Which Spirit did you Follow Today?

For those of you who are not Catholic, you might be tempted to skip over this post, but I strongly encourage that you do not, as I think you will find it helpful.

For Catholics, we typically do what we call an Examination of Conscience before we go to the Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession.)  Now you might not go to this sacrament, but an examination is something everyone can (and should) do frequently.  Perhaps even daily.

When we examine our conscience, we simply take stock of our day, our actions and attitudes and so forth.  You might be wondering what the point to this would be, but for anyone who realizes they are not perfect, an easy examination will help them become better.

I brought this topic up on Good Friday in my post, All Joking Aside . . ., because it was a good fit for that day, but I want to say a little more about it.

There are tons of Examinations around, but I copied one awhile ago that I really like.  It is from Pope Francis.  He takes a very simple approach:

Ask yourself, "which spirit did I follow today?  The spirit of God or the spirit of the world?"
"How did I defend myself from real temptations?

Do this before you go to bed and ask yourself, what "kinds of feelings" you had, identifying which spirit prompted you to which sentiments.

The Holy Father said, "if we are honest, we will often find that 'today I was envious, I was greedy . . . this is the spirit of the world."

He reminds us that "we all face this interior battle, but if we do not understand how these two spirits work, how they act, we will be unable to move forward with the Spirit of God which helps us to understand Christ's thoughts, the meaning of Christ."

I would add to this.  The more often you do such an examination, the more aware you become while in the midst of temptations.  For instance, when faced with a decision or resisting a temptation, you will "train" yourself to think it through in the moment.  At the end of the day, you may even find yourself, when examining your conscience, thanking God that in that moment at work or with family or friends, you did well!  By God's grace, in that moment, you aligned yourself with the Spirit of God.

Examinations can be times of gratitude, when you acknowledge and thank God for helping you or strengthening you when you needed it most.

As I say, this is a good practice for everyone, not just Catholics.  Of course, you need to be careful that you do not become obsessive, or scrupulous to the point of berating yourself.  Remember, always, that when you turn to God with true sorrow for your sins, he will give you his mercy.  

And don't interpret the Pope's "spirit of the world" as some heretical idea that the world is a bad place.  It's just that there are many opportunities for us to fall away from God in this beautiful world he created.

I hope you will give this a try and do an Examination of Conscience.  There are many available.  Just find the one that works with your natural tendencies and you'll do fine!

Janet Cassidy