Examen

five hundred years of end-of-day prayer · ten minutes a night

S.I. · candlemark
For the day of
I · Gratitude

Gratitude

Begin with thanksgiving. What did you receive today that you did not earn? A meal, a face, an unearned mercy, a moment of beauty. Name three.
II · Light

Ask for light

Ask the Spirit to walk through your day with you. Not your assessment of the day — His. Pause briefly. Then begin.
III · Review

Review the day

Walk through the hours of today as if rewinding a film. Where did you feel most alive — what Ignatius called consolation? Where did you feel resistance, anxiety, deadness — desolation? Don't analyze. Notice.
IV · Forgiveness

Ask forgiveness

Where did you fail to love today? Be specific. Not "I was a bad person" — "I snapped at her" or "I gossiped to him." Confess plainly. Receive forgiveness. Then let it go.
V · Tomorrow

Look toward tomorrow

Ask the Spirit's help for tomorrow. What do you need? Specific people, specific situations, specific weaknesses. End with a simple "amen" — and rest.