"Knowing oneself is not difficult, but it is laborious: It implies patient soul-searching."
This was the Pope's observation as he continued his catechesis series on discernment at the Wednesday audience of October 5, 2022.
Last week, he spoke of the importance of natural, intimate prayer for finding God's will. Today he turned his attention to "an almost complementary" theme: "To emphasize that good discernment also requires self-knowledge."
The Pope cited his fellow Jesuit, Thomas Green, who writes in Weeds Among the Wheat: "Almost all of us hide behind a mask, not only in front of others, but also when we look in the mirror."
"Forgetfulness of God’s presence in our life goes hand in hand with ignorance of ourselves – ignoring God and ignoring ourselves – ignorance of our personality traits and our deepest desires," the Pope reflected.
Not difficult
The Pope said that we have to be patient in the effort to get to know ourselves. We have to "deactivate the autopilot," he said, and become aware of how we act, how we feel and think.
Pope Francis suggested the image of passwords. We have to know the password to the heart, he said - that is, the things that most touch us, "what we are most sensitive to." But, he warned:
He explained how Satan tempts with things that aren't necessarily bad, but simply taken out of their proper order and then "presented with excessive importance."
Examen
As a tool in the process of self-knowledge, the Pope recommended a hallmark of Jesuit spirituality: the examen prayer.
He gave some questions that might characterize this prayer:
~ What happened in my heart in this day? “Lots of things happened…” Which? Why?
~ What traces did they leave in my heart?
~ What satiates my heart?
~ To see: What passed by today?
~ What happened?
~ What made me react?
~ What made me sad?
~ What made me joyful?
~ What was bad, and did I harm others?
