In her “Spiritual Disciplines Handbook,” Adele Calhoun describes more than 60 spiritual disciplines.[i] Some of these disciplines are familiar to and practiced by many Christians today. But other disciplines in Calhoun’s list are unfamiliar and new to contemporary Christians (though they’ve long been common in older Christian traditions). This series takes up 10 of the most uncommon disciplines from Calhoun’s list. By adding these unusual spiritual disciplines into your life you may breathe freshness and newness into your relationship with God.
We’ve explored the uncommon practices of “unplugging,” “celebration,” and “secrecy.” Here, we explore The Examen.
#4 – The Examen
Like a few of the uncommon spiritual practices or habits, The Examen is tied to a specific individual from the past. The Examen was introduced by Ignatius Loyola. As Christians we do not follow Ignatius Loyola or follow any human being. Yet we do learn much about following Jesus from watching how certain people did it. Ignatius Loyola is one of them. He was born in 1491. He was 1 of 13 children in a family of minor nobility in northern Spain. Reportedly, when Loyola was young, he was inspired by the ideals of knighthood and he dreamed of doing great deeds.
Then in 1521, while fighting in a battle against the French, Loyola was gravely wounded. During recovery, he experienced a conversion. As he filled his time reading about the life of Jesus and about the lives of those who followed Jesus, Loyola was filled with happiness and a desire to do great things for God. He was inspired by the examples of people like Francis of Assisi who abandoned themselves to God. After recovering from his wounds, Loyola did the same.
With a small group of friends whom he had met in school, Loyola formed what he called the “Society of Jesus,” also known as the Jesuits. And the heart of Jesuit spirituality lay in two practices: Spiritual Exercises and The Examen. [ii]
The Spiritual Exercises grew out of Loyola’s investigation into the spiritual life. [iii] He kept a journal in which he recorded his growing insight into Christian spirituality. As he began to direct other Christians in their own spiritual walk, he was able to discern what “worked” and what didn’t “work” when it came to humans growing in union with God. Over time he collected the most effective prayers, the most fruitful meditations, and the most helpful practices. These he put into a framework for a retreat and called them “spiritual exercises.” Those who wished to practice these exercises would experience them in a retreat setting under the supervision of a spiritual director. The exercises were organized into what Loyola called “weeks.” These were not 7-day periods but stages or steps. The “spiritual exercises” consisted of 4 “weeks” or 4 steps. These were to be experienced during a 30 day retreat.
The first “week” is spent in prayer, reflection, and meditation upon one’s sin in light of God’s love. The person focuses on the depth of his/her sin and on the breadth of God’s love.
The second “week” is spent in prayer, reflection, and meditation upon the life and ministry of Jesus. The person focuses on Christ’s birth and baptism, the Sermon on the Mount, and Jesus’ ministry of healing and teaching. The person is led to decisions to change his/her life to do Christ’s work in the world and to love Christ more intimately.
The third “week” is spent in prayer, reflection, and meditation upon the death of Jesus. The Lord’s Supper and the cross are seen as the ultimate expression of God’s love.
The fourth “week” focuses on the resurrection of Jesus. The goal is to walk with the risen Christ and set out to love and serve him in concrete ways in the world. These “spiritual exercises” were central to what Loyola believed would help people draw closer to God.
The second central element to Loyola’s spiritual counsel was called “The Examen.”[iv] The Examen is a structured form of prayer. Loyola urged people to practice The Examen twice a day. Some did so at noon and then again at bedtime. It can be done in any location. The Examen consists of five steps.
These five steps are a way of monitoring and checking our relationship with God. In many areas of life, we’ve learned the importance of regular monitoring. For example, I visit my dentist twice each year to have him monitor my orthodontic health. On a typical visit, the dentist checks my teeth, reviews how I’ve cared for them for the past six months, and then makes recommendations for the next six months. Similarly, some people have to monitor their blood sugar daily, or multiple times per day. They adjust their diet or exercise during the day based on what each blood monitor reveals. In an analogous way, Loyola believed that a person’s spiritual life required constant monitoring. He argued that it ought to be monitored and checked at least twice a day. His five-step Examen was a formal way to do just this. These five steps allowed a person to do a quick spiritual check up and make appropriate changes or adjustments during the day.
I’ve taken Loyola’s five steps and renamed them, hoping to make them more easily memorized and internalized, and thus more easily practiced:
Examen Step 1: Recognize (the presence of God)
The first step in The Examen is to recognize that you are in the presence of God. While we are always in God’s presence, The Examen begins with an intentional remembering that God is present in this moment. This first step is an attempt to recognize the reality of the following passages:
7 Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? (Ps. 139:7 ESV)
And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matt. 28:20 ESV)
26And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, 27 that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, 28for “‘In him we live and move and have our being’ (Acts 17:26-28 ESV).
5Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Heb. 13:5 ESV)
The first step in The Examen is to recognize that God is present. This might be done by spending some moments in silence or by reading texts such as the ones above or by asking God to enable you to know that he is with you right now.
Examen Step 2: Rejoice (in the good things from God)
The second step in The Examen is to rejoice about the good things in your life. Of particular interest are the good things in your life from the past day (if you are doing The Examen once a day) or from the past half-day (if you are doing The Examen twice a day). In this step, we remember and rejoice over the good gifts God’s granted during the past day or half-day.
The Examen is based on the belief that God is present and experienced in the concrete details of daily life. Think briefly over the past day or half a day and allow God to bring special pleasures to mind: a good night’s sleep, the smell of the morning coffee, the laugh of a child, the morning sun, the singing of the birds, or the kindness of a friend.
One of the purposes of this step is to help reorient us during our day. As the day goes alone, if we recall anything about the last few hours, it’s often negative. We look back over the day or half-day with regret or disappointment. This step helps reorient us. It focuses on good things that have been received today. It moves us back toward gratitude and thanksgiving.
In this step we are remembering the truth of this text: 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. (James 1:17 ESV). This day, or this half-day, has been filled with good gifts and perfect gifts. In The Examen we pause once or twice a day to remember these gifts.
Before we move into deeper parts of The Examen in which we may fill our minds with challenging and troubling things, at this stage we just want to fill out minds with good things: 8Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. (Phil. 4:8 ESV).
As you identify these good things from the day or half-day, give thanks to God for them.
Examen Step 3: Request (enlightenment from God)
The third step in The Examen is a brief but critical step: we request help from the Holy Spirit that we might be wise and discerning before moving into the last two steps, the most difficult steps. We are about to examine the past day or half-day with much more intensity. Before we do, we request wisdom and assistance from the Holy Spirit. We want God to lead our examination. We want God to open our eyes to see what he wishes to show us.
We seek to put into practice these promises:
5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. (James 1:5 ESV)
7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. (Matt. 7:7-8 ESV).
We are asking and seeking for the Holy Spirit to enlighten us, to reveal our heart and our true nature. We seek to put on his eyes as we move into the next step.
Examen Step 4: Review (the day’s highs and lows with God)
In the fourth, and longest step of The Examen, we review in detail the past day or half-day. Like an athlete watching a film from the previous game, we strive to allow the past few hours to play through our mind. At various points, we stop the film, investigate, rewind, and ask questions.
We are trying to review not only what happened in the past day or half-day, but how we acted, how we felt, and the motives that guided our behaviors. We are striving to notice patterns or habits in our day. We are seeking to identify specific situations during the day which reveal both positive and negative things to us.
We are seeking here to meditate upon and ponder all God has done during this day in our lives:
I meditate on all that you have done; I ponder the work of your hands. (Ps. 143:5 ESV)
There is a great deal of flexibility as to how we review our day or half-day in this step. But Adele Calhoun provides 6 questions which get at the heart of the purpose for this step:[v]
- 1. For what moment today am I most grateful? For what moment today am I least grateful?
- 2. When did I give and receive the most love today? When did I give and receive the least love today?
- 3. What was the most life-giving part of my day? What was the most life-thwarting part of my day?
- 4. When today did I have the deepest sense of connection with God, others and myself? When today did I have the least sense of connection?
- 5. Where was I aware of living out the fruit of the Spirit? Where was there an absence of the fruit of the Spirit?
- Where did I experience “desolation”? Where did I find “consolation”?
Ultimately, we are striving to become more conscious of the ways in which God showed up during our day and how we helped or hindered God’s activity during the day. These questions enlighten us as to the way God is moving in our day. They help us learn what God is saying to us during the day.
It is important to attend to both the high points and the low points through The Examen. Those who habitually remember only the bad will be empowered to see the good. Those who regularly can only recall the good will be encouraged to wrestle with the bad.
Here, we are asking God to search us and our day and to reveal things through that search:
1 O LORD, you have searched me and known me!…23Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! 24And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting! (Ps. 139:1, 23-24 ESV)
Examen Step 5: Resolve (to live for God)
In the final step of The Examen, we move from past to future. Having reviewed the highs and lows of the past day or half-day, we now contemplate the future. What is God saying to me through the review about how to live the next day or half-day? How is God calling me to address the failures or the falls from the past few hours? How is God calling me to build on the successes and surprises of the past few hours? Are there relationships to mend? Are there sins to repent of? Are there tasks which need doing? This is a time to ask for forgiveness and for power to live in a new way for the next few hours. As we leave The Examen, we resolve to live the next day or half-day in light of what we’ve learned from the past day or half-day.
I’d like to finish by leading you briefly through an experience of The Examen:
Recognize
Close your eyes. Breathe in and out, slowly. Repeat these words to yourself silently: “You are with me always. You will never leave me nor forsake me.” Recognize that God is present right here and right now.
Rejoice
Find one thing to rejoice about from the morning time today, the noon time today and the evening time. Think back to this morning. What was one good thing you experienced this morning? Now consider the noontime part of the day. What additional good thing are you thankful for? Finally, consider the afternoon and evening of the day. What might you give thanks to God for? Now, silently, rejoice and thank God for these things.
Request
Quietly ask God to fill you with wisdom and the ability to discern. Repeat this prayer: “God, give me eyes to see what you see. Fill me with insight and wisdom as I review this day.”
Review
While there are many highs and lows to review from the past few hours, consider your answer to just these two questions: When today did I have the deepest sense of connection with God, others and myself? When today did I have the least sense of connection? Review the past few hours with just these two questions in mind.
Resolve
Having identified a time of deep connection and a time of little connection during the past few hours, now answer this question: What is God saying to me through this review? What do I resolve to do as a result of this review? Is there a relationship to nurture or repair? Is there a work of your flesh to repent of? Is there an issue to lift to God in prayer? Is there a task or project that needs to become a priority? What does God wish you to resolve to do based on your review of the day?
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[i] Adele Calhoun, Spiritual Disciplines Handbook (IVP, 2005).
[ii] http://ignatianspirituality.com/ignatian-voices/st-ignatius-loyola/
[iii] http://ignatianspirituality.com/ignatian-prayer/the-spiritual-exercises/what-are-the-spiritual-exercises/
[iv] http://www.americancatholic.org/newsletters/cu/ac0303.asp; Mindy Caliguire, Soul Searching (IVP Connect, 2008).
[v] Calhoun, 52.
Chris,
Thanks for sharing. Extremely helpful for me.
Ron
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