» Examen Prayer

My Little Black Book

Written by on February 24, 2011 - 7 Comments

In my life, when it’s comes to journaling, I’ve been inconsistent at best.  Over the years I’ve filled a few journals, but if you were to look at the entry dates you’d see my inconsistency.  For example, you’ll see a March 3, 2005 entry and then the next entry is June 5, 2005.  You get the point.  Don’t get me wrong, I think journaling is a wonderful tool for our personal and spiritual lives, but I’ve just never been very good at keeping a daily journal.

But I think I’ve found a way to keep a daily record of my life without feeling that I need to write paragraph after paragraph for twenty minutes.  For the last three weeks I’ve been keeping what I call a Presence and Gratitude Journal.  It’s not a journal in the traditional sense of the word; it’s more like several bullet points that I write each day.  At the end of the day, I settle into my living room and sit in the chair that I use exclusively for prayer.  There, I recollect myself in God’s presence, I review the day, and in my little moleskine notebook I write bullet points under two headings: 1) God’s presence, love, and action, 2) Grateful for.

My purpose in writing these brief bullet points is simple: to recount where I experienced the Lord’s presence, love, and action and to give thanks to God for the blessings He’s given to me.  I wouldn’t call it journaling in the traditional sense, but it works for me.

Here are some examples from my own journal:
God’s Presence, Love, and Action:
– In being patient with someone with whom I could have gotten aggravated
– In trying to be more focused and prayerful during Mass
– In making good connections with La Salle students at tonight’s wrestling match

Grateful for:
– The person who told me after Mass that he prays for me every day by name
– The joy I brought to my nieces when they received the teddy bears and flowers I sent them after their tonsillectomy
– An enjoyable dinner with friends

What I like about this method is that it doesn’t take long.  I can take three minutes or ten minutes; it’s up to me.  The important thing is that I do it.  In three weeks, here are the benefits that I’ve experienced from doing this:

1) The very fact that I know I’m going to write in my little black book at the end of the day focuses me more on God’s presence and helps me to be more grateful.  Just today as I was walking back into my office after a meeting I thought about my little black book.  That very thought prompted me to recollect myself for a moment to remember God’s presence.

2) It’s a good way to quickly review what God has been doing and to look at the blessings He’s given me.  I can look back over the previous day or the last few days and review where God acted and where I experienced His love and blessings.

3) It helps me to focus on making tomorrow better than today.  When I’m done writing my bullet points, sometimes I’ll jot a word or a phrase at the bottom of the page: “be more attentive to people”; “selfless”; “foster deeper peace and patience.”  These words or phrases are reminders to me of what I believe the Holy Spirit is asking me to focus on.

It’s not a perfect method.  Some days I feel that I don’t have much to write at all; but this feeling is good, because it helps me to realize that I need to be more mindful of God’s presence.  Some days I feel that I can fill a couple of little pages, but I try to keep it to one small page.

So I share this with you as one tool that you might be able to use to help you to grow in your relationship with the Lord.

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What tools besides prayer help you in your relationship with God?  Do you journal?  If so, how does it help you?

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What is Holiness?

Written by on September 22, 2009 - Leave an Awesome Comment

Rubens_St_Ignatius_ofLoyola_3538Above my desk where my Macbook, printer, and lamp share their home, hangs a large framed print of one of my favorite saints, Ignatius of Loyola. He’s dressed in a red chasuble and stole, the traditional vestments for the celebration of Mass. His eyes gaze heavenward; there is a glow on his face and an aura of light around his head. His right arm is bent upward; his hand, fingers and palm also pointing upward, is open in a gesture of praise. His left hand rests on the top of an open book and on the left page are written the words “Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam”: For the greater glory of God. It is the image of a saint, an image of holiness.

As much as I love this painting of St. Ignatius and how it can inspire me to stay focused on the Lord, looking at it can also make me forget that he was imperfect. Of course, that may be what the artist’s intention was: images of saints are supposed to reveal their holiness, not their imperfections. However, does being holy mean that we are perfect, that we never sin?

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A Walk with the Lord

Written by on September 15, 2009 - 4 Comments

One evening last week, I decided to take a walk with the Lord.  The sky was moonlight and an autumn chill was in the air.  So after dinner I put a sweater on and walked meditatively around the seminary property.  I typically pray the examen in the late afternoon while sipping a fresh cup of hot coffee; but this day was different. I felt drawn to walk outside and talk with the Lord.  I contemplated Jesus walking by my side, His right arm around my shoulders, listening attentively to me sharing my day with Him.  Truthfully, it’s the type of prayer that several years ago I may have been tempted to call corny.  Have you ever noticed that some of the things you used to think were corny are actually things that you now do?

Nature Trails (main)What did I talk to the Lord about?  I just thanked Him for the many blessings that He’d given me that day.  I then spoke with Him about the events of my day and both the interior joys and struggles as well.  I told Him I saw His love in a student at Rhode Island College who was so happy to see me that she ran up and hugged me.  I laughed at myself as I told Him how aggravated I was as I sat in a meeting that I felt was wasting my time.  I even thanked Him for the new John Mayer CD I purchased that’s added pleasure to my driving.  I spoke to Him about the people that I had encountered during the day and I prayerfully offered them to Him, asking Him to bless them and to take care of their needs.  I asked His forgiveness for the times that I did not respond well to His grace, and I told Him that I would try to do better tomorrow.

I know He listened attentively to me as my heart spoke to His, and I tried to listen to Him when I asked how He was calling me to live in deeper holiness.  I experienced His presence, His encouragement, and His forgiveness.  I felt hopeful knowing that He loves me, despite my weakness and sin.  Yes, I had lived an imperfect day, but I was deeply aware that His love is greater than my sin.  He wasn’t condemning me; He was encouraging me to keep going, never to give up, and to live in deeper friendship with Him.

I don’t share this experience with you to hold myself up as a model of prayer; I share it with you to help you in your own prayer.  Prayer is about a heart to heart conversation with the Lord, our best friend.  Prayer is about walking with the Lord, our hearts speaking to His and His to ours.   Sometimes I think we complicate our prayer.  The Lord wants us to keep it simple.  He desires to have a deep friendship with us.

As a priest, I have had many people ask me how to pray.  In future posts I will continue to write about prayer, how to go deeper in our relationship with the Lord, and how to find him in our daily lives.  For now, if you desire a deeper relationship with the Lord, here is what I offer to you:

  • Find a quiet place in nature to take a walk with Him today
  • Find a quiet space in your house today to sit and speak with Him, heart to heart
  • If you’re driving by a church today, stop in and spend time in silence visiting with our Lord
  • If you’re at work, take a few minutes to slow down and speak to Him from your heart
  • If you’re driving today, keep the radio off for a little while and talk to the Lord from your heart; acknowledge that He is with you.

He’s always with us.  He always listens to us.  He’s our best friend.

More on St. Ignatius and the Examen Prayer

Written by on September 13, 2009 - 3 Comments

Saint_Ignatius_iconIf you’ve read my previous posts, you may have guessed that one of my favorite saints is Ignatius of Loyola, the great founder of the Society of Jesus (also known as the Jesuits). Ignatius was born in Spain in 1491.  He was a soldier in the Spanish army before he experienced a profound conversion to Christ at the age of 30.

During a battle against the French at Pamplona, Ignatius’s leg was broken by a cannonball, an injury that left him with a limp for the rest of his life. As he recuperated in his bed at home, he began to read the Life of Christ and the Lives of the Saints. As he read, he noticed something happening in his heart: he felt drawn to Christ and he desired to imitate the saints about whom he was reading. This time of recuperation was a defining moment in his life, and from that point on he devoted his life to Christ and to spreading the fire of God’s love to all people he encountered.

One of the great methods of prayer that Ignatius proposed for spiritual growth was the daily examen. In fact, still today, priests in the Society of Jesus are asked to set aside fifteen minutes twice a day in order to pray the examen.

Many of us are probably familiar with what is traditionally called the examination of conscience. This examination consists of a prayerful review of the good and the bad that I have done during the day. The problem with this prayer is that so often it is too self-focused and too moralistic (only focusing on my actions). For Ignatius, the daily examen was meant to be so much more than just focusing on the good and the bad that I have done; the examen is all about God’s action and loving presence in our daily lives. Ignatius believed that by being attentive to God’s presence in our daily lives we could more easily discern the direction in which he is leading us.

I know I’ve already touched on the examen in my previous posts, but I thought it would be important to go into a little more detail for the sake of those who aren’t familiar with the examen.  So how does one pray the daily examen? Ignatius proposed the following way* (see footnote):

• Transition: I become aware of the love with which God looks upon me as I begin this examen.

• Step One: Gratitude. I note the gifts that God’s love has given me this day, and I give thanks to God for them.

• Step Two: Petition. I ask God for an insight and a strength that will make this examen a work of grace, fruitful beyond my human capacity alone.

•Step Three: Review. With my God, I review the day. I look for the stirrings in my heart and the thoughts that God has given me this day. I also look for those that have not been of God. I review my choices in response to both, and throughout the day in general.

• Step Four: Forgiveness. I ask for the healing touch of the forgiving God who, with love and respect for me, removes my heart’s burdens.

• Step Five: Renewal. I look to the following day and, with God, plan concretely how to live it in accord with God’s loving desire for my life.

•Transition: Aware of God’s presence with me, I prayerfully conclude the examen.

The spiritual fruit that we reap from praying the daily examen is a deeper attentiveness to God’s action and loving presence in our lives. We also grow in the spirit of gratitude because we take time to give thanks for the many blessings the Lord gives us everyday. We develop a sensitivity of heart to God’s graces and we desire to respond more completely to his will. The daily examen is a wonderful way to discern God’s will in our lives. Praying the daily examen can help us to answer important life questions: Where is God leading me? What particular virtue is calling me to grow in?  To what vocation is he calling me?

Of this Ignatius was certain: if we set time aside everyday to examine God’s action in our lives, we will come to see more clearly what he is asking of us and where he is leading us. Not a bad trade off for 15 minutes a day.

*I have borrowed these steps verbatim from The Examen Prayer by Fr. Timothy Gallagher, OMV, (Crossroad: New York, 2006), p.25.

Showing up for Prayer

Written by on September 10, 2009 - 2 Comments

Woody Allen once said something to the effect that eighty percent of success in life is simply about showing up. We can say something similar about prayer. If we desire a fruitful prayer life, then we must show up for it everyday. What do I mean? In my previous posts I wrote about the Examen Prayer, a time set aside to reflect on God’s love and our response to it in our daily lives. But how does one begin to pray the Examen? How does one begin to pray at all? The first step to prayer is simply showing up and acknowledging God’s loving presence. St. Ignatius called this first step the time of “transition.” Once again, I direct you to Fr. Gallagher’s excellent book that I referenced in my last post.

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Emotions and the Spiritual Life

Written by on September 5, 2009 - 1 Comment

Emotions are like the tide: they change every day. We must be careful then not to base our spiritual lives on our emotions. We must also take care not to base our decisions upon our feelings. Every day we can experience both positive and negative emotions, and we can allow both types of emotions to affect our relationship with the Lord. For example, if we are peaceful during the day, we can allow it to lead us more deeply into the Lord’s presence and experience spiritual consolation; however, if we are angry we may choose to distance ourselves from Him thus choosing spiritual desolation. The challenge for us is to live on a deeper spiritual level than our emotions. The good news is that there is a prayerful way to get to that level and to be more discerning about how our emotions affect our spiritual life.

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