Examination of Conscience

There is one small, ancient and genuinely transformative practice that can change the shape of your interior life if you let it. It’s called the examination of conscience. It takes three to five minutes before you go to sleep. And it has a way of quietly changing everything.

The Desert Fathers practiced it. St. Augustine practiced it. St. Ignatius of Loyola placed it at the center of his Spiritual Exercises. And on the last day of 2025, Pope Leo XIV stood before pilgrims in St. Peter's Square and commended this same practice to the whole Church, inviting Catholics to reflect on God's action over the past year, evaluate how they had responded to his gifts, and ask forgiveness for the times they had fallen short.

Here is what the practice actually looks like: You begin by acknowledging that God is present. Thirty seconds. A simple “Come, Holy Spirit, let me see my day as you see it.” This is what makes the examen prayer rather than mere journaling because you are not doing the seeing yourself. You are asking for light. Then, before you look for failures, you look for gifts. What was good today? Name three things. A conversation that surprised you with its warmth. A moment of patience you didn’t know you had. A child who made you smile or even laugh.

Next, gently walk back through the day. Was I patient? Did I listen well? Did I even glance at God, or did I barrel through from morning to night without a thought of him? Answer honestly. Then: a brief act of contrition, and one small concrete resolution for tomorrow. Not “I will be a better person.” That’s too vague to act on. Something specific like “When I feel impatient with the kids tomorrow morning, I will pause before I speak.” The resolution is what keeps the examen from being merely a feeling and turns it into real formation. And finally, you entrust the day to Our Lady and you close your eyes.

You can do this any time at night, like after the younger children go to bed, during the last quiet of the evening, even in a car after dropping someone off. It requires only a few minutes of intentional quiet and an honest heart. Start tonight. Acknowledge that God is present. Count three things from today for which you are grateful. Walk honestly back through the day. Say you are sorry for what fell short. Name one thing you will do differently tomorrow. Put yourself in Our Lady’s hands and close your eyes. Three to five minutes. That is all. Do it tonight. Do it again tomorrow night. And the night after that.