+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

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This conference in entitled Reform of Life. During the spiritual exercises, we have been meditating on the end of man, the need to avoid sin, the importance of following the example of Our Lord Jesus, etc. Now, as we are in the days of prayer, let us try to examine our day to day life in order to take concrete steps to correct things that need to be corrected. The days of Spiritual Exercises are a suitable moment to do such a reform of life, because during our normal course of life, we are occupied with so many things, and we are unable to sit down and think about our life as a whole. Now that we have dedicated time to prayer, we can make use of this opportunity to go a good introspection of how we act during our day to day activities and what changes will help us to improve our lives. We can consider this reform of life under four aspects: Human dimension, Apostolate, Intellectual, and Spiritual dimensions.

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I will present the points for the reform in the form of an examination of ourselves, so we can take time to think about these topics, especially those that are most relevant to each one of us in particular.

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I. First of all, the human dimension. In this dimension, we should consider all that relates to our family life and work life.

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Here we examine especially our relation to others

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1. Am I irritable towards the failings of others?

2. Am I too demanding?

3. Do I take away much time from other people?

4. Am I helpful towards others?

5. Do I forgive others? Am I resentful? Do I not speak for a long time with others who may have offended me? Do I hold rancour in my heart?

6. Have I developed habits that are hurtful or burdensome to others? E.g drinking, gambling, or at job, not doing well my duties, lying, etc.? All that relates to family life, work life.

 

In this way, we can examine many aspects to see if we are being just in our work place, and if we are caring in our families.

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If you are presently studying in school or college, you can examine if you are being disciplined in your study, if you work on getting those skills that you need to have, if you are careful in avoiding bad friendships, etc.

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II. Let is now move on to consider what is called the apostolate dimension. This is about our service in the Church, and also if we harmoniously unite our faith with our day-to-day life.

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We can think about:

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1. Do I help the parish with financial support?

2. Do I also assist the Pastor in the needs of the Church, helping prepare the Church for ceremonies, in the choir, helping in sacristy, with the readings, etc.

3. Am I able to take an active part in the propagation of the Catholic faith?

4. Do I take care not to do anything contrary to my faith in my work or in my school? 

5. Do I take care not to be carried away by the prevalent ideologies, but always to first learn carefully what the Pope and the Church teach about such and such a topic? 

6. Do I guide my daily actions, both at home and at work, by what I believe and by what the Church teaches?

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To guide our day-to-day life according to the principles of faith is one of the best apostolates that we can do. This is the best example we can give to non-believers. The Church expects this of all her children.

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III. A third dimension that we can consider in about our Intellectual life.

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Intellectual Life: first, as regards the duties of our state of life. If we are students especially, we should take care to obtain adequate intellectual (and practical) knowledge that will help us to perform well in our jobs. Similarly, in our work place. We should keep ourselves update on the information and skills needed in order to do our job well and to keep improving. We can examine ourselves on how we are doing in acquiring such knowledge, both intellectual and practical skills.

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In this same point, we can ask ourselves about our understanding of our faith.

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1. Do I seek to know more about the faith? For instance by studying the Catechism and by knowing the lives of the saints.

2. Do I attend good conferences on the Catholic faith?

3. Do I know how to defend the Catholic faith when it is attacked by persons of other sects or denominations?

 

Maybe I can partake in one or two study groups in the parish in order to improve my understanding of the faith.

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It is not that each of us should do all these things for our intellectual formation. But we should choose some of them that are most beneficial for us and try to organise our time in order to do them regularly, in order grow in our knowledge of the faith.

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IV. The fourth dimension where we should examine ourselves is the most important. This is the spiritual dimension. Here we should examine: how is my sacramental life and my prayer life? This dimension is very important because upon it will depend whether we lead good lives or not.

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So, let us first examine:

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1. Do I keep Sunday Mass as the most important moment of my week?

2. Do I arrive on time for Mass, participate consciously, listening to God’s word and receiving Holy Communion with devotion?

3. Do I love the sacrament of confession?

4. Do I go to confession at least once a month? 

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Even though we may not have committed serious sins, it is important to have the habit of monthly confession. Because in every confession, along with forgiveness of sins, we also receive an increase of grace.

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1. How about my prayer life?

2. Do I pray the Rosary everyday?

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If I live with my family, I should try my best to pray the Rosary together as a family.

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Do I also give time to meditate on the Bible, especially on the Gospels?

It is good to have at least 15 - 30 minutes of such meditation each day or every two days. Such meditation on the Bible – called Lectio Divina – is very profitable for the soul. You can also allot time for doing meditation on particular themes, as we do during the Spiritual Exercises. You can choose some themes of the Spiritual Exercises for your meditation. Daily Rosary along with meditation every day or every other day are a great help for us to grow in our spiritual life, in love of God and of neighbour.

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Let us keep in mind then that sacramental life and prayer life are crucial for our lives as Christians; let us be generous in dedication enough time for these, so as to take care of our souls. That is the way we will be able to face well the difficulties of life, give good example to others, and lead a life pleasing to God.

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These then are the four dimensions where we can examine and do a reformation of our life: The human dimension, apostolate, intellectual and spiritual dimensions. If there are points to be considered that were not mentioned above, it would be good to pay attention to them. Each one knows for himself what areas he should work on. So let us make use of these days of prayer to make a good reform of life and thereby improve our spiritual life. Just a final point: It is important to put in writing the main resolutions that you take. This way, once in a while you can read them again and check for yourself how you are progressing in the resolutions that you have made.