The Prayer of Examen
Spending a few minutes to reflect upon the day that you just lived, can bring much love and healing to your heart as you go to rest for the night. This prayer exercise is an outstanding gift from Saint Ignatius. “Examen” is the Latin word for “a consideration and examining,” and is practiced daily by the Jesuits, and means “an examination of conscience.”
My journal, with many Examens written in its pages, has become a source of astonishing memories that I otherwise might not have recorded. Some of the little, seemingly insignificant moments of my life come to flood me with much more joy and peace as I read them again and receive what was given to me. As well, some of the very painful or difficult struggles that once nearly overwhelmed me become a place of refuge as God meets me there with peace and solutions. I am discovering the truth that God is indeed in all things.
Some nights, however, I simply collapse into bed, and they never get recorded; I merely try to look to my loving God while I drop off to sleep. I used to feel terribly guilty if I fell asleep while praying. When I asked God about this, I was reassured that I wasn’t doing something bad or neglectful; instead, I learned that falling asleep while sensing such nearness with God is a beautiful resting place (Psalm 4:8).
Exercise: Find a comfortable and quiet place to enter this exercise.
MOST GRATEFUL: As events of the day come to your mind, ask God to bring to your awareness the moment for which you are most grateful. (Which moment would you like to relive? When were you most able to give and receive love Today? Ask yourself what was said or done in that moment that made it so good.) Breathe in the gratitude you felt for this and receive a life-giving moment. Rest in this place and receive all that this moment gave you.
LEAST GRATEFUL: Ask God to bring to your awareness the moment for which you are least grateful today. (When were you least able to give and receive love? Ask yourself what was said and done in that moment that made it so difficult?) Revisit the feelings you had without trying to change or fix it in any way. Take deep breaths and let God's love fill you just as you are. Be loved with things just as they are.
GIVE THANKS: thanks for whatever you have experienced. If possible, share as much as you can of these two moments with a friend.
This exercise is meant to have you feeling loved in the moments you are grateful for (re-entering a moment in your day that may have passed too quickly!), but also to feel loved in those moments you are least grateful for. This can be healing because without changing or fixing anything, you sense God’s deep love for you in your most vulnerable places.
From: “INVITED” by Lorie Martin, Prayer of Examen, page 139-144