‘No one can be saved without self-knowledge, for from it comes the mother of salvation: humility’ (St. Bernard of Clairvaux).
Every teacher of the spiritual life praises self-knowledge, which, after the knowledge of God, is an indispensable tool on our path of following Christ.
Unfortunately, some people are afraid to know themselves. St. Teresa of Avila lamented that they were afraid of inner purification, which is linked to true self-knowledge, and added that these people did not know how many graces awaited them once they had passed through this stage of inner transformation. So we can ask ourselves why people fear self-knowledge: is it the unjustified fear of a punishing Father, or the fear of discovering that we are not as good as we would like to be, or that we do not correspond to the false image we have given to others?
God, our Father, knows us and always looks at us with love. This love does not diminish when we continue to struggle and suffer various defeats. On the contrary, the Lord will help us in these struggles. So there is nothing to fear. Rather, we will be able to attain the fruit of true self-knowledge: humility. The realistic acknowledgement of our imperfections will not lead us to depression because we are not as good as we would like to be, but will open us to the mercy of our Father. In this way we counteract our pride and realise with gratitude how much we depend on His grace. It is necessary to acquire this self-knowledge before God because it enables us to establish a realistic relationship with Him and with ourselves. In this way we can overcome any artificial image we have created of ourselves – a blessing for ourselves and for others!