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DAY 14–Prayer
Jesus replied, “‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:37–40 NLT)
The Examen, in any number of forms, was taught by many early church fathers. The idea is that we examine ourselves on a regular basis in order to better understand ourselves, our motives, our faults, and where we particularly need the grace of God. One iteration of the Examen is to take it in two parts: the examen of consciousness and the examen of conscience. In the first half, we prayerfully ask God to reveal to us where we both missed and met Him as we reflect on our thoughts, attitudes, and actions. The second half is inviting the Almighty to take us on a journey of our own hearts, to shine a light in the dark recesses to allow the Holy Spirit to mend where we are broken.
 
Take time—maybe at the end of your day—to examine yourself. Allow God to show you who you have been and who you truly are. Let Him guide you through your day to examine where you have loved Him and loved others and where you have missed the mark.
As a searching investigator of the integrity of your own conduct, submit your life to a daily examination. Consider carefully what progress you have made or what ground you have lost. Strive to know yourself. Place all your faults before your eyes. Come face to face with yourself, as though you were another person.
—Bernard of Clairvaux
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