The Examen

The Examen (“examination”) is a short daily review of the day in God’s presence. It comes from St. Ignatius of Loyola (1491–1556), a Basque soldier who became a priest and founded the Jesuits. His Spiritual Exercises, approved by Pope Paul III in 1548, call the “general examination of conscience” one of the most important practices and lay out five points for it.

The examination of conscience is far older (the Desert Fathers and St. Augustine practised it); Ignatius made it a simple daily method. Jesuits were expected to make it twice a day even when too busy for other prayer. Today it is often taught as a prayer of gratitude and awareness, not only a list of faults.

1. Give thanks to God for the gifts of the day, big and small.
2. Ask for light to see the day as God sees it.
3. Review the day hour by hour: where did you respond to God and to others well, and where not?
4. Ask forgiveness for where you fell short.
5. Resolve with God’s help to do better tomorrow, and close with an Our Father.

Steps summarized in our own words from St. Ignatius, Spiritual Exercises §43 (1548).

The Catechism recommends examining one’s conscience, especially before the sacrament of Penance, and describes conscience as “man’s most secret core and his sanctuary” (CCC 1776–1779, 1454). The Examen is a private devotion; it complements, and does not replace, Confession.