THE EXA M E N BOOK Exploring Every Day with God By Paul Mitchell Illustrated by Katie Broussard
THE EXA M E N BOOK
Exploring Every Day with God
By Paul Mitchell Illustrated by Katie Broussard
Text © 2022 Paul Mitchell Illustrations ©2022 Katie Broussard All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-0-8294-5127-6 Library of Congress Control Number: 2021953170 Printed in USA 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 CGC 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
It is my delight to introduce your family to the Examen, a prayer that reveals to us that our life is holy ground on which we receive the love of God. The prayer is usually done at the end of the day and follows five steps.
1. Pray for the grace to see clearly. I acknowledge that I need God’s help to consider my life truthfully and share God’s desire for my life.
2. Pray in thanksgiving. I recall three moments from the day for which I am grateful, and I acknowledge God as the source of these gifts.
3. Review my emotions from the day. I consider my emotions, both strong and gentle, as I reacted to the day’s events.
4. Choose one emotion and pray from it. I offer one feeling as a prayer and listen, as I might listen to a friend, for an answer.
5. Look toward the next day. I consider how the grace and insight provided might help me live tomorrow with deep love.
Each of us, no matter how young, has a profound capacity to receive the love of God. I hope that you are able to pray the Examen and learn to trust in the tender compassion that God has for you. Blessings on the journey, (Audacious) St. Ignatius
Hello there, my dear one! Shall we now pray and see how our God has loved you this day?
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God loves each one of us more than we know! God surrounds us, sustains us, allows us to grow.
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This grace is woven through all of our days. If we look closely, we soon see the ways that God loves us so and deserves all our praise.
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For the goal of our life is always to be open to God’s tender love, so then might we go love the world with a heart full and free.
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Each breath that we take helps us to see God’s Spirit inside. Now breathe. One. Two. Three. 8
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ISBN: 978-0-8294-5127-6 $14.99 U.S. Grow closer to God by praying about your day. With simple, thoughtful rhymes and beautiful illustrations, The Examen Book invites children and their loved ones to develop a deeper relationship with God by praying this cherished prayer together. Families will thrive as they look for God in all things great and small and become more aware of God’s presence by observing their daily life, expressing gratitude, paying attention to their emotions, and looking forward to a brighter tomorrow. Brother and sister team PAUL MITCHELL (author) and KATIE MITCHELL BROUSSARD (illustrator) are both parents and former Jesuit educators who deeply value teaching children about Ignatian spirituality. Paul and Katie are the creators of the picture book Audacious Ignatius, a lighthearted yet theologically rich introduction to the life of St. Ignatius, and Sorin Starts a School: The Foundation of Notre Dame. Cover art: Katie Broussard Author photo: Paul Mitchell Illustrator photo: Maryjoy Heineman