Pope Francis is an advocate of the Ancient Greek aphorism, "Know thyself."
"Almost complementary” to prayer in discerning God's will is self-knowledge, he says.
As a tool in the process of self-knowledge, the pope recommends a hallmark of Jesuit spirituality: the examen prayer.
At the general audience of October 5, he shared some questions that might characterize this prayer:
~ What happened in my heart in this day? “Lots of things happened …” Which? Why?
~ What traces did they leave in my heart?
~ What satiates my heart?
~ To see: What passed by today?
~ What happened?
~ What made me react?
~ What made me sad?
~ What made me joyful?
~ What was bad, and did I harm others?