This post is a part of the series “From Ashes to Glory.”We have now reached “glory”—Jesus’ glory and our own. His is the glory the Father gave Him: to return alive to live forever.
Our glory is what Jesus gives us: a share in His eternal, divine life. We live enjoying all of God’s earthly gifts as well as anyone can. All the while, we are graced to know that we are going to live yet another way, forever.
What does living this glory look like? Easter offers the best time to set the pattern. The reason is simple: joy. Easter joy says, “Always be joyful in the Lord; I repeat, be joyful” (Philippians 4:4). The Examen can help us sustain this joy in the Lord.
The Examen sometimes looks like a task to perform. It isn’t. It is a series of moments in prayer that help us to make progress in our faith lives. This is what we are seeking: some progress, not perfection.
You will persevere in this form of prayer if you find your own way of doing it. Your way will be distinct. Personality types and character shape how it goes. Thinkers do it differently than feelers. Men pray it differently than women. The single person will pray the Examen differently from the parent of five young children.
Yet for all who follow Christ, the Examen is ultimately the same. We want to know ourselves better, because then we will be able to know Christ, our Lord and Savior, better.
