2025 was an emotion-packed year for me. So, when it was time for me to pay close attention to the past 12 months in my prayer journal, I decided to focus on creating my annual Examen through the lens of emotions rather than solely via events, relationships, and experiences.
Historically, the discipline of Examen includes: prayerful awareness of God’s presence; aspects of life that evoke a grateful heart; particular awareness of sin and brokenness; pledge for renewal and a fresh start for the day/week/year ahead. St. Ignatius, the one who is most attributed to developing the Examen, also invited a healthy acknowledgment of emotions, which I have long appreciated but not always considered in depth. On one end of the emotional spectrum reside our joy, gratitude, gifts, and gladness. On the other end is fear, guilt, shame, disappointment, heartache, anger, and loneliness.
What I discovered in giving myself license to emote was an interior mine field worthy of my prayerfulness. Looking back with realism, humility, gratitude and grace, I found several memories of 2025 that were calling for my prayerful and emotional noticing. In order to enter and embrace all that’s ahead of me in the new year, this exercise became incredibly fruitful for my soul.
Some of the questions I addressed were: Where was I most aware of my emotional responses and subsequent reflections on both the joyful and the more challenging aspects of the past year? What was God seeking to illuminate as I sat with my emotions? How was his abiding presence released and revealed amidst those emotions? What needs from others and myself were expressed, withheld, or handled with a more maturely balanced emotional response?
As I sat with these queries in my journal, a flood of emotions were unleashed…in deeply transformational ways.
For this post, I won’t be sharing the details of what’s become a very personal expression of God-soaked emotions. But, I thought perhaps this sharable portion might elicit something for you to consider. Perhaps this will awaken your own recollections of dominant emotions present in this past year. And, set your course for the year ahead in an emotionally healthy way.
In my year end Examen, here are some of the emotions that accompanied my recollection of meaningful experiences, both life-giving and life-defining. Perhaps meditating on these emotion-graced words will bring to your mind and heart the situations, relational encounters, highlights and lowlights of this past year that are worthy of your prayerful consideration.
- Joyfulness, gratefulness and the simple discerning of God’s ongoing presence, power, and peace – joy and gratitude are hallmarks of Examen and always a great place to begin.
- When did you feel joy and for what/whom are you most gratitude this year?
- Uniqueness, blessedness and quirkiness of all God’s children – looking at others with a smile on our faces, acknowledging their uniqueness, helps us understand them more fully.
- Who are you needing to listen to and understand more fully rather than seeking to change into your image of them?
- Stricken/awed by the beauty of God’s creation in every season – in the midst of all the ugly of this world, looking for and savoring beauty aids us in gaining balanced perspectives.
- Where is God’s beauty most gloriously reflected and how can you make it more of a priority to visit beautiful places and experiences for the sake of your soul?
- Gift of presence, both with and without words – being with and standing up for others, and vice-versa, enhances our gift of presence, strength and fortitude for all that life delivers.
- Who offers to you the best gift of presence, listening intently to your heart, and doesn’t shame, ridicule or condemn you?
- Releasing your grip and discovering the freedom of letting go – all good spiritual formation and maturity is about learning to let go, relaxing prayerfully in the presence of others.
- Where do you find yourself most anxious or desirous of gripping, like an attachment that defines you and you feel you must have?
- Loss, less, loneliness, brokenness and limitations deep within – we live in a broken world, we are promised sorrow and suffering, but when we are weak, God is stronger still.
- How are sorrow and suffering coming alongside you, and if lonely and confused, who can you turn to in Christ to seek perspective on the harder aspects of life?
- Competitive spirit and the fear of being forgotten – seeing others as competitors is only upended by a heart strangely warmed by the Spirit who invites us into cooperative community.
- With whom are you most competitive and why? Who are your closest companions and how is community being built because of your presence?
- Hoping without knowing or controlling the outcome – the evidence of deep and abiding commitment to God and others is evidenced in hope, regardless of inevitable outcomes.
- Where is your hope wavering and how would life be difference if your hope in God was more apparent to you and those with whom you share this life?
- Anticipation, intentionality, proactivity, and trust – looking forward with holy anticipation and deeply held trust keeps your eyes on the future and all that awaits you in God’s Kingdom.
- What is the state of your soul and how is trust being built or reconstructed because of your commitment to trust no matter what occurs?
- Vulnerability without regret – starting with God and shared with those who know you best and love you most, the gift of friendship occurs in ever-deepening and trust-based vulnerability.
- With whom can you be more vulnerable and unfiltered, and how will that humble honesty deepen your love for one another?
Let your emotions speak and as they do, welcome them, pray over them, and invite God to redeem them for his glory. May the words of your mouth and the reflections of your heart bring honor and glory to God, for he is always and forever your Rock and our Redeemer. His promises, protection, and peace are yours for the receiving day after day, month after month, year after year.
Happy New Year!
