Preparing our Hearts for the Night

At we prepare for the night, it is a good thing to re-evaluate what went on in our lives during the day. This examine of conscience helps prepare our hearts to rest for the night in the embrace of the Lord, and strengthens our resolve to try harder to please God tomorrow. To help us get into the mood to spend time with our Lord, here is a message from Him addressed to you:

One method of regular, daily examine is to choose a piece of scripture, and reflect upon how you lived for the Lord today. Rejoice with the Lord in the moments you behaved as His disciple. Ask pardon for the moments you failed. Make resolve to try harder tomorrow, with God’s grace.

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Another method of examine, Saint Ignatius of Loyola recommends a five-point plan for the examination of our hearts:

1.    Recall that you are in the presence of God.

2.   Spend a moment looking over your day with gratitude for this day’s gifts.

3.   Ask God to send you His Holy Spirit to help you look at your actions and attitudes and motives with honesty and patience.

4.   Now review your day.

5.   The final step is our heart-to-heart talk with Jesus.

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With whichever method you use, you may want to conclude with a prayer of contrition, such as:

O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee,
and I detest all my sins, because I dread the loss of heaven,
and the pains of hell;

but most of all because they offend Thee, my God,
Who are all good and deserving of all my love.
I firmly resolve, with the help of Thy grace,
to confess my sins, to do penance,

and to amend my life. Amen

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Getting into the practice of regularly examining the mind and heart helps us to slowly conform our lives, so to live more and more dedicated to Christ.

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For a reflection about using an examine of Conscience on a regular basis:

“It is a Daily Duty” – Fr. John Corapi, SOLT