Examen - 22 2025
Transcript
Tomorrow:
The final step of any Examen is always a turning toward the future – looking ahead to what tomorrow might bring. And yet, while we focus this particular Examen on ‘tomorrow,’ we are reminded that while God will meet us in the unknown future, God is also present in the here and now.
In his prayer Patient Trust, Jesuit Pierre Teilhard de Chardin writes:
“Above all trust in the slow work of God.
We are quite naturally impatient in everything to reach the end without delay.
We should like to skip the intermediate stages.
We are impatient of being on the way to something unknown, something new.”
I am someone who loves to plan – filling my calendar weeks, and months in advance. I suspect that many others are the same way. But if we’re always rushing toward the future, we risk missing the invitations of grace unfolding right now. So, as we reflect together on the theme of tomorrow, I invite you not to skip ahead to the last step, but to trust the process of the Examen.
Preparing for the Examen
Everyone prays their Examen differently so as we get ready to begin, I invite you to settle in however you feel most present to God. Perhaps that is slowing down and quieting your mind. Maybe that is closing your eyes or softening your gaze. Or possibly you Examen best with a pen and paper in hand. Put your phone on do-not disturb, turn off all those intrusive notifications, and allow yourself to be still. As you settle yourself physically, become aware of God’s loving presence… that place that you have been and will always continue to be.
Review the Day
Now gently begin to review your day
Let it unfold in your mind like a movie – or a play – moving scene by scene from the moment you woke up to the present.
- Where did you find yourself today? Were you alone? Were you in community?
- What were some of the moments you felt notable emotions? Joy, sorrow, anger, contentment, fear, frustration?
- Did anything unexpected happen today? Or was it just an ordinary day?
No moment from your day is too small reflect on. As you review the events of the day in your mind, I invite you not to judge your experiences and interactions, but to simply notice and name.
Where might God have been present – in you, in others, or in the spaces in between? What might God be communicating to you through the events of the day.
Turn to God
No day is without its struggles. No person moves through life perfectly.
Where did you fall short today — in love, in patience, in presence?
Where did you feel tension, fear, resistance, or failure?
Speak honestly to God about those moments.
Ask for grace. Ask for forgiveness. Ask for healing — or simply be with God in the silence.
And remember: God meets us not with shame, but with mercy.
What is God’s invitation to you in those moments of difficulty? What is the Spirit trying to teach or transform?
Look Forward
We reached the last step in our Examen – a time to look toward tomorrow… a time to look toward the future more broadly.
Chardin closes the prayer Patient Trust with the following:
“Only God could say what this new spirit
gradually forming within you will be.
Give Our Lord the benefit of believing that his hand is leading you,
and accept the anxiety of feeling yourself
in suspense and incomplete.”
So, holding everything you’ve noticed — the grace and the struggle, the joy and the silence — ask:
- How is God inviting me to live more intentionally tomorrow?
- What graces do I need for the day ahead?
- What fears or hopes am I carrying into the future?
- Where might I be invited to let go of my desire to be in control?
- What feels in suspense and incomplete?
Let tomorrow rise before you — not as something to conquer, but as something to welcome. A space where God already dwells. A space for new beginnings, new trust, and new grace.
Bring your Examen to a close with your own words to God – a prayer of thanksgiving, a prayer of hope, or perhaps a prayer of surrender.
Amen
November 22, 2025
Examen: Intentions for Tomorrow
SUMMARY: This Examen will help you set intentions for tomorrow.
PRESENTER: Jeff Peak, Assistant Director, Campus Ministry
Transcript
Tomorrow:
The final step of any Examen is always a turning toward the future – looking ahead to what tomorrow might bring. And yet, while we focus this particular Examen on ‘tomorrow,’ we are reminded that while God will meet us in the unknown future, God is also present in the here and now.
In his prayer Patient Trust, Jesuit Pierre Teilhard de Chardin writes:
“Above all trust in the slow work of God.
We are quite naturally impatient in everything to reach the end without delay.
We should like to skip the intermediate stages.
We are impatient of being on the way to something unknown, something new.”
I am someone who loves to plan – filling my calendar weeks, and months in advance. I suspect that many others are the same way. But if we’re always rushing toward the future, we risk missing the invitations of grace unfolding right now. So, as we reflect together on the theme of tomorrow, I invite you not to skip ahead to the last step, but to trust the process of the Examen.
Preparing for the Examen
Everyone prays their Examen differently so as we get ready to begin, I invite you to settle in however you feel most present to God. Perhaps that is slowing down and quieting your mind. Maybe that is closing your eyes or softening your gaze. Or possibly you Examen best with a pen and paper in hand. Put your phone on do-not disturb, turn off all those intrusive notifications, and allow yourself to be still. As you settle yourself physically, become aware of God’s loving presence… that place that you have been and will always continue to be.
Review the Day
Now gently begin to review your day
Let it unfold in your mind like a movie – or a play – moving scene by scene from the moment you woke up to the present.
- Where did you find yourself today? Were you alone? Were you in community?
- What were some of the moments you felt notable emotions? Joy, sorrow, anger, contentment, fear, frustration?
- Did anything unexpected happen today? Or was it just an ordinary day?
No moment from your day is too small reflect on. As you review the events of the day in your mind, I invite you not to judge your experiences and interactions, but to simply notice and name.
Where might God have been present – in you, in others, or in the spaces in between? What might God be communicating to you through the events of the day.
Turn to God
No day is without its struggles. No person moves through life perfectly.
Where did you fall short today — in love, in patience, in presence?
Where did you feel tension, fear, resistance, or failure?
Speak honestly to God about those moments.
Ask for grace. Ask for forgiveness. Ask for healing — or simply be with God in the silence.
And remember: God meets us not with shame, but with mercy.
What is God’s invitation to you in those moments of difficulty? What is the Spirit trying to teach or transform?
Look Forward
We reached the last step in our Examen – a time to look toward tomorrow… a time to look toward the future more broadly.
Chardin closes the prayer Patient Trust with the following:
“Only God could say what this new spirit
gradually forming within you will be.
Give Our Lord the benefit of believing that his hand is leading you,
and accept the anxiety of feeling yourself
in suspense and incomplete.”
So, holding everything you’ve noticed — the grace and the struggle, the joy and the silence — ask:
- How is God inviting me to live more intentionally tomorrow?
- What graces do I need for the day ahead?
- What fears or hopes am I carrying into the future?
- Where might I be invited to let go of my desire to be in control?
- What feels in suspense and incomplete?
Let tomorrow rise before you — not as something to conquer, but as something to welcome. A space where God already dwells. A space for new beginnings, new trust, and new grace.
Bring your Examen to a close with your own words to God – a prayer of thanksgiving, a prayer of hope, or perhaps a prayer of surrender.
Amen