The Examen with Fr. James Martin, SJ

We'll continue to use the same reflection and examen for the rest of the 14th Week in Ordinary Time. New reflections will be added every Monday.

Do you pray to the saints much?  I know that this isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but if you don’t pray to the saints, let me encourage you to do so.  In the Catholic tradition, the saints are both our patrons and our companions.  As companions, they show us the way to live a Christian life, by their examples.  The Jesuit theologian Karl Rahner said that a saint shows us what it means to be holy “in this particular way.”  But the patron model is also an important one.  The saints pray for us in heaven.  And if you have trouble with that, like many people do, you might think about it this way: you probably ask for people on earth to pray for you—you might ask a friend for his or her prayers.  Why wouldn’t you ask for someone in heaven to pray for you too?  There’s nothing strange about that.  If you’re in trouble, or even if you need help in your spiritual life, ask the saints for help. Try it.  I do it all the time.  Besides, they’re praying for you already!

We'll continue to use the same reflection and examen for the rest of the 14th Week in Ordinary Time. New reflections will be added every Monday.

Do you pray to the saints much?  I know that this isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but if you don’t pray to the saints, let me encourage you to do so.  In the Catholic tradition, the saints are both our patrons and our companions.  As companions, they show us the way to live a Christian life, by their examples.  The Jesuit theologian Karl Rahner said that a saint shows us what it means to be holy “in this particular way.”  But the patron model is also an important one.  The saints pray for us in heaven.  And if you have trouble with that, like many people do, you might think about it this way: you probably ask for people on earth to pray for you—you might ask a friend for his or her prayers.  Why wouldn’t you ask for someone in heaven to pray for you too?  There’s nothing strange about that.  If you’re in trouble, or even if you need help in your spiritual life, ask the saints for help. Try it.  I do it all the time.  Besides, they’re praying for you already!

We'll continue to use the same reflection and examen for the rest of the 14th Week in Ordinary Time. New reflections will be added every Monday.

Do you pray to the saints much?  I know that this isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but if you don’t pray to the saints, let me encourage you to do so.  In the Catholic tradition, the saints are both our patrons and our companions.  As companions, they show us the way to live a Christian life, by their examples.  The Jesuit theologian Karl Rahner said that a saint shows us what it means to be holy “in this particular way.”  But the patron model is also an important one.  The saints pray for us in heaven.  And if you have trouble with that, like many people do, you might think about it this way: you probably ask for people on earth to pray for you—you might ask a friend for his or her prayers.  Why wouldn’t you ask for someone in heaven to pray for you too?  There’s nothing strange about that.  If you’re in trouble, or even if you need help in your spiritual life, ask the saints for help. Try it.  I do it all the time.  Besides, they’re praying for you already! 

We'll continue to use the same reflection and examen for the rest of the 14th Week in Ordinary Time. New reflections will be added every Monday.

Do you pray to the saints much?  I know that this isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but if you don’t pray to the saints, let me encourage you to do so.  In the Catholic tradition, the saints are both our patrons and our companions.  As companions, they show us the way to live a Christian life, by their examples.  The Jesuit theologian Karl Rahner said that a saint shows us what it means to be holy “in this particular way.”  But the patron model is also an important one.  The saints pray for us in heaven.  And if you have trouble with that, like many people do, you might think about it this way: you probably ask for people on earth to pray for you—you might ask a friend for his or her prayers.  Why wouldn’t you ask for someone in heaven to pray for you too?  There’s nothing strange about that.  If you’re in trouble, or even if you need help in your spiritual life, ask the saints for help. Try it. I do it all the time.  Besides, they’re praying for you already!

We'll continue to use the same reflection and examen for the rest of the 13th Week in Ordinary Time. New reflections will be added every Monday.

Where did God speak to you today? As you know, that’s the main question that you ponder when you do the Examen prayer every day. You look back over the day and try to see where God was present. But oftentimes we forget that when we pray to see where God was active or present, we are also seeing where God spoke to us. In other words, these moments of deep emotion, or surprising insight or even a moment of clarity, are more than moments to recall God. Rather, it’s God speaking to you in that moment during the Examen, now. So when you notice something in the Examen, it’s not simply noticing something interesting or seeing something that helps you see where God is at work, it’s something much more. It’s God inviting you to look at this particular part of your day, or have this particular insight, or notice this particular facet of your day. Experiences like that in the Examen, in other words, are God speaking directly to you. So, as my first spiritual director often said to me, “Pay attention!”

We'll continue to use the same reflection and examen for the rest of the 13th Week in Ordinary Time. New reflections will be added every Monday.

Where did God speak to you today? As you know, that’s the main question that you ponder when you do the Examen prayer every day. You look back over the day and try to see where God was present. But oftentimes we forget that when we pray to see where God was active or present, we are also seeing where God spoke to us. In other words, these moments of deep emotion, or surprising insight or even a moment of clarity, are more than moments to recall God. Rather, it’s God speaking to you in that moment during the Examen, now. So when you notice something in the Examen, it’s not simply noticing something interesting or seeing something that helps you see where God is at work, it’s something much more. It’s God inviting you to look at this particular part of your day, or have this particular insight, or notice this particular facet of your day. Experiences like that in the Examen, in other words, are God speaking directly to you. So, as my first spiritual director often said to me, “Pay attention!”

 

We'll continue to use the same reflection and examen for the rest of the 13th Week in Ordinary Time. New reflections will be added every Monday.

Where did God speak to you today? As you know, that’s the main question that you ponder when you do the Examen prayer every day. You look back over the day and try to see where God was present. But oftentimes we forget that when we pray to see where God was active or present, we are also seeing where God spoke to us. In other words, these moments of deep emotion, or surprising insight or even a moment of clarity, are more than moments to recall God. Rather, it’s God speaking to you in that moment during the Examen, now. So when you notice something in the Examen, it’s not simply noticing something interesting or seeing something that helps you see where God is at work, it’s something much more. It’s God inviting you to look at this particular part of your day, or have this particular insight, or notice this particular facet of your day. Experiences like that in the Examen, in other words, are God speaking directly to you. So, as my first spiritual director often said to me, “Pay attention!”

We'll continue to use the same reflection and examen for the rest of the 13th Week in Ordinary Time. New reflections will be added every Monday.

Where did God speak to you today? As you know, that’s the main question that you ponder when you do the Examen prayer every day. You look back over the day and try to see where God was present. But oftentimes we forget that when we pray to see where God was active or present, we are also seeing where God spoke to us. In other words, these moments of deep emotion, or surprising insight or even a moment of clarity, are more than moments to recall God. Rather, it’s God speaking to you in that moment during the Examen, now. So when you notice something in the Examen, it’s not simply noticing something interesting or seeing something that helps you see where God is at work, it’s something much more. It’s God inviting you to look at this particular part of your day, or have this particular insight, or notice this particular facet of your day. Experiences like that in the Examen, in other words, are God speaking directly to you. So, as my first spiritual director often said to me, “Pay attention!”

 

We'll continue to use the same reflection and examen for the rest of the 13th Week in Ordinary Time. New reflections will be added every Monday.

Where did God speak to you today? As you know, that’s the main question that you ponder when you do the Examen prayer every day. You look back over the day and try to see where God was present. But oftentimes we forget that when we pray to see where God was active or present, we are also seeing where God spoke to us. In other words, these moments of deep emotion, or surprising insight or even a moment of clarity, are more than moments to recall God. Rather, it’s God speaking to you in that moment during the Examen, now. So when you notice something in the Examen, it’s not simply noticing something interesting or seeing something that helps you see where God is at work, it’s something much more. It’s God inviting you to look at this particular part of your day, or have this particular insight, or notice this particular facet of your day. Experiences like that in the Examen, in other words, are God speaking directly to you. So, as my first spiritual director often said to me, “Pay attention!”

We'll continue to use the same reflection and examen for the rest of the 13th Week in Ordinary Time. New reflections will be added every Monday.

Where did God speak to you today? As you know, that’s the main question that you ponder when you do the Examen prayer every day. You look back over the day and try to see where God was present. But oftentimes we forget that when we pray to see where God was active or present, we are also seeing where God spoke to us. In other words, these moments of deep emotion, or surprising insight or even a moment of clarity, are more than moments to recall God. Rather, it’s God speaking to you in that moment during the Examen, now. So when you notice something in the Examen, it’s not simply noticing something interesting or seeing something that helps you see where God is at work, it’s something much more. It’s God inviting you to look at this particular part of your day, or have this particular insight, or notice this particular facet of your day. Experiences like that in the Examen, in other words, are God speaking directly to you. So, as my first spiritual director often said to me, “Pay attention!”