Noticing God in Last Year's Work: A Spiritual Practice of Examen

Introduction

As leaders, there’s a constant pressure to be on the cutting edge–to pursue the latest, greatest, hottest, new tool or strategy in our fields. There’s also a constant need for discernment as we navigate and carve out new pathways for our organizations.

Yet one of the most powerful tools for honing the skills needed in discernment was introduced centuries ago and popularized by St. Ignatius of Loyola in the 16th century—the Examination of Conscience, otherwise known as the Examen Prayer.*

The Examen was a tool Ignatius used for reviewing his day with God. The goal was not so much to tally up one’s sins, but to look back over one’s life in the light of God’s loving gaze to get reoriented with God and listen for the Spirit’s invitations for next steps.

It involves 5 steps:

1. Give thanks (Gratias age). “Give thanks to God our Lord for the favors received.”
2. Ask for light (Pete lumen). “Ask for grace to know my sins and to rid myself of them.”
3. Examine our day (Examina). Give “an account of my soul.”
4. Seek forgiveness (Dole). “Ask pardon of God our Lord for my faults.”
5. Resolve to improve (Propone). “Resolve to amend with the grace of God.”

(For a more detailed explanation of each of these steps, see my post, Learning to Listen: Examen Prayer.) In the Spiritual Exercises, Ignatius focuses on two things: consolation and desolation. We often think of these as emotional states, but he defines them as orientations of our heart towards God, rather than our feelings—but they include our feelings.

So we can experience consolation—turning our hearts toward God—while feeling joyful, such as when we thank God for a successful project completion OR while feeling sorrow, such as when we are convicted and repentant about a regretful comment we made to a coworker.

Likewise, we can experience desolation—turning our hearts away from God—while feeling happy, such as when we pursue empty pleasures to numb and escape pain OR while feeling despair, such as when we are so angry with God that we shut him out.

Over time, like many classics, it has spun off many derivatives and you can do Examens of your day, week, month, or year, the environment, a class, but we’ll be using it so look back over your year of work.

For this exercise, you’ll need a journal or notetaking app or doc to record your reflections as I guide you through this Examen prayer. I recommend completing the entire exercise in one sitting, which will probably take a minimum of 20 minutes (if you spend only 1 minute per prompt, but I encourage you to take as long as you need to give ample time for the Holy Spirit to speak).

There are additional reflection questions listed below the recording to help you to go deeper in the practice.

The Practice

Reflection Questions

At the end of the practice, consider using the questions below:

1. What did you notice arising for you during this practice?
2. What arose that surprised you?
3. What were places of tension or struggle for you?
4. What invitations did you sense from God?
5. What captured your imagination as you looked for God’s invitations?
6. What questions remain for you?

I encourage you to share your responses aloud with a safe, trustworthy person who can listen well, ask insightful questions, and encourage further discovery. Verbalizing your thoughts can amplify the blessings you receive in your experience of God as another non-judgmental person mirrors your experience back to you and reinforces what you’ve learned from God.

We’d love to hear how this exercise helped you reflect on your work and leadership this past year and what you discerned through it. Leave a comment below or email us and tell us your story: [email protected]

* Ignatius of Loyola. The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. Translated by Puhl, Louis J. The Newman Press, 1951. p. 23