Page 6 - SPIRITUAL EXERCISES 1832

In the General Examination of conscience this morning I
reflected on my pride, and I realized that I do very little to
improve. In fact I do not avoid praise; at times I speak in my
own favour; I like to be loved and thought highly of by others,
and humiliations hurt a lot. That is what makes my self-love so
touchy, what causes the reaction I feel within myself even
when slightly wronged, and why I so easily take offence.

SECOND MEDITATION

On the means God has given me to be saved
and to become a saint

In the first point of this holy Meditation I understood how
much Jesus loves me: with no merit of mine, unlike so many
others, I was granted to be born in a Catholic town, and given
the precious gift of faith. I was moved to tears of warm
gratitude to my God, and it seemed to me I would have been
only too glad to shed my blood for his sake.

In the second point I considered how much Jesus has
done to save me, how much he has granted me that I may be
worthy to enter Heaven. The suffering of my Jesus, his Blood,
his grace, his merits, and everything so that I may gain
Heaven.

In the third point I considered the outstanding graces
the Lord has granted me all through my life, through which I

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