Today I am over at IgnatianSpirituality.com writing about the method of the Particular Examen offered by St. Ignatius in the Spiritual Exercises.
Here’s an excerpt:
“Last semester in my graduate course on the Spiritual Exercises, I learned about the Particular Examen. This is a bit different from the General Examen. In St. Ignatius’s original text, the Particular Examen was principally about focusing on something that was getting in the way of one’s relationship with God—a particular sin or a vice—and charting one’s daily progress in ridding oneself of it. But some practices of Ignatian spirituality have developed and changed as the world developed and changed. Now there are many ways we can imagine using the method of the Particular Examen to examine our consciousness and chart progress in our relationship with God.”
Go on over to IgnatianSpirituality.com to read more about what sparked my desire to write about the Particular Examen (hint: my boys arguing about their horrible care of the bathroom was a factor) as well as what Ignatius intended it to be and how we can utilize this method today.
You will also find my offering of an example – my Particular Examen for increased presence at home. Some of the questions of that Examen are featured in the video below. Use it to pray with me if you too desire increased presence at home or alter it to fit your own particular desire.
