This post is based on Week Two of An Ignatian Prayer Adventure.
One of the gifts of the Spiritual Exercises is that the retreatant learns about the art and practice of discernment. One of the concrete ways that we practice discernment is through the daily Examen, a practice which helps us be sensitive to our interior life and sift through our reactions so that we may reflect before making a choice.
Fr. Kevin O’Brien, SJ, talks about discernment and the Examen in the video below. O’Brien is the author of The Ignatian Adventure: Experiencing the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius in Daily Life.
I have always sought to simplify discernment for me and the people I minister to. So here is a simple set of questions to answer: “Am I living each moment of my day in the way I want God and my loved ones to remember me by when I die?” If yes, there is nothing mere to do. If not yet, “what am I waiting for.”
I can’t get to any videos.
Timothy, the video should appear within the post above. If for some reason it’s not in your browser, view it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBQlU9LZygQ.
Denise Gorss
IgnatianSpirituality.com Editor
God is always inviting us to grow in faith – Well said Fr Kevin.
I have been doing the Examen for about 20 years and it is my favorite prayer. I journal my Examen and am finding that I am writing the same things over and over. How can I spice it up? I like journaling the Examen so that I can recognize graces or patterns that I need to be aware of. Any suggestions?
Linda, you might like Reimagining the Ignatian Examen by Mark Thibodeaux, SJ. In it, Fr. Thibodeaux suggests flexibility with the Examen and offers fresh versions of this popular prayer.
Denise Gorss
IgnatianSpirituality.com Editor