In our Connect group, we try to practise the daily Examen - a prayerful way of reviewing the day so that we can notice more clearly where God has been at work with us and in us, so that we can choose more freely to cooperate with him in the days to come. Here's a new version of this prayer by Ross Jones SJ from Riverview, a Jesuit school in Australia. It comes from the Pathways to God website created by Jesuits in Britain.
1 Relax in the presence of God. Be aware of God’s loving presence in, and all around you.Thank God for something God has loved into your life since your last Examen.
2 Beg to be given the ‘mind and heart of Christ’, to see the reality as Jesus sees it. Reflect prayerfully over your day.
3 Go through the day with the Lord, checking the “WE”, what Jesus and you experienced together, against the “I” alone. As you reflect over the day, then, see everything about which you can say “WE” (even if you were not conscious of God’s presence at the time). For example: WE ate breakfast; WE went off to work; WE did our chores; WE were truthful when it really mattered.And see what you cannot say “WE” about, but have to say “I”. For example: I got angry with those people; I judged that person rashly; I failed to be kind to that one.
4 As we prayerfully reflect over our day in this way, God makes us keenly aware of the ways in which God touches us and is present to us all during the day. It is clear when we have walked other ways. Talk to God about it. Renew in love your sorrow for ever disappointing or offending our Father, and convey that to God.
5 Accept an invitation God gives you to repair any damage, and act better next time you face the same kind of situation in which you failed today.
End by praying the Our Father slowly.
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