nor a withdrawal from vocational life. Likewise, Internet preaching, fashionable among the younger generation of evangelizers, should not be an end in itself, but should serve as a stage, an effective tool on the road leading others to an encounter with Christ. The generational bond, a category recalled in the post-synodal exhortation Christus vivit, has been proposed as a concrete and indispensable path for the second conversion of vocations belonging to the retirement generation and to the social media generation. Senior clerics and consecrated persons are called to acquire an attitude of empathy with the younger generations and to become their friendly companions and guide-witnesses on their journey. Younger priests and consecrated persons are invited to listen skillfully to their retired confreres and sisters, whose experience and fidelity can help show them how to live more beautifully a life offered in service to Christ and their brothers.

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