The Examen Prayer
Taken from The Examen Prayer - Timothy Gallagher
Introduction to ● growth in relationship with God occurs through mutual self-revelation
the Examen ● the examen is a way of praying that opens our eyes to God’s daily self-revelation and
increasingly clarifies our own responses to it.
● the examen is truly prayer, something we ask God to do, and not human achievement
● the examen is our way of being regularly available to God so that divine light and love can
heal our darkness and point the way toward spiritual growth.
● NOTHING in the spiritual life can replace prayer that seeks this awareness of God’s daily
leading in our lives.
● St. Ignatius calls the examen “the key spiritual exercise”
● the examen is NOT the self-evaluation of a heart in isolation but rather a colloquy, a
conversation, a dialogue between two hearts.
Transition ● Begin the Examen by becoming aware of the love with which God looks upon you.
● See John 1:48, Mark 2:14, Luke 7:13, Mark 10:21
Step 1 ● “to give thanks to God our Lord for the benefits received”
Gratitude ● by starting with gratitude, we open the window into the deepest reality of our spiritual lives:
God’s unbounded love for us and desire for our response, in love, to the love revealed in
this giving.
● go through the day hour by hour or spontaneously
● let the Lord tell the concrete story of his love in the hours of this day
Step 2 ● step one teaches us that all we do and have comes from God
Petition ● petition is asking for the grace that alone can make our examen fruitful, recognizing that
even the rest of this prayer of the examen is a gift from God
Matt 7:7 ● humbly and sincerely ask for the outpouring of God’s grace and love that enables us to do
John 14:13
all things and so empowers us to practice the examen.
Step 3 ● we review our spiritual experience of the day (spiritual desolation and consolation,
Review affections, thoughts, feelings), ask God to shine light on our experience so that we may
remember it well
● when experiencing desolation (heaviness), what was the cause of it?
● when experiencing consolation (energizing joy), what is the Lord desiring me to do with it?
● this step contains enormous potential for growth in our capacity to notice, understand, and
respond fruitfully to the spiritual movements of our hearts and so to increase in Gospel love.
● watch for possible invitations from the Lord to moral growth
Step 4 ● “to ask forgiveness of God our Lord for my failings”
Forgiveness ● should flow naturally from our review done in step 3
● this is the privileged daily space of the deep experience of knowing that we are loved and
Luke 15:20 held by God in all our brokenness and littleness.
● in this step we reflect upon the times of our faults, the times in which we did not receive
God’s spiritual visitation.
● our asking is simply the gateway for God to respond with his loving embrace and
celebration.
Step 5 ● “to propose amendment with God’s grace”
Renewal ● first four steps have looked back from the perspective of the present. This step looks ahead
● as you look ahead to the next day, you normally have a good idea of what to expect.
● in this step look ahead to foresee and plan specifically how we will respond to God’s call to
growth.
● Which spiritual initiatives will lead most surely to growth?
● What specifically shall we undertake as we prepare for the coming day?
● Will we be able to live concretely the newness that we seek?
● this step will often - though not always - be concerned with seemingly small initiatives.
small enough that they would be unnoticed by others.
