The Examen Prayer – A guided reflection for daily use

The Daily Examen Prayer

The Examen can be done at any time of the day, but it is highly recommended for midday and the close of the evening.

Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts 41

Transition:
Become aware of the love with which God looks upon me as I begin this examen.

Gratitude
Note the gifts that God’s love has given you this day and give thanks to God for them.

Petition
Ask God for an insight and a strength that will make this examen a work of grace, fruitful beyond your human capacity alone.

Review
With  God, review the day. Look for the stirrings in your heart and the thoughts which God has given you this day.
Look also for those which have not been of God.
Review your choices in response to both, and throughout the day in general.

Forgiveness.
Ask for the healing touch of the forgiving God who, with love and respect for you, removes your heart’s burdens.

Renewal.
Look to the following day and, with God, plan concretely how to live it in accord with God’s loving desire for your life.

Transition:
Aware of God’s presence with you, prayerfully conclude the examen

*The above text was adapted from a pdf online entitled “The Examen” found here

11 thoughts on “The Examen Prayer – A guided reflection for daily use”

  1. Thank You so much for the Examen Prayer. I have gotten sick a lot here lately. I have let stress into my life and it has been bringing me down. But thanks to the Examen Prayer, I feel so much better. Thank for your kind and gentle hearts. May God grant all of your hearts request. Thank You again.

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  2. What a great blessing that we have at Discerning Hearts. The Examen Pray is a prayer we want to pray some days but we can’t always find the words. I as God our Father to continue to Bless and keep each of you. Now may the Peace of Almighty God walk with each of you for the rest of your life here on earth.

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  3. Again I thank each of you. The Examen Prayer helps me at the close of my day. My husband has been sick and now he has cancer. I know God has heard both of our prayers, and we know that he is going to heal him. Thanks be to God for such peace. This is a lesson for us to truly Trust Him.
    God, our Father thank you again for being our Father, Thank you Jesus Christ for being our Lord and Savior. In your name I pray this prayer.

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  4. Thank you for this short but effective way of doing an examen. It is usually something I put off doing because I did not have an efficient effective method. Thank you so much. I go to sleep in peace

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  5. Such a beautiful prayer to examen my day before going to bed. Doing this is such a blessing for me. It brings me such peace!

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  6. I give thanks to Jesus for His help in a continuing “thorn in the side” and the problems of a sick wife.T his examen is a monumental help in these little crosses.Thank you Jesus.

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  7. I struggle to do this wondrous prayer. To take the time to do it justice does not happen readily on my own. Yet to hear the words flow in such a prayerful way eases me into deep contemplative praying and opens me up to knowing His presence is not far away. Thank you for assisting me and leading me to the waters which feed my soul.

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  8. THANKING GOD for calling those things that be NOT as though they were! According to our Faith, it will be done! This prayer helps us to reflect on God’s Grace which is sufficient for us as we trust Him for our daily bread!

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  9. If only we took to heart the wealth provided to us in this prayer, we would have all that we require to get through the day. Speaking for myself, when I am engrossed in my private thoughts of self-love, I find getting through all the steps insurmountable. It is then that I simply focus on one step, which may be the first transition or the aspect of gratitude. I have learned this from Fr. Gallagher and this is what God wants from me in that moment, namely, to sense His love for me or to appreciate what He has done mercifully for me in my brief life. A grateful heart is the key to opening myself to divine providence, to being led by a loving Father and not the fleeting, temporal world with its vanities and fashions, and pursuit of pleasure, honors, and riches. Thank you for the audio clip as well as the write-up to help remind me I am unable to change what I cannot control and delude myself when I think I can. This prayer and its steps prompts me to awaken to the present moment.

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