Which Spirit did you Follow Today?

By -

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





Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

SAINT ELIZABETH, MOTHER OF JOHN THE BAPTIST- Feast: November 5

By -
Image
Elizabeth appears in the Gospel of Luke, where she is described as “righteous in the eyes of God, observing all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blamelessly,”.  I imagine that she was warm, loving and obviously a safe harbour for young Mary, who was not married when she conceived.  When Mary came to visit her, Elizabeth was pregnant with St. John the Baptist and in her sixth month: “Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And how have I deserved that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, the moment that the sound of thy greeting came to my ears, the babe in my womb leapt for joy. And blessed is she who has believed, because the things promised her by the Lord shall be accomplished.” 
Read more

The Memorare

By Helen Gonsalves -
Image
This popular prayer, a favorite of many Catholics, dates back to the 15th century and takes its name from the first Latin word of the prayer, "memorare," which means "remember." The Memorare is of unknown authorship, although it has been attributed to St. Augustine (354-430), St. John Chrysostom (c. 347-407) and, with more reason, to St. Bernard of Clairvaux (c. 1090-1153). St. Bernard's sermons on Mary were famous, and it was his Cistercian monks in the monastery of Citeaux in the 12th century who popularized the name "Our Lady" for Mary. The Memorare has also been attributed to the French cleric Claude Bernard (1588-1641), known as the "poor priest" of Paris, whose homilies contain passages that echo its words. No matter who wrote this prayer, it was Father Bernard who did much to popularize it, teaching it in hospitals and prisons, where Mary's intercession was effective in working miracles of grace. The first manuscript of the Mem...
Read more

'Greater Love: Richie Fernando SJ', a joy-filled Filipino missionary

By -
Image
 I haven't been able to post for more than a week as I was giving an eight-day directed retreat to eight sisters of the Missionaries of Charity near Manila. While I had some access to the internet it was rather slow. I had intended to make a post here on the murder of Fr Fausto Tentorio PIME , a 59-year-old Italian priest, in the Diocese of Kidapawan, Mindanao, on Monday 17 October. I will save that post for a later date. As I was looking for a video about Father Fausto I came across one about Brother Richard Michael 'Richie' Fernando SJ, a Filipino Jesuit scholastic who died while trying to prevent a troubled and disabled young man in Cambodia from throwing a grenade. That was in 1996 - on 17 October. Father Fausto gave his life exactly 15 years later. I remember the mixture of sorrow and pride I felt when I read of the death of Brother Richie, pride as a missionary in the Philippines that a young Filipino seminarian had given his life so spontaneously in order to sav...
Read more