Daily Examen

The Daily Examen is a prayerful review of the day — not a scorecard. You look back over the hours with God in order to notice: where love was given, where you were carried, where you turned away. Nothing is graded. The point is to see, to give thanks, and to tell the truth in quiet company.

St. Ignatius of Loyola treated this prayer as essential. He asked his companions to keep the Examen even when other practices had to give way. It was not an extra devotion for the unusually devout; it was how a person stayed honest before God in ordinary time. The shape is simple. You ask for light. You give thanks. You walk through the day as it actually was. You bring what needs healing into the open and ask pardon. You place tomorrow in God’s hands.

Ten or fifteen minutes is enough. It can be shorter. You can pray it at Last Light, or whenever the day is still close enough to remember. You do not need special language. You do not need to write unless a few words help you stay.

On Prayer on Fire the Examen belongs with the Journal — the interior notes you keep — not with account settings. You may pray it here without an account. If you want to keep what you noticed, register and save it to your Journal, where only you will see it.