Examen 3: What is it?

The prayer of the Examen (or Simple Examen or Daily Examen) was taught at the beginning of the Spiritual Exercises, in front of the 4 movements, or, 4 weeks:

WEEK 1) God’s mercy, forgiveness, unconditional love; we are loved/broken

WEEK 2) Life of Jesus, God entering the world, light enters our night time

WEEK 3) Standing with Jesus, we stand with the poor. Passion & compassion

WEEK 4) Resurrection, new life and more love which directs our next steps

The Spiritual Exercises is made in 4 weeks, or the 19th annotation, which I make with SEEL Puget Sound each year as a 9 month retreat. But The Examen? It is the whole of the Spiritual Exercises in a 5-minute daily work-out routine! Here are 5 points about the Examen:

1)             THE Essential Spiritual Exercise: It’s the Cornerstone to Ignatian prayer, has the foundation of love:, grounds us in gratitude, offers God’s presence & mercy, and guides us to new life. It is a loving conversation with God, which is Ignatian prayer.

2)             Spirit-Led. God goes first. We prepare to listen, making ourselves quiet and sensitive to the spirit and the movements in our lives. We know that we belong to and are loved into a world that God loves and sustains. God is always wanting to be with us, constantly seeking us, caring for us before we care for ourselves. The Examen allows God a way in…

3)             Deals in the REALS , that is the observable, truth of our days. The Examen help us to detect it, not invent it. The Examen uses the rigors of science to look at our life with God. We don’t make it up, not the difficult challenges nor the unbelievable joys! The Examen requires our humility, keeps our feet on the ground, helps us find God in all the things – all the REAL things.

4)             FOUNDATION for DISCERNMENT With the Examen, we develop a regular way to listen to our lives, and then, more and more, we move below our necks and busy brains, to notice our personal patterns and habits.

 A Jesuit friend and Professor, David Leigh, outlined the prerequisites to discernment: knowing yourself, knowing the world, being sensitive to God’s spirit and having a freedom of heart. We become discerning people by praying the Examen.

5)             Personal Transformation: The Examen opens our hearts, motivates us in our days, strengthens our desire to grow as people, moves us forward with our lives, helps us look ahead with promise to the next day.

By praying the Examen, we become the people that Ignatius prayed we would be:  grateful, generous, and available.