Finding God in the everyday: Discovering the Examen

Liz describes the Examen as nothing short of life-changing. She tells the Things I Wish I Knew podcast about the power of this simple Ignatian practice, which is the foundation of many people’s prayer lives … and of a forthcoming project from Thinking Faith!

What if the day we have just lived could become a place of prayer? Not only the moments of stillness or obvious significance, but also the commute, the difficult conversation, the small kindness and the things we wish had gone differently.

The Ignatian Examen offers a way of approaching everyday life with this kind of attentiveness. It is a simple, adaptable prayer that invites us to look back over our experiences, notice what has been happening within and around us, and recognise where God might have been present.

In a recent conversation with Julia Corcoran for the Things I Wish I Knew podcast, Liz Waldy, Spirituality Lead at the London Jesuit Centre, shared her own experience of Ignatian spirituality and explored how the Examen can help us find God in the ordinary details of our lives.

For Liz, the journey into Ignatian spirituality began during a period of uncertainty. After being made redundant from her job in the charity sector, she expected to find another role within a couple of months. Instead, the search lasted six months. Her savings dwindled and she began to worry that she might lose the flat she loved.

Alongside this experience, Liz explored different forms of Ignatian prayer, including imaginative contemplation: praying with a gospel story by entering into it through the imagination.

This opened up a new understanding of what prayer could be. Liz was drawn to a spirituality that takes feelings, memories and imagination seriously, rather than approaching faith as something purely intellectual. It offered a way of recognising the whole person, bringing together mind, body, heart and spirit.

Over time, this discovery led her to the Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius, training as a spiritual director and, eventually, her current work at the London Jesuit Centre.

Her experience points to something central to Ignatian spirituality: God meets us not apart from our lives, but within them. Our emotions, relationships, uncertainties and everyday experiences can all become places where we encounter God.

The Examen is traditionally prayed at the end of the day, but it does not need to be confined to a particular time or place. As Liz explains, it can be prayed on a bus, out on a walk or during any quiet moment that presents itself. Its purpose is not to add another obligation to an already busy schedule, but to help us become more attentive to the lives we are living.

The prayer often begins by taking a moment to remember that we are held in God’s loving gaze. From there, we look back over the day and consider what we are grateful for. We ask God to help us see the day as God sees it, before returning to the moments that stand out.

Where did we feel close to God? What gave us life or brought us joy? What left us feeling drained, uncomfortable or distant from others? Is there anything we want to bring to God for healing or forgiveness?

Finally, we look towards the day ahead, considering what we might need and what we want to ask God for.

There is no requirement to follow a rigid formula or to pray in precisely the same way each time. Liz describes it as a ‘daily-ish’ practice, encouraging people to be gentle with themselves. Even beginning with a single question, such as ‘what was the gift of today?’, can help us notice things we might otherwise overlook.

One thing to note is that the Examen is not simply a daily assessment of whether we have behaved well or badly. It is not about keeping a tally of our successes and failures or finding reasons to criticise ourselves. Rather, it invites an honest and compassionate awareness of the choices we make and the patterns that shape our lives. Perhaps we remained silent when we wanted to speak or continued with something that made us uncomfortable. Perhaps we were impatient with someone we love or failed to notice an opportunity to help.

The invitation is not to condemn ourselves, but to recognise what happened, consider what was going on within us and ask how we might respond differently in the future. By bringing these experiences into prayer, we can begin to understand ourselves more deeply and become more attentive to the needs of others.

Just as importantly, the Examen helps us recognise moments of grace that might otherwise pass unnoticed. A brief connection with another passenger, a child’s laughter, an unexpected kindness or a moment of peace can all become opportunities to recognise God’s presence. Sometimes, as Liz describes, there are moments when we simply feel that ‘all’s right with the world’.

These experiences may seem small, but paying attention to them can change how we understand our days. Rather than looking for God only in explicitly religious settings or significant events, we begin to recognise the possibility of encountering God in the ordinary.

The Ignatian Examen is ultimately an invitation to pause, look back and listen. It encourages us to approach our experiences with honesty, gratitude and compassion, trusting that God is present in the fullness of our lives, including the parts we might prefer to overlook.

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