Revealing Our True Self

A story is told about Michelango’s encounter with a man at the unveiling of his sculpture David. “How in God’s name could you have achieved a masterpiece like this from a crude slab of marble?” the man asked. “It was easy,” Michelangelo replied. “All I did was chip away everything that didn’t look like David.”

Is this a true story? As Sr. Lillian Harrington used to say, “All stories are true. Some actually happened.” Whether or not it actually happened, this story has something to tell us about how to chip away the stony parts of ourselves that aren’t who we really are to reveal our true self.

As children, we are raised to adopt the values of our families and society. That often means that we want to be wealthy, powerful, successful, attractive, intelligent, entertaining, or famous. Over time, these veneers harden and hide the parts of us that reflect God—our instincts to be kind, compassionate, forgiving, generous, and humble.

Feelings of being overlooked, offended, disrespected, or disliked are generally signs that we need to chip away the parts of ourselves that care about such things, because our true self knows we are loved and have inherent worth because we are children of God.

In this life, we are all sculptors who are given lots of opportunities to chisel away what obscures our life in God. Let’s encourage each other to trust in the beauty and truth that lies within each of us and be vulnerable enough to reveal it. It is what God wants for us, for as St. Irenaeus said, “The glory of God is a person fully alive.”