Pray with Us

Lord, teach me to be generous. Teach me to serve you as you deserve; to give and not to count the cost, to fight and not to heed the wounds, to toil and not to seek for rest, to labor and not to ask for reward, except that of knowing that I do your will. Amen.

Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding, and my entire will, All I have and call my own. You have given all to me. To you, Lord, I return it. Everything is yours; do with it what you will. Give me only your love and your grace, that is enough for me. Amen.

Soul of Christ, sanctify me. Body of Christ, save me. Blood of Christ, inebriate me. Water from the side of Christ, wash me. Passion of Christ, strengthen me. O good Jesus, hear me. Within thy sacred wounds hide me. From the wicked enemy defend me. In the hour of my death call me And bid me come to thee that with thy saints I may praise thee forever and ever. Amen.

May it please the supreme and divine Goodness to give us all abundant grace ever to know his most holy will and perfectly to fulfill it. Amen.

1. Begin with the Sign of the Cross
2. Recognize that I am in the loving presence of God.
3. I ask God for the grace to see myself and the world as God does.
4. How is God at work in my life?
5. How have I responded to God’s presence in my life?
6. How am I being called to respond now?
7. I conclude my Examen by quietly thanking God for the grace of this prayer and seeking the intercession of Saint Ignatius of Loyola.
8. End with the Sign of the Cross.

Grant me, O Lord, to see everything now with new eyes, to discern and test the spirits that help me read the signs of the times, to relish the things that are yours, and to communicate them to others. Give me the clarity of understanding that you gave Ignatius. Amen.

(paraphrased by David L. Fleming, S.J.) 

The Goal of our life is to live with God forever. God, who loves us, gave us life. Our own response of love allows God's life to flow into us without limit.

All the things in this world are gifts from God, Presented to us so that we can know God more easily and make a return of love more readily. As a result, we appreciate and use all these gifts of God Insofar as they help us to develop as loving persons. But if any of these gifts become the center of our lives, They displace God And so hinder our growth toward our goal.

In everyday life, then, we must hold ourselves in balance Before all of these created gifts insofar as we have a choice And are not bound by some obligation. We should not fix our desires on health or sickness, Wealth or poverty, success or failure, a long life or a short one. For everything has the potential of calling forth in us A deeper response to our life in God.

Our only desire and our one choice should be this: I want and I choose what better leads To God's deepening his life in me.

Our Father, Who art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy Name. Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

Hail Mary, Full of Grace, The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of death. Amen.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Come, Holy Spirit, Fill the hearts of Your Faithful And kindle in them the fire of Your Love. Send Forth Your Spirit and they shall be created And Thou shalt renew the face of the earth. Let us Pray: O God, who taught the hearts of the faithful by the light of the Holy Spirit, grant that, by the gift of the same Spirit, we may be always truly wise, and ever rejoice in His consolation.

Angel of God, my guardian dear to whom God’s love commits me here, ever this day be at my side to light and guard, to rule and guide. Amen

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love. Where there is injury, pardon. Where there is doubt, faith. Where there is despair, hope. Where there is darkness, light. Where there is sadness, joy. O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console; to be understood, as to understand; to be loved, as to love. For it is in giving that we receive. It is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.