Revolution of Love.com
The Examine of Conscience According to St. Ignatius of Loyola
by Brian
I don't claim to be an expert on the spiritual life, but one method of prayer that I practice and readily endorse comes from St. Ignatius of Loyola. He developed a structure of prayer that is simple, practical and specifically designed to help souls grow in virtue and sanctity. Ignatius called this method of prayer: the examination of conscience.
This method of prayer, also known as the "examine", comes from the spiritual exercises. It includes five easy steps:
1) To thank the Lord for the graces, both temporal and spiritual you received.
2) Ask for the grace to know your sins and to struggle to rid yourself of them.
3) Examine your thoughts, words and actions from one hour to the next.
4) Ask God to forgive you for the sins you have committed.
5) Make a resolution to amend your life with God's grace.
For Ignatius to include "thanksgiving" as a first step in the examine is simply brilliant. If there is anything that most Catholics omit from their daily prayer, it is thanksgiving. This is one reason, among others, why I see this method of prayer as important. It forces us to consider God's goodness and to give Him thanks for all the temporal and spiritual blessings we have received.
Once we give thanks to God for the blessings He has granted us we should turn to the Holy Spirit. Why the Holy Spirit? Because He is the one person who can help us recognize our sinfulness. When we ask the Holy Spirit to fill our mind and heart with His Holy light we are really asking Him to help us see what sins we have committed and/or omitted during the specific time frame we are examining.
With our sins before us, we are now ready to take them to the Lord. Like a loving Father, God is always there with outstretched arms waiting to embrace us and take us into His love. There is no sin too small or big that God will not forgive, provided we are sorry for them and truly desire to avoid them in the future. What makes this step so vital in the examine is that it helps us recognize that we are sinners and are in need of God's forgiveness and mercy.
The last step, like the other four, must be put into practice. I think this step is the one that has been most forgotten in general amongst Catholics. Spiritual masters like St. Francis de Sales, Alphonsus Ligouri and Ignatius himself recommended that at the end of one's meditation and/or prayer a resolution should be made. To make a resolution is to make a commitment. It is a commitment to grow in holiness for love of God.
St. Ignatius recommends that the examine be made twice a day, once in the afternoon and once at night before retiring. I think this is a great idea. It not only will help us stay connected to God throughout the day, but will also help us stay on top of our sins. How much time should we devote to the examine? This depends on the individual, but some have said that spending 10 minutes per each examine is good.
The examination of conscience proposed by Ignatius of Loyola is a great gift. It is simple, easy and anybody can use it. If you are searching for a method of prayer that will lead you to virtue and closer to God, the "examine" is for you.
God bless!