Your Rule of Life and Going to Confession

You can find texts on the practise of daily examination from Saint Ignatius Loyola below along with the preparation of a Rule of Life or preparation for the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

Stations of the Cross with the Stabat Mater
Stations_Stabat Mater_Richard Coles 2020[...]
Document Adobe Acrobat [1.1 MB]

Making a Rule of Life in Lent
Rule of Life_Lent (A5).pdf
Document Adobe Acrobat [100.5 KB]

Why go to Confession by Jim Forrest
Why Go to Confession Booklet_Jim Forrest[...]
Document Adobe Acrobat [441.1 KB]

Self Examination using the Beatitudes by Jim Forrest
Self Examination using Beatitudes_Jim Fo[...]
Document Adobe Acrobat [480.1 KB]

The Examen ou La prière d’alliance

Practising the Examen shouldn't take very long (10-15 minutes) and ideally should be at the same time each day. Bedtime isn't the best time - we're sleepy and shutting down - try making a hot drink and giving yourself some quality time.

You might like to jot things in a journal - or talk over what you've discovered about yourself and God with an accompanier (email the clergy for more details). The prayer helps us be clearer not only that God is active in our daily lives but what we're being called to be and do in response! Have a good Lent!

No matter what you're worrying about ... stop!

God is with you—quiet perhaps, but always there. Remember that God has created everything.

Think about all you have - it's a gift so that when you look back over the last 24 hours you might see it from God's loving perspective, working in the things that have happened to you -is there something that you would like to be particularly thankful for today?

Ask God to shine his light into your heart

Now remember the past 24 hours...

so that when you look back over the day you might see it from God's perspective, working in the things that have happened to you.

Remember the people you met and the things that happened –was it a ‘good’ day or a ‘bad’ day? Was it unusual? Who did you meet? Did you come across something surprising: a long-lost friend… or an awkward enemy? Does something special come to mind… something I was told… a beautiful sunset… something on the TV? In all the things that happened how did you feel? Was it joy or sadness, anger or fear? Maybe you felt great and were happy? What caused your feelings and did they change during the day?

God guides us through our moods and feelings. Normally, the way of God is (in a deep sense) peaceful and consoling. If your day was disturbed or if you were uneasy, can you sense where that uneasiness was coming from? Like a sailor buffeted by different winds we are affected by different things—the better we come to know these swirling breezes, the easier it will be to see the perhaps subtle movements of God in our lives.

Where was God in the events of the last 24 hours...

There will be things—if you can’t think of anything then you haven’t looked hard enough! I will give thanks for this. But also, did I turn away from God during the day? Maybe I turned a blind eye when it suited me? Did I recognise God in that homeless person, the annoying child or the spiteful co-worker? Ask for forgiveness for anything you may have done to hinder or ignore God’s love during the day that has passed. Ask especially for the graces of healing and strength.

Commit the coming 24 hours to God...

The prayer isn't about self-improvement! It's about knowing the presence of God. Because we are a people of hope—let us remember that God will be with us wherever and whatever is before us.

Ici il y a un lien pour La prière d’alliance en français.