Pastor's Column

2^nd Sunday of Lent

March 4, 2007

 

 

One purpose of Lent is to give us an opportunity to grow in our relationship with the Lord by moving away from sin to holiness. In order to do that we must first come to know ourselves and how we are really living our lives. The purpose of an examination of conscience is to affirm the areas where we are doing well and to expose areas that we may be kidding ourselves. There are few practices in the spiritual life better than a brief examination of conscience. This one is adapted from St Ignatius Loyola.                                   

 

 

v     Place yourself in the presence of God. Calm your mind and remember that God is aware of you and loves you as his child.

 

v     Begin by thanking God for the blessings you have received this day. It is crucial not to omit this step. Notice that in the Our Father we always begin by thanking and end by asking.

 

v     Next, try to recall when you responded well to God, or listened to his voice, or tried to follow to gospel today. These positive reflections are also crucial to spiritual growth.

v     Then pray to the Holy Spirit to enlighten you as to your faults and to bring you to a firm spirit of repentance, especially your predominant fault.

 

v     Only now do you examine yourself for faults. Begin by looking at the predominant fault you have become aware of; then we look in other areas to see where this fault or others have been manifested. 

 

v     Finally, we tell the Lord how much we want to repent of our sins and how grateful we are for his blessings, and especially for the times were faithful to him. The whole process need not take more than 5 minutes.