You're listening to Catholic Sprouts, the daily podcast for Catholic kids that strives to plant seeds of faith.

Hey there, it's sprouts. Today is Wednesday, February 24th, 2021. This week on the Catholic Sprouts podcast, we are talking about the daily examine. We've already heard about how simply

experiencing something doesn't actually teach us anything, but how we need to make a practice of each day reflecting on what we have experienced.

And St. Ignatius of Leola created a daily examine as an easy tool for us to do just that.

Yesterday we heard the story of St. Ignatius of Leola, who was a knight seeking only honor

on the battlefield, but how through the stories of saints, he was inspired to live a true

adventure following Jesus Christ.

So let's talk about the daily examine. There are five steps to the daily

examine and they are very simple. So here are the five steps. Number one, be aware that you are in

God's presence. Number two, think through your day and thank God for all the good things that came to you.

Number three is to once again think through your day and recall all of the love that you experienced.

Step number four is to think through your day again, but this time recall all the ways that you

failed God or you failed other people and the sins that you fell into and to ask forgiveness

for those things. And then the final step is to think about tomorrow and to ask God and his

grace, the very gift of God himself, to be with you

for the needs that you face tomorrow. So we're going to talk through each of these slowly.

We're going to talk through the first two today. So first of all, step number one, coming into the

presence of God or more accurately, becoming aware that you are in God's presence.

Now, realize this, my friends, no matter where you go, even if you go and lock yourself in the

bathroom and you're all alone, God is there. God exists everywhere all the time. He is always present. So he's always with you.

Even when you feel totally alone or abandoned or the world seems very dark and hopeless,

God is there. He is always there. We live most of our lives, however, either ignoring him or trying to get away from him.

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