April 2, 2018

OUR TIME OF DAILY SELF-EXAMINATION

In our Ignatian Spirituality, so named after the founder of the Jesuits Ignatius of Loyola, we daily examine our lives through the questions known as the Daily Examen. The five steps in order are:

1) GIVE THANKSGIVING FOR THE BLESSINGS OF THIS DAY

2) ASK FOR THE PRESENCE OF THE SPIRIT TO HELP YOU THROUGH THIS TIME OF SOUL-SEARCHING.

3) REVIEW WHERE YOU STUMBLED, STRAYED, SINNED OR REGRESSED IN LIVING OUT YOUR CHRISTIAN LOVE IN THAT DAY.

4) ASK THE LORD FOR FORGIVENESS AND THEN ASKING FOR THE LORD’S HELP WITH CHANGING YOUR LIFE NOW HAVING LEARNED FROM THE BLESSINGS AND STRUGGLES OF THIS DAY.

5) PRAY FOR THE COMING DAY THAT WITH THE LORD’S ASSISTANCE, YOU WILL PROGRESS IN YOUR MATURING IN LOVE.

Each day and every day, we ask these questions in a time of private and prayerful self-examination not for the purpose of fostering guilt and shame but rather for the purpose of fostering hope and possibility.

For a more detailed explanation of the Daily Examen, I refer you to https://fathercharitasdelacruz.blog/the-daily-examen/.

Always in His Service,
Fr. Charitas de la Cruz