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Pray with us

Ignatian Examen

This prayer requires no special skills. You can pray it wherever you are. It is one of the most treasured prayers within our congregation.

This prayer is our daily practice 

The Ignatian Examen is a short, structured prayer at the end of the day, developed by St Ignatius of Loyola in the sixteenth century. It invites the person praying to look back over the past hours with honesty and gratitude, noticing where God was present – and where God was missed. The prayer typically takes no more than ten to fifteen minutes. Beginners can start with five minutes daily. Ignatius considered it so essential that he urged his companions never to skip it, even if they had to let go of every other prayer. It is, in its simplest form, a conversation with God about what actually happened today.

For the sisters of the Congregatio Jesu (CJ), the Examen is not simply one prayer among many – it is central to our spiritual identity. Mary Ward founded the CJ on Ignatian principles, adopting the spirituality of the Society of Jesus for women who live and work actively in the world. 

As we are engaged in education, social justice, pastoral care, and many other missions and ministries, the Examen helps us find God not in withdrawal from the world but in the midst of it. It connects our daily actions – a conversation with a student, a difficult decision, a moment of joy – directly to our relationship with God.

This is why the Examen remains a living practice across CJ communities worldwide. It fosters the values Mary Ward held dear:

  • sincerity, because it demands honest self-reflection;
  • freedom, because it loosens the grip of fear and attachment;
  • justice, because it invites us to have an honest look on ourselves and our relations with others; 
  • and felicity, because it trains the heart to notice grace even on difficult days.

Prayed individually or shared in community, the Examen keeps the prayer rooted in the conviction that God is active in all things – and that every ordinary day is worthy of prayerful attention.

How to pray the Ignatian Examen

The Examen follows five gentle steps.

  1. Become still:
    Sit down. Breathe. Light a candle if you like. Place yourself in God’s presence – not with effort, but with permission. You don’t need to perform. Just be here.
  2. Review your day with gratitude:
    Look back over your day. What are you grateful for? It can be tiny – a good coffee, a kind word, a moment of sunshine. Gratitude is how we start to see God in ordinary life.
  3. Look back on your whole day:
    Let your day play back like a film. Don’t judge – just notice. Where did you feel alive, energised, connected? Where did you feel drained, anxious, closed off? These feelings are data, not problems. What moment stands out from today? 
  4. Be honest:
    Was there a moment you’d rather forget? A sharp word, a missed chance, a feeling of guilt? Bring it to God – not to be punished, but to be held. Ignatius called this “asking for light” – the courage to see clearly.
  5.  Look ahead:
    Gently look towards tomorrow. What’s coming? What do you need? Ask God for one thing – patience, courage, joy, rest,…
    Close with a simple prayer: the Our Father, a word of thanks, or just silence.

Over time, the Examen sharpens our ability to discern God’s voice in our everyday life.

Our video inspires you to pray the Examen yourself:

© Congregatio Jesu, 2026

Congregatio Jesu – Via Nomentana 250, I-00162 Roma | Italia