Tag: Examen

Examine Your Walk

As the calendar year comes to an end, many will examine their finances, their health, or other aspects of their life and make resolutions for the New Year. It’s good to have new beginnings, opportunities to realign ourselves to live a healthier lifestyle, make more financially responsible choices, or reset ourselves in some other positive way. It’s also an excellent time to examine our spiritual lives.

Today, we are reminded in the First Letter of John of what that looks like. “Beloved: The way we may be sure that we know Jesus is to keep his commandments. Whoever says, ‘I know him,’ but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps his word, the love of God is truly perfected in him. This is the way we may know that we are in union with him: whoever claims to abide in him ought to walk just as he walked.” (NAB, 1JN 2:3-6)

We often use the word “walk” when referring to our spiritual journey, and rightly so. We are called to be followers of Jesus, to walk with him, in this life, to complete our spiritual journey alongside of him, being his hands, his feet, and speaking his words in our world. Let’s set aside some real time today to truly, deeply, and honestly examine our lives to see if our “walk” matches his, if our lives reflect the life of our Savior. Then, confess whatever is keeping us from authentically living our Christian faith, express true sorrow for our failings, beg God for his grace to help use change our lives to live righteously, and commit, with God’s help, to pursue sanctity and holiness each and every day, in all of our relationships, in every step we take.

Lord, Jesus, you know where my “walk” doesn’t match my “talk,” but more importantly, where my walk isn’t unified with yours. Give me the wisdom I need to see where changes are necessary, where I fail to live according to your Law of Love, and where, with your grace, I can change to live according to your Holy Will. I cannot do it on my own, but only because of your love, grace, and faithfulness. I love you, Lord, and I thank you for loving me. Give me courage to live the life to which you call me, for your glory and according to your will. Amen.

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Preparation & Conversion

During these weeks of waiting and anticipation to celebrate the Birth of Jesus, we are reminded of the need to prepare ourselves to spiritually receive our Lord. In St. Luke’s Gospel, we read that familiar story of John the Baptist calling the people of his time to a baptism of forgiveness and repentance. He was fulfilling the words of the great prophet Isaiah: “A voice of one crying out in the desert: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths…. All flesh shall see the salvation of God.’” (NAB, LK 3:4, 6)

But how do we prepare to receive the salvation being offered to us? Preparing for the Lord, making straight the crooked paths and smoothing out the rough ways in our lives is all about conversion. It means daily examining ourselves, looking deep inside our souls, finding those areas where we fail or where we can do better, and then changing how we live, with the help of God’s grace. Conversion is a daily process where we work to conform ourselves to Christ. A simple reflection, perhaps in the middle of the day and just before sleep, can change our lives dramatically. After intentionally bringing your mind into the presence of God, reflect on the day by giving thanks for your blessings, and then asking yourself: When did I experience God or feel drawn to him today? When did I miss these opportunities, and why? How did I violate God’s Law of Love? (Express true contrition and a desire to change.) How do I allow Jesus to be more fully present in my life? There are many forms of a Daily Examen, and practicing it is perhaps one of the most certain methods for staying prepared for our Lord.

Father, as I experience this time of waiting to celebrate the birth of your Son, Jesus, transform my heart so that it may be clean and clear of anything that prevents me from receiving you. Give me your grace and the persistence and courage to honestly reflect on my life, so as to rid myself of all that is contrary to your love. As I seek to do your will, may I become more conformed to Christ, for your greater glory. Amen.

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