We are here to love and serve God

The examen is a tool we use along the way – to find God in our lives, to discover what needs to be done, to reflect on our actions and motives and to make good choices.

That, in a nutshell, is what Ignatian spirituality is all about. Ignatius brought contemplation and action together, but the senior partner in the alliance is action. In the Ignatian scheme of things, we love and serve God by being joined with Christ in the work of saving and healing the world. The end of the examen is action – responding to God more faithfully, discerning our part in Christ’s mission, and making good decisions about how to fulfil it.

Excerpted from A Simple Life-Changing Prayer by Jim Manney (p. 76)