Our journey to holiness, as I shared in the last installment of this article, is facilitated by honest self-examination. We first discover where we have failed to unconditionally lover others.

Seeing how well we have done on the journey is also important because sometimes the temptation is not to abandon the journey in some act of apostasy, but rather to forget that we are on a journey. Old habits creep back in. Unconverted ways of thinking assert themselves. Destructive ways of handling feelings continue to influence our choices and decisions. We allow the journey and the graced moments of life to wither from lack of attention.

Review and examination are the discipline we practice to keep the old, rejected spirits from taking up their residence in us once again. Try sitting quietly and just think about your life.