As one of his techniques for getting his message across to his listeners, Jesus occasionally invites them to reflect on their own personal experience by asking a question, whether direct or indirect: "If one of you knows someone who comes to him in the middle of the night..."

Jesus of course did not expect anyone among his listeners to answer the question, for this was a question for reflection, not a question seeking information. Reflection has been part of Christian spirituality ever since Jesus' time. Different Spiritual masters have taught different technique for reflection. St Ignatius in particular taught the technique of the "Examen" or examination of conscience, which nowadays we prefer to call the examination of consciousness. In speaking of physical health we frequently speak of a person's "quality of life." If Saint Ignatius were alive today he might well describe his "Examen" as a reflection on the quality of our spiritual life, the quality of our relationship with God or Jesus. And that is what we are emphasizing with the term "examination of consciousness": how much does our relationship with God affect, enhance or foster our consciousness of being children of our Heavenly Father, or of being beloved disciples of Jesus?