Examen

Where it comes from

Ignatius of Loyola (1491 to 1556) founded the Society of Jesus, the Jesuits, in 1540. His Spiritual Exercises, a guide for a retreat of about a month, was approved by Pope Paul III in 1548 and is still used by retreat directors today.

Among its first instructions is a daily review he calls the General Examen. He gives it in five points, which are the five prompts of this module.

He also teaches a Particular Examen, which follows one chosen fault through the day: you resolve against it on rising, check yourself after the midday meal and again after supper, and mark each fall with a dot on a line. This module is the General Examen, a review of the whole day.

It contains in it five Points.

First Point. The first Point is to give thanks to God our Lord for the benefits received.

Second Point. The second, to ask grace to know our sins and cast them out.

Third Point. The third, to ask account of our soul from the hour that we rose up to the present Examen, hour by hour, or period by period: and first as to thoughts, and then as to words, and then as to acts, in the same order as was mentioned in the Particular Examen.

Fourth Point. The fourth, to ask pardon of God our Lord for the faults.

Fifth Point. The fifth, to purpose amendment with His grace. Our Father.

St. Ignatius of Loyola, Spiritual Exercises, "Method for Making the General Examen," translated by Elder Mullan, S.J. (1914)

How it is prayed

Most people pray it once a day, at night, in ten to fifteen minutes. Modern guides usually put the five points in plainer words, as this module does: give thanks, ask for light, review the day, ask forgiveness, and resolve for tomorrow.

The third step is the longest. Ignatius asks for the day hour by hour, so go through it in order: the morning, the work, the conversations, the evening. Notice where you were grateful and where you fell short, and leave the judging to the fourth step.

How the module works

Five numbered prompts, one for each point, with two lines under each. It sits on the daily page, so the book has a fresh one every day.

Two lines is deliberate. The Examen is a prayer, not a diary entry: a few words under each step is enough to remember it by, and enough to look back on at the end of a week.