Salvador Dali, the famous Spanish artist, was once asked what he thought was the most important thing in life. He answered in this way: "The most important thing in life is to be me. The second is to be Spanish."

While we may not all aspire to become Spanish, he was identifying two needs at the core of all our lives; to be ourselves, and to belong somewhere we experience as welcoming, and where we are valued for who we are. Many people will want to mould us to be the kind of people they want us to become, but our true friends see beyond our surface and the masks we put on, and recognise the goodness of the person we already are.

In many ways our true friends reflect to us the manner in which God looks at each one of us. While we may see the mess we have made of things; the mistakes we have made; the skeletons in the cupboard, and the need within each one of us to be loved, God looks at us with different eyes and sees the beauty that is already present within. He sees not just the person we are, but also the person he has called us to be. He sees not only the person who is looking for love, but the person he already loves.

At this time of the year when so many are preparing for exams, and where the pressure is there to succeed; let us not forget that our worth in God's eyes is not in our achievements or in our examination results, important as they may be. St Paul of the Cross reminded us that: "The passion of Jesus is a work of infinite love." Nothing can ever separate us from God's love, even at the times we feel most unlovable. Let each of us remember that even when life can be getting us down and things are difficult to cope with - that in the words of an old poster "God don't make no junk!"