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Knowledge
Guides and background on the practices Lumen is built around: the daily Examen of St Ignatius, the examination of conscience, preparing for confession, and the discernment of spirits. Written to be read — not to sell an app.
The Daily Examen
Daily Examen apps comparedReimagining the Examen, Pray as you go, Sacred Space, Hallow and Lumen side by side: what each is actually built for, and the privacy questions to settle before you start writing anything down.The Daily Examen of St Ignatius – a guide in five stepsThe Daily Examen of St Ignatius in five steps: gratitude, light, review, sorrow and resolution. How to pray it tonight, even in five minutes.Examination of conscience – what it is and how to make it dailyWhat the examination of conscience is, how to make it daily, which questions help, and how it differs from preparing for confession.Ignatius of LoyolaWho Ignatius of Loyola was, what happened at Loyola and Manresa, what the Spiritual Exercises are, and why the daily Examen is the one piece he wanted everybody to keep.Consolation and desolation – the discernment of spiritsWhat Ignatius means by consolation and desolation, the rules that matter most, and what to do when desolation comes.
Confession and conscience
Preparing for confession – the steps, the words, the act of contritionHow confession works step by step, what to say at the beginning, how contrition works, and how to prepare in twenty minutes.The Act of ContritionThe Act of Contrition in English and Latin, what perfect and imperfect contrition mean, what to say if the words will not come, and whether you have to know it by heart.Scrupulosity – when conscience will not stopWhen the examination of conscience will not stop: the signs, the rules of St Ignatius, practical help, and where the line to illness runs.Mortal sin and venial sinWhat makes a sin mortal, the three conditions the Catechism names, how venial sin differs, and why the distinction is not a scale of severity but a question of whether love is still there.How to go to confessionWhat you say in confession, in what order, what the priest says, and what to do if it has been years. The whole sequence, assuming nothing.
Going further with Ignatius
Finding a spiritual director – where to lookWhere to find spiritual direction – diocesan offices, the Jesuits, online Exercises in daily life, and an international directory. And why Lumen arranges nothing.The daily examen in Exodus 90Exodus 90 requires a daily examination of conscience each evening. What that means, how it is prayed, and why it is the discipline men drop first.
Tools
The Examen every evening – guided
Lumen guides you through the Examen in seven steps, surfaces recurring patterns and turns them into your confession preparation. Your entries stay encrypted on your device.
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