How It Works
The Examination Journal was created to help Catholics pray a nightly Examen and prepare for Confession.
What even is an “Examen”?
Countless saints have taught their followers to make this kind of prayer at the end of each day. With an Examen, or an Examination of Conscience, you review your day – calling to mind thoughts, words, and actions – bringing them to God in prayer.
The Examination Journal takes this process to the written page. The journal is a guide, an accountability tool, and a method for bringing your joys and struggles to the Lord.
So here’s how the Examination Journal works. Each night before bed, you "examine" your day.
- A Psalm at the top of the page guides you in first placing yourself in God’s presence.
- Next, you’re invited to review, reflect, and journal on your day. Bullet points work best with “Plus” signs signifying Blessings and Graces from your day. “Minus” signs suggesting temptations, struggles, and sins that came up in your day.
- The journal then prompts you to dialogue with God in a spirit of: Gratitude, Forgiveness, and Resolution as you reflect on what you’ve written.
- Wrapping up, you look outward, making a special intention for someone who came up in your day. And in closing, the journal leaves you with an invitation to pray and briefly meditate on a bit of wisdom from the saints.
How long you spend on the daily Examination is up to you. Any time you can give to the Lord will surely bear fruit, but the impact is profound when we unite the examen with the sacrament of Confession. Which is why the journal also includes monthly examination exercises, with space to prepare for Confession, in a whole new way.
That’s it.
The Examination Journal includes 180 daily examination pages, 6 monthly examinations, and a six-month examination.