How often do you go out for dinner and look at the menu, decide on your meal, and then change your mind to pick something else? Or maybe it’s going to the ice cream shop, and you know you are going to get your “usual” flavor, but you see something on the board and change your choice to something else. Or, if you are like me, you get both.

If you look back on any given day of your life you may change your mind once or twice, or a half-dozen times, and it’s not always about food. 

In this second week of Advent, while we continue our waiting, we are called to action. We hear about John the Baptist going throughout the whole region of the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. The Greek word metanoia is often translated to repentance or conversion, but a more accurate translation is a “change of mind”.

So, is there a difference in the two phrases of “change my mind” and “change of mind?” It is interesting to me how one word can in the meaning of a phrase. Let’s look at them.

“Change my mind” does not require real commitment or permanence, because you can always change it again. It also indicates that you are in control. Sure, you could be influenced by someone or something, but ultimately it is your decision. 

“Change of mind” or metanoia requires a much deeper reflection of one’s actions.  It’s a desire for a permanent change, turning away from the things that keep us from being, as Matthew Kelly says, “the best version of ourselves.”  It’s a change of heart and mind. It is a change that requires you to let go, to give up control. It requires faith and trust in Jesus.  It also requires humility.

So, John is proclaiming a change of mind. He does not go up to someone and quietly say, “hey, you should think about changing your ways”.  He is proclaiming it loudly for all to hear.  He challenges us to look inside ourselves to see what needs changing in our lives to prepare for Jesus.  A defining trait of metanoia is realizing that one is a broken sinner in need of grace. Our Catholic faith is so beautiful and offers us ways to encounter Jesus through the Sacraments. In the Sacrament of Reconciliation, we bring our brokenness to Jesus and open ourselves to his mercy and forgiveness. Once we open ourselves to a change of mind and seek forgiveness, we can, as we heard in the first reading, “take off your robe of mourning and misery; put on the splendor of glory from God forever”. We are filled with joy and hope because we are reminded that God is always ready to restore us, no matter how far we have strayed. Personally, I am filled with a lot of consolation and peace from this. 

I listen often to a meditation from Saint Mother Teresa called, “I Thirst”.  It is a one-way conversation with Jesus as he tells us why he loves us. In one line He says, “You don’t need to change to believe in My love, for it will be your belief in My love that will change you”.  This is the type of change we need. When we feel it is hard to change, we need to abandon ourselves to Jesus, asking Him to show us his way, believing it is the only way to salvation. Loving God with all our heart, our soul, and our strength. 

A great example of someone with a change of mind is St. Paul. His change came after his encounter with Jesus. But it was not just his mind, but his heart and soul changed as well. In our second reading, Paul gives us an example of perseverance, joy and hope. As he sits in prison he prays for us with joy, confident God will complete the good work he started in each of us. How confident are we in that statement?

There is still time in this Advent season for a change. Try to go beyond the fluid “change my mind” to the deeper “change of mind”. While we patiently wait to celebrate the anniversary of the birth of Jesus, let’s not forget we are really waiting for his second coming. We need our paths straighten to Jesus. We need to ask the Holy Spirit to fill in our valleys with love for God, flatten the mountains and hills that keep us from loving each other and helping those in need as we should. So, when Jesus does come, we “shall see the salvation of God”.