Who am I, really? Amid the bustle of our daily lives, this question may not seem important. Yet the truth of who we are in relation to God underpins our lives as Christians.

Knowing ourselves

This self-knowledge was valued by many saints.

Saint Teresa of Avila emphasised that it must always be cultivated (Interior Castle, 1).

St Augustine wrote about it in his Confessions. He asked God, "Let me know you, O you who know me; then shall I know even as I am known."

St Ignatius created his famous Spiritual Exercises to cultivate better discernment of spirits through self-knowledge.

Building self-knowledge

Built through prayer and self-reflection, self-knowledge is essential to our relationship with God and is grounded in the fundamental truth that we are made in the image and likeness of God and possess inherent dignity (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 356).

We are created to share in God's life, and part of self-knowledge is seeing the many graces and talents He has given us for this end.

Though we are created good, we are fallen creatures. Self-knowledge is also the ability to recognise our sinfulness, which we often struggle to admit, even to ourselves.

Hiding our shame

Scripture warns us of self-deception: "The heart is deceitful above all things" (Jeremiah 17:9), and our wounded nature can lead us away from true happiness in God. We are therefore advised to "take heed to yourselves, lest your heart be deceived" (Deuteronomy 11:16).

This is difficult, however, because we tend to run from ourselves in ways that are deceptively ordinary, losing our temper with a family member, gossiping about a colleague, or committing a deeper, more shameful sin.

We are created to share in God's life, and part of self-knowledge is seeing the many graces and talents He has given us for this end.

Even in our self-reflection, it can be tempting to bury these memories to preserve our pride. This is insincere and moves us further from God and from the ability to fight our weaknesses.

An honest look

To overcome this pride, we must arm ourselves with self-knowledge, for example, by examining our conscience, spending a few minutes each day to reflect on what went well and what did not, and then making a resolution to do better the next day.

Discussing our reflections with a spiritual director, one well formed in the faith, can help us see things we might otherwise have been blind to and understand ourselves better.

Through reflection, prayer, and discussion, we see opportunities to give thanks to God for His graces, to grow in character, and to renew our battle against sin with vigour.

Self-knowledge is not merely recognising our flaws, nor should knowledge of our defects lead us to despair. We must also recognise that we are fundamentally good, beloved creations of God, with gifts we can use to serve our brothers and sisters.

Self-knowledge is to see the deep love of our Father, a love stronger than any of our sins.

As St Josemaría Escrivá recommends, it can be helpful to conclude our examination of conscience by considering "the fatherly care of God" (The Way, 246), reflecting not on despair but on love.

Accepting love

As we fix our hearts on the Lord, we find the answer to the question of "Who am I?" children of an infinitely loving Father, who guides us gently through life and leads us to make the best use of our gifts.

Armed with the knowledge that our Father is always at our side in our battle against sin and self-love, and that it all ends in His loving embrace, we can let go of our egos with peace, joy, and trust.

Key Takeaways

☑️ Self-knowledge is an important foundation for spiritual life that helps us grow in the knowledge of our dignity as children of God, with humility and love.

☑️ Self-knowledge requires us to recognise our flaws, which helps us make resolutions to improve. We can reflect on this daily through the examination of conscience.

☑️ Knowing ourselves also means recognising the infinite love God has for us, which helps us accept ourselves with serenity and joy.