Reimagining the Ignatian Examen: Fresh Ways to Pray from Your Day

by Mark E. Thibodeaux

Following the example of St. Ignatius, we believe that praying the Examen will lead to a better life. The 500-year-old daily practice of honest self-assessment and reflection is a founding principle of Ignatian spirituality. What we don’t know is if St. Ignatius ever felt like changing it up a bit. Jesuit speaker and author Mark Thibodeaux, SJ, is confident that St. Ignatius wouldn’t mind a little flexibility in his prayer. Join Thibodeaux as he guides you through new and unique versions of the Examen, totally flexible and adaptable to your life. In ten minutes, you can tailor your daily prayer practice to fit your personal and situational needs, further enhancing and deepening your meditation. Reimagining the Ignatian Examen —the only book of its kind—will lead you through a fresh and stimulating reflection on your past day, your present state of being, and your spiritual desires and needs for tomorrow.

Genres: Spirituality, Prayer, Christian, Religion, Nonfiction, Faith, Christian Living

96 pages, Paperback

First published December 15, 2014

About the author

Rev. Father Mark E. Thibodeaux, SJ, is a spiritual director for Jesuits in formation, with a focus on prayer and discernment.

Reviews

[Amanda Osenga · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been telling folks about this app for a while but I am so burnt out on screen time. So I was thrilled to find this printed book. It's a much nicer way to use the practice of Examen in the evening without having to look at my phone. I cannot tell you how much I love this. The Examen is such a rich practice but it can get kind of monotonous. In this book, the Examen is presented in fresh ways which I feel allow the reader to examen their life in deeper ways. I've been challenged to confront some ugly and hard truths about my life, developed better habits, and seen all the rich blessings I've been given. I cannot recommend this more highly, it is such a beautiful way to grow with God and to look more closely at my life and relationships.

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

You don't "finish" this book. As soon as you finish, you start over. Fresh and new every day, because it's tailored to your circumstances, not an author's.

[Bailey L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

35 one page approaches to examine your day through prayer. A no brainer way to end your day with prayer and reflection. I’m going to try to make going through this book a nightly habit through the rest of the year. So so good. I’ve gotten so much from this book already after only a month of doing them.

[Tim Muldoon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mark does a terrific job adapting a traditional prayer in creative, thoughtful ways that speak to the modern reader. This is a great resource for prayer--I've used it in class as well.

[Mary Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked the comtemplative nature of these exercises.

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

This brief book (128 pg.) is a wonderful way into the Ignition examen. The author presents the basics of the Examen as developed by Ignatius and then gives 34 suggested Examens to be used on a daily or twice daily basis. These are really good and serve, in some measure, filling the role of a spiritual director with many on point questions for reflection. The Examen as presented here is a significant discipline and aid toward spiritual formation. Essential. I'll be making use of this book for some time.

[Maria Almaguer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a lovely book to treasure and own. The prayer of examen is an ancient prayer inspired by St. Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Society of Jesus (Jesuit order), meant to be a short prayer in the middle and/or end of your day. In this small book, Thibodeaux outlines 34 prayer variations that explore different themes, including an inner wound, who wore Jesus' face today, and habits. A great way to keep God close to your heart.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

We are spiritually free when our spiritual and emotional state of being is healthy. We are spiritually free when we are emotionally well-balanced and desirous of being a faithful, hopeful, and loving person. We are spiritually unfree when our negative emotions and temptations have gotten the better of us, when we are too angry, sad, tempted, or scared to think straight. We are unfree when we are lethargic and not inspired to be more faithful, hopeful, and loving. We are unfree when we don’t feel God’s presence at this moment, and we either don’t care or are too panicky to handle the situation well.

In Reimagining the Ignatian Examen, Mark E. Thibodeaux updates a spiritual accountability exercise developed by St. Ignatius of Loyola. Designed for a final 15 minutes before retiring from one’s day, the exercise invites one to prayerfully reflect on several aspects of one’s day as well as on one’s tomorrow: Relish the day’s moments where God’s gifts manifested themselves; Request the assistance of the Holy Spirit to help reflect objectively on the “darker” aspects of one’s day; Review the day to cull significant moments; Repent for those moments where one says or does things they should or shouldn’t have done; and Resolve to take the fruit of this reflection and apply it to make tomorrow even better.

Lest you believe I ruined the book for you by outlining the steps—I have not. Thibodeaux and others take this accountability reflection exercise and tweak it thirty four different ways. They cover a plethora of angles: “Who Wore God’s Face Today?”, “What was Draining, What was Life-Giving?”, “As I Do To the Least…”, and even a peppy reflection exercise entitled “Am I Ready to Die Today?”. The book provides inspiration for one to create reflection prayers which are meaningful to each individual.

I find Thibodeaux’s approach largely ecumenical. He doesn’t steep the exercises in any trappings applicable only to his fellow Jesuit peers. The combination of reflecting on one’s day spiritually in order to foster better habits and practices is beneficial in the long run. While I’ve seen similar exercises in Gregg Krech’s Naikan: Gratitude, Grace, and the Japanese Art of Self-Reflection, Thibodeaux’s places the mindfulness practice within a context of contemporary Christianity. If a Christian focus does not deter you, then this very short book is worth your time.

[Dawn Dishman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book for people desiring to practice the Prayer of Examen.

Mark Thibodeaux has created different viewpoints of the traditional Examen questions so that one can look at their lives in prayer from different angles. It is like looking at a diamond from different positions-the light radiates and shines differently depending on the position.

I personally believe the Examen is a wonderful spiritual discipline for listening to and talking to God about our everyday lives, and this book will lead you into deeper places of your soul where the healing touch of God’s Spirit can reach.

[Anniepeaches · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cannot recommend this enough! This is a book you can read over and over, mark up, dog ear, save portions for later. I’d recommend this to any Christian. This prayer method really helps me feel close to God.

[Hannah Bergstrom de Leon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've been using this as a starting point for my journaling and devotional time these last 30 days or so and I am glad I did. It is a wonderful little book to have to help walk you through the Examen and to imagine different ways of reflecting on your day with God.

[Robin · Rating 2 out of 5]

helpful book adapted from St. Ignatius' method of praying, to help one self-assess the heart, motives, attitudes, words and actions, as well as to focus on God's grace that was evident in the day. The Gospel is absent in any form, which makes this look no different reading from any other worldview. So if you add the Gospel into each "examen" for the day, it is a fresh way to pray and spice up your prayer life.

[Laureen Nowakowski · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book changed the way I pray. Thoughtful meditations while you review your day. I have to practice being still . “It is the listening for God’s voice that orients us toward him, whether or not he speaks on any given day.”

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have struggle with the Examen since I first learned about it. This book offers 34 alternatives on how to use this prayer in your life. Brings new life to a solid prayer method.

[delbee · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best practical guide on how to do an Examen. Short but effective explanations and instructions.

[Iona Stewart · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this little book at a sales price in a little bookshop in the city centre which I hope survives the lockdown and forced closure.

We’re told that St. Ignatius of Loyola believed that the prayer exercise called the ”Examen” should be the most important quarter-of-an-hour of a person’s day.

Since I’m not familiar with St. Ignatius’s original Examen, I don’t know whether the present book offers anything different or not, but we must presume it does.

I would first point out for those readers who are not religious that the author is a Catholic, and a Jesuit, which may explain a few things. (Not that I understand what it means to be a Jesuit.)

The author presents 34 different Examens that we can do when we wish.

The basics of the Examen are as follows: 1) Give thanksgiving 2) Ask for the Spirit (i.e. ask God to fill us with His Spirit) 3) Review the day ad recognize failures 4) Ask for forgiveness and healing 5) Pray about the next day.

One of my problems has been that I didn’t really know what was meant by “prayer”. I know two types of prayer 1) the child’s prayer we first learn that goes “Dear God, please look after Mum and Dad, etc, etc” and 2) Catherine Ponder’s affirmative prayers such as “Jesus Christ is healing me now in every way”, and that is that. But these types of prayer are clearly not the type needed here.

So I lacked the basic knowledge of what to do in each Examen, until, that is, I came to the final chapter “Important Ignatian Terms”, where we learn about praydreaming, which is prayerful daydreaming. (Though I found later that he does actually tell us about praydreamiing near the beginning of the book, I just didn’t really notice it.)

This chapter should not have been the last, but the first chapter!

So, I would advise you when reading the book to start with this last chapter which will clarify a few things.

Here is a précis of the traditional Ignatian Examen. First ask God to reveal to us all the gifts and graces he has given us this day. Second, request to be filled with God’s Spirit and be led by Him in this time. Third, review our day. Fourth. Ask forgiveness from God when we find moments when we were not fully the person we’re called to be. Fifth. We resolve to be the kind of person God is calling us to be tomorrow.
When attempting to do the various Examens, I was hindered by the fact that I apparently don’t lead a normal life, a life like most people; I don’t have many relationships and see very few people; I don’t often feel the need to forgive people for my wrongdoings, since I don’t feel I have many wrongdoings. And also when I asked God to show me this or that as required by the Eksamen, He generally didn’t.

Also, I didn’t know what the author meant by ”spiritually free” or “spiritually unfree”, which terms were not adequately clarified (that I noticed) until the final chapter, as mentioned above.

I believe in God (and know that I am part of God) but am not religious, so the book seemed overly religious to me.

My days are very similar to each other and also it was difficult/impossible to recall my various emotions throughout the day.

Though I can’t say I got much out of the book, I did find it somewhat inspiring though I would need to re-read it to attempt to get anything of consequence out of it.

[Sean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like most people, my prayer life is not where I would like it to be. So, when an author suggests a form of prayer which will both lead me into a better life with a closer relationship with God and grow spiritually; I’m interested. The author takes a spiritual exercise developed 500 years ago by St. Ignatius - Examen - and gives it a 21st Century application. And application, is the key word. After giving a short introduction to the subject, the author spends the rest of the book demonstrating how to use the spiritual exercise. Initially, I was disappointed with a lack of detail on the exercise itself, however, there are quite a few books already on the subject so a focus on application is quite refreshing. Furthermore, there is a free app that give you all you need to begin to enjoy, what the author suggests, is a “better life.”

[Edie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this reflective Ignatian prayer book. Thibodeaux walks the reader through a little over a month's worth of devotions. This is set up to be read at the end of each day and does not have to be done in any specific order. In fact, with familiarity of the entries, a person could read whichever devotion pertains to the experiences of that day.

I enjoyed in particular examen #2, the understanding of operating out of a position of being spiritually free or spiritually unfree. When we are spiritually free we desire to be a faithful, hopeful & loving person. When we are unfree our negative emotions and temptations lead us to be angry, sad, tempted or scared to think straight. Let me clarify that this would be under normal conditions to the exclusion of mental illness or traumatic events.

[Linda Bossoni · Rating 4 out of 5]

Questo testo è stata veramente una grande scoperta. Sono arrivata alla lettura di questo libro attraverso l'app che porta lo stesso nome, per poi scoprire che era basata su questa opera di M.E. Thibodeaux e ho immediatamente desiderato leggerla. Che dire, una vera risorsa per la preghiera e la crescita spirituale: il libro introduce innanzitutto all'esame ignaziano, ma lo declina poi in diverse modalità che portano ognuna a focalizzarsi nel corso dell'esame e della preghiera su un particolare aspetto della propria vita o della propria giornata. Assolutamente consigliato, peccato solo non ne esista una versione italiana.

[Sir Badgerly · Rating 5 out of 5]

The most short and simple explanations are often the best. After reading another book on the topic and an audio lecture I was more confused than I began, yet the prayer is so easy once you find a book like this that simply explains how to do it instead of stories about people’s success with this prayer... After reading this I found an app online that can help you with the Examen and the different styles of working with this prayer. In some ways the app has half the book there, very useful.

[Jason Baskerville · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very handy book for those who are looking for variety as they practice examen. The author gives an overview of the history and purpose of the Examen, as well as some tips for how to make this a fruitful time of prayer in one's day. I also found it helpful that a glossary of terms are included at the end for the words I don't come across everyday. Recommended to have on hand as a Spiritual Director, and if you're someone who is exploring contemplative prayer.

[Stephen Carrier · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best Ignatian Examen resource I have ever seen. The questions and reflections really drive home an intimate reflection and conversation with God. Great tool for couples prayer as well. I will be using this for years to come.

[Cristian Marrero · Rating 3 out of 5]

An easy book to read. It simplifies the prayer and the steps we should take every day when practicing it. Easy language to understand. This book also includes 34 different examen practices to pray and meditate on. The repetition is helpful to help you create a new habit.

[Hannah Lynch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Varied prompt for examen

Loved the variety of forms for the daily spiritual practice of examen. Referred to it every night for my review of the day. Very thought provoking!

[Ry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very helpful aid to daily prayer!

[David Tazzini-Lloyd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it

I love the whole concept of reviewing, moving forward and planning your next day to become the person who you've been created to be..

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great way to review your day briefly in prayer.

[Kathryn Wingard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Marking this as "read" but it's the kind of book that is never finished - to be picked up from time to time...

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good resource for different forms of praying the Examen.

[hendersweet · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve deeply enjoyed this book this year. It will be one I use again and again.