The Daily Examen is a prayerful reflection on the events of the day which help us recognize God’s presence and discern God’s direction for us. The Examen is an ancient practice in the Church which became a popular way of praying, especially for individuals in religious life and more recently for lay people as well.
The Examen was popularized by St. Ignatius Loyola (1491-1556), founder of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits), who suggested that his brothers practice a daily way of praying which included an examination of how they were living their lives. According to Ignatius, the key to a healthy spirituality was recognizing God in all things and working to gain the freedom to cooperate with God’s will. Ignatius believed the Daily Examen was so important that he told Jesuits that it was the only spiritual exercise they should never skip.
The formal Examen includes five steps, and takes about 15 minutes to complete. Ignatius recommended that his followers perform the Examen twice a day—at noon and at the end of the day. Although there are many variations of the Daily Examen, the traditional one recommended by Ignatius included these steps:
1. Become aware of God’s presence.
2. Review the day with gratitude.
3. Pay attention to your emotions.
4. Choose one feature of the day and pray from it.
5. Look toward tomorrow.
One variation of the Examen, often recommended to lay Catholics in the years prior to the Second Vatican Council, was a daily “Examination of Conscience.” In practice, this daily examination usually amounted to a review of the Ten Commandments and what sins a person had committed.
According to Fr. George Aschenbrenner, a Jesuit expert on the Examen, that version distorted the original intention of the Daily Examen. The Examination of Conscience “has narrow moralistic overtones. Its prime concern was with the good or bad actions we had done each day,” Fr. Ashenbrenner explains. The original Examen is more a examination of awareness or consciousness; “the prime concern is not with the morality of good or bad actions” but with “the way God is affecting and moving us (often quite spontaneously!) deep in our own affective consciousness.” (Read Fr. Aschenbrenner’s comments here.)
Fr. Dennis Hamm, another Jesuit expert on the Examen, calls the daily examination of consciousness a habit of "praying backward through the day" and “rummaging for God.” “…[W]e are creatures who live one day at a time,” Fr. Hamm writes. “If God wants to communicate with us, it has to happen in the course of a 24-hour day, for we live in no other time.” This kind of listening or watching, Fr. Hamm explains, is like “going through a drawer full of stuff, feeling around, looking for something that you are sure must be in there somewhere” -- hence the idea of “rummaging" for God, an image, Fr. Hamm says, which “catches some of the feel of what is classically known in church language as the prayer of ‘examen.’” (Read Fr. Hamm’s article here.)
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The Evening Examen which appears daily on our Facebook page is a variation of the traditional Examen. It is designed for busy persons who nonetheless want to spend a few moments in reflection at the end of the day.
Each day the Evening Examen suggests a particular aspect of our lives in which we may -- or may not -- have experienced God's presence that day. It also invites us to consider in general ways in which we experienced the absence of God's mercy and love that day.
You may discover as you become accustomed to the Evening Examine that you want to make time for a more detailed and thorough Daily Examen. You can find more resources and information about the Examen here and here.
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Learn More About the Daily Examen
> Watch a video about the Daily Examen produced by the California Jesuits. [link]
> Use this video to pray the Daily Examen [link]
> A Simple, Life-Changing Prayer. Andrea Kelly. Thinking Faith. [link]
> Alive Among Us! Sr. Nancy Hawkins IHM. America, 2012. [link]
> The Daily Examen. IgnatianSpirituality.com. [link]
> Consciousness Examen. Fr. George Aschenbrenner SJ. Ignatian Spirituality.com. [link]
> Examen of Consciousness--Finding God in All Things. Phyllis Zagano. Catholic Update, March 2003.
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> A Method of Making the General Examen. Jesuit Spiritual Renewal Center. [link]
> Rummaging for God--Praying Backward Through Your Day. Fr. Dennis Hamm. IgnatianSpirituality.com
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