Weekly Community Examen

Campus Ministry and the Murphy Center for Ignatian Spirituality have teamed up to offer an examen for our community each week. This invitation is an opportunity to go deeper into a shared text and consider how our mission and Jesuit values guide our work together here at Fairfield and beyond. Each week, a different member of the Campus Ministry or Murphy Center staff will provide a text for us. Video of the reflection can be found on our Instagram and Facebook pages.

From Denis Donoghue, SJ, Murphy Center for Ignatian Spirituality Director

I.              Prayer of Reflective Thanksgiving:

Take a minute to ground yourself in gratitude for the gift of this day and the blessings that God is giving you.  Sit in that gratitude for a minute and notice any feelings or sensations that arise in your body.

II.           Prayer for Enlightenment:

Recall that you are in the presence of God and humbly ask God to illuminate the movements of the Spirit in your day’s activity.  Take a minute to ask God for insight into the mystery of who you truly are in the eyes of God.  Open your hearts and minds and ask God to enlighten your deepest self through the resonating echoes of your thoughts and feelings in response to your lived experience. 

III.         Practical Survey of Actions:

Bring the movie screen of your mind up and review the important encounters and experiences of the day.  Sift through the activity from the day and attend to the thoughts and feelings that you experienced in response to your activity. 

What has moved me closer to God?

When was I my best self?

What has moved me away from God?

When was I not my best self?

In particular, recall any experience of joy that you have had today or in the recent past.  Rest for a few moments in those memories of joy.

IV.         Prayer for Healing:

Invite Christ’s mercy into those times that you moved away from God or were not your best self.  Ask Jesus to make whole those places where you found yourself not living up to your best self. 

V.           Intention of Hope for the Future:

Face the future by remembering the joy from the day.  Envision the next few hours of your day and pray for God’s presence in the times where you might find joy in your life.  Trust in Christ’s healing of your brokenness with a new resolve to be your best self.