What is the Examen Prayer?

The examen prayer is a prayer recommended by St. Ignatius of Loyola and discussed in Fr. Timothy Gallagher's OMV book The Examen Prayer: Ignatian Wisdom for Our Lives which I am currently reading.  In it Fr. Gallagher presents the Examen prayer as a five step process that will help us develop relationship with God in our everyday life.

Essentially the examen helps us to examine our day with God and develop an awareness of God in our lives.  For me, the examen goes hand and hand with the first fourteen rules of Ignatian discernment because it really does teach us how to see the movement of the good and bad spirits that Ignatius talks about in the rules.

Praying the Examen

The steps of the examen as presented by Fr. Gallagher are, in paraphrase:

Transition.  Become aware of the love God has for you.

1. Gratitude.  Notice the gifts God has has given you over the course of the day and thank him.
2. Petition.  Ask God for insight and strength in order to make your examen a fruitful work grace.
3. Review.  Review your day with God.  Look for the ways God has stirred your heart and the thoughts He has given you.  Look for those ways and thoughts that were not of God. Review your choices in response to all of this and the other choice's you made throughout the day.
4. Forgiveness.  I ask for forgiveness and healing and allow God to remove your burdens.
5. Renewal.  Make plans with God about specific ways you can live tomorrow in accord with His loving desire for your life.

My First Experience with the Examen

This video inspired me to restore a damaged Blessed Mother statue I considered beyond repair.  I'm not finished yet but I will post photos when I'm done. If it goes well I may attempt another one.

I hope you'll take a couple of minutes to watch the video. It really is beautiful!

Father Timothy Gallagher teaches on St. Ignatius and discerning the will of God.  I first heard Fr. Gallagher teach on this topic on EWTN  and it really struck a chord with me.  So much so that I ordered not one but TWO of his books, Discerning the Will of God, and The Discernment of Spirits.

I'm hoping that these books will help me better understand Saint Ignatius and his work on discernment AND how to apply it in my own life.

On of the reasons I feel I need to focus on this topic is because spiritual warfare has been such a problem for me lately, it has been very hard to decide between various ebook projects.  I'm going to be talking more on the topic of spiritual warfare in my next post.  I'm also planning to do a short blog series on my process with Fr. Gallagher's books.

I've also been feeling called to shift emphasis in the blog (and in my life) to focus more on spiritual formation.  I'll still be blogging on Catholic books, religious art and creative writing,  of course, but I'm planning to do more posts on my faith - including my spiritual struggles.

So if these topics are of interest to you please check back!

This is one of my favorite paintings of the Blessed Mother!

I began to pull away from the new age and occult in May of 2017 and was almost immediately drawn toward Christianity. I was wary of returning to the Catholic Church and unsure about Christianity in general so I decided to ask God for a sign.

I prayed a lot that week and on Saturday, the 22nd of May, 2017, I prayed more.

The next day I went to the flea market as I did most Sundays. I had forgotten to stop at the ATM on the way and had only eight dollars with me, which was much less than I usually brought. But I didn't really care. It was raining - a slow steady kind of rain that promised to continue all day - and I didn't expect there would be many vendors or much of anything to buy.

When we pulled into the parking lot I saw that I was right about the vendors.  The large open area that was usually full of tables and tents was practically empty. The few sellers who had set up were spread out and the gravel lot was full of puddles.  But we decided to put on our slickers and see what we could find.

One of the first things I spotted was a chalkware Blessed Mother. For some reason I couldn't really explain, I'd been wanting one of those big old Mary statues for some time. Over the course of the last two summers I'd kept an eye out. But all those I'd seen were chipped or expensive or both.

The one in front of me that day was almost two feet tall and had no significant damage. So I was surprised when the woman on the other side of the table said it was mine for five dollars. It wasn't really my style but I liked the blue of Mary's cloak and the graceful curve of her neck. I bought it without any negotiation at all.

 A little further on, I saw a cold cast bronze St. Brigid's cross that had been made in Ireland. I asked the vendor the price and he said a quarter. And then, when I couldn't find any change, he refused my dollar and insisted I take the cross for free. I was happy that I was able to tell the  a bit about St. Brigid and what she had done so long ago in Ireland. And I started to get a good feeling about the day.

The next thing I saw was a bright silver crucifix shining through the rain,  When I got close I could see that it had a glass holy water font and a place on either side of the cross for candles.  I thought that the seller would probably want at least ten dollars for such a nice item but she didn't. She wanted three. So I got the crucifix too.

On the long damp ride home, I realized that I had bought three Christian items that had all been meaningful to me at one point in my life.  I understood that I had gotten them all on an unlikely day and for a surprisingly good price. But what struck me most was that I had bought them for the exact amount of money that I had with me, to the penny.

So I considered it sign. And decided that I should give Christianity another shot.

I started with a church tour of several local churches and ended up at a evangelical church that was not a good fit and then at a second liked better. I didn't spend any real time thinking about the Catholic church I had visited in the early days of the church tour or the fact that each of the items I bought that day at the fleas market were Catholic in origin.

Until, almost three years later, I was forced to revisit it.

It began with car problems.  Getting to the new Protestant church I had joined was impossible. Finally, after several weeks, it occurred to me that there were two churches within a short walk of my house and that one was actually just a block and a half away.

So I walked down the street and went to mass for the first time in what seemed like forever.  And the next week I went back.  And then, because I wanted to receive communion, I went to confession.  And that was huge.

Over the next few weeks I thought about the spiritual journey I'd made and the enormous circle that has brought me back to a place that is, and always was, just around the corner.

The items I bought that day at the flea market are gone and I know that there is some kind of lesson in that.  And while I'm still not sure just what that is, I think that it might be that God doesn't want me to be the kind of Catholic I used to be.  Or the kind of person I used to be.

I think that maybe he wants me to be something new.

About the Queenship of Mary

Today August 22, (my birthday!) the Church celebrates the Queenship of Mary.  On this feast day we honor Mary as the Queen of Heaven and Earth.  

Pope Pius XII established this feast day in his encyclical Ad Coeli Reginam, calling the Blessed Mother “Queen of Heaven and earth…exalted above all chairs of Angels and the ranks of the Saints in Heaven, standing at the right hand of Her only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.”

This pope encouraged all Catholics to turn to the Blessed Virgin in times of trouble and hardship and ask for her intercession.  And Mary is a particularly great resource when it comes to spiritual warfare.