The Examen with Fr. James Martin, SJ

We'll continue to use the same reflection and examen for the rest of the 20th Week in Ordinary Time. New reflections will be added every Sunday.  

We'll continue to use the same reflection and examen for the rest of the 19th Week in Ordinary Time. New reflections will be added every Sunday.  

In the next few weeks, I’m going to talk a little bit about what happens in prayer. In other words, what happens when you close your eyes? The Examen is a prayer of noticing where God has been during your day, but what happens in other prayer periods, where you are meditating on the Bible or just being in the presence of God? Well, one of the most common experiences are emotions. All sorts of emotions come up in prayer. If you read a story about Jesus healing someone, you might feel sadness that you’re not healed. If you are meditating on God’s presence in nature, you might feel a sense of comfort. If you’re at Mass and are praying along with the congregation you might feel joy. All of these are ways of God speaking to you. So can you see in that sadness an invitation to be honest with God about your feelings? Can you see in that comfort God comforting you? And can you feel in that joy an invitation to experience new life. A lot of times people dismiss such prayer experiences as, “Oh I was just being emotional.” Usually that’s not the case.  It’s probably communicating God with you. So pay attention.

We'll continue to use the same reflection and examen for the rest of the 19th Week in Ordinary Time. New reflections will be added every Sunday.  

In the next few weeks, I’m going to talk a little bit about what happens in prayer. In other words, what happens when you close your eyes? The Examen is a prayer of noticing where God has been during your day, but what happens in other prayer periods, where you are meditating on the Bible or just being in the presence of God? Well, one of the most common experiences are emotions. All sorts of emotions come up in prayer. If you read a story about Jesus healing someone, you might feel sadness that you’re not healed. If you are meditating on God’s presence in nature, you might feel a sense of comfort. If you’re at Mass and are praying along with the congregation you might feel joy. All of these are ways of God speaking to you. So can you see in that sadness an invitation to be honest with God about your feelings? Can you see in that comfort God comforting you? And can you feel in that joy an invitation to experience new life. A lot of times people dismiss such prayer experiences as, “Oh I was just being emotional.” Usually that’s not the case.  It’s probably communicating God with you. So pay attention.

We'll continue to use the same reflection and examen for the rest of the 19th Week in Ordinary Time. New reflections will be added every Sunday.  

In the next few weeks, I’m going to talk a little bit about what happens in prayer. In other words, what happens when you close your eyes? The Examen is a prayer of noticing where God has been during your day, but what happens in other prayer periods, where you are meditating on the Bible or just being in the presence of God? Well, one of the most common experiences are emotions. All sorts of emotions come up in prayer. If you read a story about Jesus healing someone, you might feel sadness that you’re not healed. If you are meditating on God’s presence in nature, you might feel a sense of comfort. If you’re at Mass and are praying along with the congregation you might feel joy. All of these are ways of God speaking to you. So can you see in that sadness an invitation to be honest with God about your feelings? Can you see in that comfort God comforting you? And can you feel in that joy an invitation to experience new life. A lot of times people dismiss such prayer experiences as, “Oh I was just being emotional.” Usually that’s not the case.  It’s probably communicating God with you. So pay attention.

We'll continue to use the same reflection and examen for the rest of the 19th Week in Ordinary Time. New reflections will be added every Sunday.  

In the next few weeks, I’m going to talk a little bit about what happens in prayer. In other words, what happens when you close your eyes? The Examen is a prayer of noticing where God has been during your day, but what happens in other prayer periods, where you are meditating on the Bible or just being in the presence of God? Well, one of the most common experiences are emotions. All sorts of emotions come up in prayer. If you read a story about Jesus healing someone, you might feel sadness that you’re not healed. If you are meditating on God’s presence in nature, you might feel a sense of comfort. If you’re at Mass and are praying along with the congregation you might feel joy. All of these are ways of God speaking to you. So can you see in that sadness an invitation to be honest with God about your feelings? Can you see in that comfort God comforting you? And can you feel in that joy an invitation to experience new life. A lot of times people dismiss such prayer experiences as, “Oh I was just being emotional.” Usually that’s not the case.  It’s probably communicating God with you. So pay attention.