15th June 2014

Prayer Of Examen
I have been toying with the idea of putting this in the newsletter, the last couple of weeks. It is a prayer I use often and find very helpful. On Thursday though, I was coming to the conclusion “No. It’s too long”. When I went over to Gumley and there it was on the table for people to take: Once you’ve read it, you’ll understand, that I had no choice but to include it!

Prayer Of Examen

More than any other prayer the Examen is the central prayer of St. Ignatius. It is a prayer of looking back. It is not just reflecting on what has gone wrong but a wider look at what has happened during my day – the good things and the bad things – trying to see where God has been moving.
The Examen is best used regularly. Most people find it helpful in the quiet time before going to sleep. It takes around a quarter-of-an-hour. The prayer covers 5 points.

1.No matter what I am worrying about…Stop!
God is with me – quiet perhaps, but always there.
I remember that God has created all things. Everything I have is a gift from God. Is there something that I would especially like to give thanks for today?

2 I ask God to shine his light into my heart so that when I look back over the day I may be able to see God working in the things that have happened.

3 Now I remember through the day starting from when I woke up. I remember the people that I met and the things that have happened.
On the whole, was it a “good” or “bad” day?
Was it a normal day, or unusual in some way?
Who did I meet during the day?
In all the things that have happened, how do I feel? What caused my feelings and did they change during the day?

God guides us through our moods and feelings. Normally, the way of God is (in a deep sense) peaceful and consoling. If your day was disturbed or if you were uneasy, can you sense where that uneasiness was coming from? Like a sailor who is buffeted by many different winds, we are affected by many different feelings. The better we come to know these swirling breezes, the easier it will be to see the perhaps subtle  movements of God in our lives.

4 An important question to ask is what can I be proud of today? (There will be things. If you can’t think of anything, then you haven’t looked hard enough.)

I will give thanks for this.
But also, did I turn away from God during the day?
I will say a prayer asking for forgiveness for anything I might have done to ignore or hinder God’s love during the day that has passed.
I will ask especially for the graces of healing and strength.

5 The final part of the prayer is to look forward to tomorrow. We are people of hope. Let us remember that God will be with us then.

If we practice the Examen, we will grow to know ourselves and our moods and with the help of God, see in our prayer that God is moving in our lives. As our hearts become more sensitive we will recognise God more quickly so that eventually we will be sensitive to the God who is not just in holy things, but the God who is in ALL things.