St. Teresa said
- that "your good works and your prayers
should have a sure foundation.
(This is especially important
if one is receiving many spiritual consolations from God)
- "that the first stone of this foundation
must be a good conscience and
She emphasized the necessity
of having a well-formed conscience
in order that:
-- one can recognize what is sin or a fault or neither.
-- one can then "make every effort to
free yourselves from even venial sins and
follow the greatest possible perfection"
As a result of error and also laxity
which we observe in the world around us,
subtlely and gradually, our own judgement can be affected.
Then, our own imperfectly formed consciences
can give us bad counsel.
So, as St. Teresa says,
it is important to
avail ourselves frequently
of the sacrament of Penance and also
seek counsel and guidance from our Priests
who have "learning, spirituality, and experience" since:
"Everything depends on our having true light
to keep the law of God perfectly.
This is a firm basis for prayer"
