St. Ignatius of Loyola, a great
mystic and saint who founded the Society of Jesus, has given a powerful method
of reviewing our day in the presence of God. This is called the “Examination of
Consciousness”. St. Ignatius was able “to see God in everything and everything
in God”. He saw the presence of God in
his daily life. Therefore the “Examination of Consciousness” is actually an
attitude than a method, a time set aside for thankful reflection on where God
is in your daily life. It has five steps and it usually takes 15 to 20 minutes a day.
First
Step: Ask God for light.
In the beginning
I make a short prayer asking the Lord to look at my entire day with God’s eye
and not my own. When I look at the day with God’s eye, I see everything that
happened in my life for a purpose.
Second
Step: Give thanks.
In this step, I remember
the each event of my life and give thanks to the Lord. I feel grateful to the
Lord for everything that happened on that day. Even if it is something bad
happened on that day, I thank the Lord for that experience.
Third
Step: Review the day:
I carefully look
back on the day just completed, being guided by the Holy Spirit. I go through
all the events without making any judgement on myself. I do not ever ask why this happened to me.
Fourth
Step: Face your Shortcomings:
I face all that
has gone wrong in my life. I see what has gone wrong and I see the reason for what
has gone wrong on this day. What are the possible reasons for the shortcomings?
Fifth
Step: Look forward the day to come.
Finally I ask
the Lord for His help, so that I can live the next day in a better way. I ask the Lord for help, so that I may not do
the same mistake again next day. I make a decision to lead a better life with
the help of the Holy Spirit.
This
method is most useful for our spiritual progress. It is also helpful to lead a
good Christian life. This method will help you to give up your addictions in
life. Moreover it is possible lead a better only with the help of the
assistance of the Holy Spirit and compassionate love of God.
This is done preferably just before retiring to bed.