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The Examen Prayer: Ignatian Wisdom for Our Lives Today

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In Jesuit spirituality enormous emphasis is placed on the form of prayer called the Examen. Ignatius Loyola would dispense his followers from virtually any religious observance but never from the Examen. When this exercise was understood as looking at the commandments and at personal violations of the commandments -- an examination of conscience really, a preparation for confession -- the prayer was negative in feel and its importance on a daily basis was difficult to fathom. But once the essence of the exercise was rediscovered as on-going discernment of God's presence, activity, self-revelation and calling-- an examination of consciousness -- the emphasis was understandable. The foreword to the book incidentally is written by Fr. George Aschenbrenner, SJ, whose 1972 article was pivotal in the rediscovery of the examen. Not many books have been written since on the topic, and this is the best I have come across so far. Gallagher uses the five main points of Ignatius in his Spiritual Exercises: gratitude for God's gifts, petition for God's grace, review of the day, forgiveness for our failings, renewal for the future. He explains not only the prayer itself, but the motives, settings, results, etc. He draws on a day in the life of Ignatius to illustrate the prayer and on dozens of examples to illustrate the way people in all walks of life have prayed and adapted it. For anyone seeking to find God and God's will in their lives, this form of prayer and this excellent guide are both recommended.

Discernment of the presence of God for every person from every ways of life.During the time of sadness and the time of joy. This book will help you to pray in the way you discover the presence of GOD who is the greatest designer for all of us. Moreover, you will find sooner rather than later that God is active and hard working PERSON.THE BEST FRIEND OF YOURS and mine, too.And demanding,too.

HOW COME you may ASK?

Well, read this book and you will find out in every second of your life.

But first of all apply this book, YES this is the book for those who apply reading to their own life. NOT for those who put the books aside.

And be quick to buy it. It is precious one.

On first reading I did not like it.But with time it grew on me as I discovered more and more chapters filled with insight that every Christian can relate to.Some bad experiences and some good.This is a book by a man who knows how to direct,to teach and to encourage.It is obvious that he has a lot of experience as his every word is wise and delicate.Those practising the examen will dip into it on a regular basis and never really tire of it.It is part of a trilogy and my only qualm is that on step three of the examen you need more info to discern correctly.His book on the discerment of spirits is excellent and is vital to the correct practise of step three.Overall I think buying his books has been my best investment this year.Put it on top of your "to buy" list and let Fr Gallagher help you to draw closer to Jesus through the wonderful prayer of Examen.

Great experience. The read is complete and thorough with lots of persepectives on how to engage personally. I am learing to use examen in my own life.

An underlying methodology, or series of practices, was presented to us by Father Timothy M. Gallagher, O.M.V. in his first book, "The Discernment of Spirits." We could call them the "tools of the trade," indispensable for discernment. We learned about the necessity of our own "awareness," "understanding," and "action." We were shown how to use and live Saint Ignatius' fourteen Rules for Discernment. This was all prefaced by the premise quoted by Father Gallagher from the work of Jean Pierre de Caussade, S.J., in "Abandonment to Divine Providence," II, 1. Here he told us "All creatures live in the hands of God.... There is never a moment when God does not come forward in the guise of some suffering or some duty, and all that takes place within us, around us and through us both includes and hides his activity. Yet, because it is invisible, we are always taken by surprise and do not recognize his operation until it has passed by us. If we could lift the veil and if we watched with vigilant attention, God would endlessly reveal himself to us and we should see and rejoice in his active presence in all that befalls us. At every event we should exclaim: "It is the Lord!" (Jn 21:7). Nothing could happen to us without our accepting it as a gift from God."

To begin to "lift the veil," which can also be said to "dis"-cover, we need "awareness" and "understanding." Only then can we take appropriate "action." The fact that Father Gallagher uses this book to present us with simply "one" of the "practices" in the discernment process, underlines its importance. It's called "The Examen Prayer," or simply an Examen. Saint Ignatius of Loyola (and many other saints after him) recommended that we become more "aware" with an "Examen." An examen is not an examination of conscience, but rather a general analysis or survey of our day and done at least once a day. We look over our day, its events, persons and circumstances and allow them to pop to the surface of our mind, permitting us to understand them. Our feelings can help indicate what God desires for us in our life. We notice our reactions during meetings, encounters with others, work, spending time with kids, doing volunteer work, praying--whatever! Do we feel joyful, drawn to God, full of faith and hope? Or, do we feel sad, depressed, a sense that God is far away? Our feelings are an indication of whether we are moving towards or away from God. Our feelings are the "tip of the iceberg," whereby we can search deeper. Once we notice whether our feelings (which might have led to actions) are moving us towards God or away from Him, we can identify real opportunities offered by the Lord to "dis"-cover Him or as ones in which we did not recognize Him. Over time, we begin to see patterns and reoccurrences of things that then help us to "dis"-cover our greatest weakness. We recognize this as God calling us to a deeper conversion. We then use these to make the necessary corrections. We can therefore make decisions about our life that bring us to feel drawn to fuller faith, greater hope, and joy-filled peace. We can see this accomplishing what Saint Ignatius taught, "easing and taking away all obstacles, so that the person (we) may go forward in doing good." The "Examen" sharpens our awareness and understanding to better succeed in this.

The biggest challenge I think we all face is incorporating or firmly integrating the Examen into daily lives. This book will go a long way to help us face that challenge.

I have been struggling through the rules of Ingation Spirituality and found this book to be a very easy to read helpful book. It does it in a way that invites you very easily to partake in a daily exam. By doing this daily I have found that I do not carry around past issues. Easy to read.Recommeded for people wanting to grow.

One of the best books I've ever read on how to grow in your relationship with Jesus Christ. Fr. Gallagher shows the reader how to use the daily examen as a tool for growing in gratitude and sensitivity to how God is working in one's daily life, while avoiding the common traps of guilt and self-preoccupation. Very clear, with helpful examples in each step of real people who have benefited from Saint Ignatius' spirituality applied to today.

This is a book I would love to give to all my family and friends!

I cannot remember reading a more helpful book on prayer. Without mystification or hyperbole, Father Gallagher shows how powerful the five-step prayer of the Examen is. His prose possesses an uncluttered simplicity and the anecdotes he sprinkles throughout his discussion genuinely inspire.

I don't know how I found this book, but I'm so glad that I did. Gallagher takes Ignatian excercises and makes them so accessible. While reading The Practice of the Presence of God and Letters by a Modern Mystic (both are must reads, must LIVE) this book just naturally stoked the flame that was being lit. Faithful to Scripture, Ignatius, and people who have shared their experiences with "the examen," Gallagher graciously invites the reader to take the examen to heart in order to know and love God more fully. I look forward to reading other books by this author, and digging in to Ignatius.

A perfect website to accompany this book is [..]

After reading this book, you understand the need that we have as Christians to interact with God and to give time to Him throughout the day. Examen.me is a perfect resource that can be used to "live out" the book.