The Dust of Our Souls

As I mentioned in the beginning of Lent, one of the books I chose to read was Heart of Joy by Blessed Mother Teresa. The following is found on page 78 and I thought it meaningful as we attempt to cleanse ourselves before Easter.

"This year we ought to prepare a manger of poverty. It will be easy to fill up with charity.

We are convinced that we know each other very well personally. Our lives belong to God--why spend so much time analyzing ourselves?

The problem is not that we don't make our examination of conscience but that we do it by ourselves. We must do it with Christ if it is to be a sincere examination--Jesus is our 'co-worker.'

Our souls should be like a transparent crystal through which God can be perceived. This crystal is sometimes covered with dirt and dust. To remove this dust we carry out our examination of conscience, in order to obtain a clean heart.

God will help us to remove that dust, as long as we allow him to, if our will is that his will come about. Perhaps this is what we have lacked.

Our duties, our attitude toward our neighbor, our contacts, can offer us matter for reflection. If we carry out our examination without anything to divert our attention, we will realize that we need Jesus to help us discover our unfaithfulnesses.

Our examination of conscience is the mirror we focus toward nature: a human test, no doubt, but one that needs a mirror in order to faithfully reflect its faults. If we undertake this task with greater faithfulness, perhaps we will realize that what we sometimes consider a stumbling block is rather a rock we can step on."