This Spiritual Exercise is very important to grow in the awareness of God’s loving presence in our lives. God is love; God is everywhere; God sees all our actions, even the smallest actions. God can see our thoughts; He can even read our hearts and our intentions. St. Paul, quoting a Greek poet, expresses this beautiful fact in these words about God’s presence in all times and places: “In Him we live and move and have our being.”
The Daily Examen can be done in any time and place, and it doesn’t take much time. Give yourself between five and ten minutes. Try to be faithful to it every day. It is best to have a set time and set place, for example, ten minutes before dinner or ten minutes before going to sleep at night. St. Ignatius, the saint that God gave the Spiritual Exercises to, insisted that we never skip or omit doing the Daily Examen.
By being faithful to your Daily Examen, you will become more aware of God’s presence in your life. You will become more aware of how God can speak to you through circumstances. You will become more attentive to God speaking to you through persons, places, events, joys and sorrows, successes and even failures.
KEY TO HOLINESS. A key to growing in friendship with God and growing in holiness is becoming more and more aware of God’s love for you and His presence in your life. Also, it is very important to be docile to God—this means, being open to His voice and saying “Yes” to Him. Our Lady was constantly aware of God’s presence in all times, places and circumstances; her “Yes” permeated her whole life; she is a wonderful model for us.
The DAILY EXAMEN can be divided into five simple steps; these steps lead us to awareness of God, love for God, and union with God: the Father, Holy Spirit, and Jesus as our Brother and Best Friend. Friends like to know where their friend is, what he likes, and what he is doing. Jesus should be our Best Friend, so we should try to think about Him often, where He is, and what He wants. The Daily Examen will help us grow in Friendship with Jesus.
Following are the five steps of the Daily Examen. After doing the Daily Examen several times, you will most likely have the steps memorized and they will be part of your daily spiritual life.
THE IGNATIAN DAILY EXAMEN OF CONSCIOUSNESS
1. The Psalmist invites us to give thanks to God: “Give thanks to the Lord for He is good, eternal is His mercy.” Start off your prayer by thanking God. God is very pleased when we are thankful, when we are grateful. However, He is hurt when we never tell Him thanks. Once Jesus healed ten lepers and only one came back to thank Jesus. Jesus was surprised and hurt that only one came back to give thanks. We want to be that “one” who is always thanking God. What can you thank God for? For everything! In fact, all the good things that we have are pure gifts from the bountiful hand of our loving Father. You might thank God for your family—your parents, brothers and sisters; thank Him for your friends; thank Him for your health; thank Him for the joy in your heart. Most especially thank God for your faith in Him. Many do not even believe in God, but you do because God has given you this gift of faith. Right now, this day, God has given you many things that have given you joy of heart: thank God for these gifts. Spend as much time as you want in giving thanks to God.
2. PETITION: BEG FOR THE GRACE TO SEE YOURSELF AND YOUR DAY THRU GOD’S EYES. The next step is to beg God, like a beggar, to see what has happened in the past day since your last Daily Examen. Pray for the grace to see what has happened with Jesus and Mary at your side.
3. REPENTANCE/CONTRITION. It is very important to be very honest and sincere with God: your loving Father, who is like the father of the Prodigal Son, and Jesus your Best Friend. As you rewind the film of your life, observe your failures. Maybe you talked back to Mom or Dad. Maybe you fought with your brother or sister, or both. Maybe you disobeyed. Maybe you gave into laziness and didn’t carry out your duty, such as your schoolwork. Or maybe you complained or failed to take out the trash. Maybe you told a lie or two. Maybe you were impatient and angry, and hurt someone because of this bad attitude. In the Daily Examen we must be aware of what is going on in our hearts, our words, our actions, and even our intentions.
4. After we have humbly recognized our failures, then we turn to our loving Father and our Best Friend Jesus, and say with great simplicity and humility of heart, SORRY! I’m sorry for my selfishness, impatience, disobedience. I really am sorry especially because I have hurt you through these thoughts, decisions, words and actions. However, I trust in your infinite love and mercy for me. JESUS, I TRUST IN YOU.
5. RENEWAL AND PROPOSAL FOR THE NEXT DAY. The last step of the Daily Examen is renewal and a proposal to change and do better the following day. Having thanked God for so many blessings, having begged for the grace to see my life through the eyes of God, having examined my words, actions, intentions and failures, having repented for my shortcomings, now I am ready to start again. Knowing myself better, with this self-knowledge I will try to avoid going back to my bad habits, my negative and sinful patterns. Rather, starting right now, I will renew my love for God, my good will, and my noble proposals, and I will strive with all of my heart to be more aware of God’s loving Presence in my life and respond generously to His loving call. I will say with the Psalmist: “The Lord is my Shepherd, there is nothing I shall want.” (Psalm 23)
Father Ed Broom, OMV, is Associate Pastor of St. Peter Chanel Church in Hawaiian Gardens, California. He is a member of the Oblates of the Virgin Mary and was ordained by Saint John Paul II on May 25, 1986. Fr. Ed teaches Catholic Ignatian Marian Spirituality through articles, podcasts, a radio show, retreats and spiritual direction.
