Dear Friends,
Growing up, many of us who are Christian were taught to pray every morning and night, beginning and ending each day close to God.
Depending on what kind of faith formation we had, we might have been given an examination of conscience to use, as we prayed at night and thought back on our day. Often, these examens were focused on calling to mind our sins and the examen topics may have left us cold. Sometimes, they simply did not apply to our lives, or if they did, the topics were bland or made us squirm without containing any valuable thoughts to build on the next day. We may have given up the examen, or if we continued to practice it, we developed our own way of assessing our days as faithful to God or not.
What follows here is an examen designed by Sister Joan Roccasalvo of the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Brentwood, NY, and is circulating nationally. It’s a spiritual practice that asks where and how did we meet and recognize God throughout the day. This practice reaches into the core belief of our congregation that we are called to love and serve the dear neighbor without distinction. If you find it potentially enlarging for you, please use it to pray yourself into a future full of grace.
Neighbor
Whom did I meet throughout the day? Who met me? Was there relationship, service, good and love in the meeting?
Love
How did love come to me today -- or the opposite? How did I love? What moved my heart? The heart of another?
God
What will/does/did God call me to today? What happened between us? With others?
Summation
Was there something of this ordinary/extraordinary day that I cherish regret, aim to carry into tomorrow/my future?
***With whom and how can I share the fruits/results of this experience? ***
