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Showing posts with label Daily Examine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Daily Examine. Show all posts

Monday, April 23, 2012

Confirmations and the Power of Prayer

Yesterday I had the great honor of sharing the celebration of the sacrament of Confirmation with 50 children of our parish and their families and friends. The celebration with His Grace Archbishop Daniel and our own Father Antony was wonderful and very exciting! But this post isn't so much about the celebration. Its about something I noticed this morning, with all of the preparations and celebrating behind me, as I worked at getting the last vestiges of our Saturday morning pre-confirmation retreat out of the Hall, packed up and put away for another year.

The focus of the retreat was on prayer, that single act of God's within our soul that will continue to serve, sustain, comfort and guide those newly Confirmed and their families throughout their lives. One of the prayers I have been using to help families get used to being aware of God and being with God is the Examen as developed by St. Ignatius. It is one of the most simple, sweetest, and profound methods of prayer in our great church and one that has the potential of changing how we perceive the flow and significance of every moment of our lives. At least that was St. Ignatius' belief and perennial hope.

For the last four months we have been using this wonderful little way of praying at the start of every meeting. Just how simple is it for families? As easy as taking a few moments to review the events, activities and conversations of their day, paying attention to the one specific moment that their imaginations have drawn their attention to, and sharing it with each other in their groups.  See, simple!

After this is done they pick one thing they want to share with everyone else, share it out loud, and stick their whole sheet of responses on our wall. We end the prayer by giving thanks to God for touching our lives and drawing our attention to all of these ways He has been with us.

You can never really know just how deeply this kind, or any kind of prayer has touched an individual or a family. I know too that, given the challenges of being the Church of Christ in the world today, it is easy to get discouraged and wonder if God is really at work at all.

So it was with great joy that I found myself nearly moved to tears as I took down their prayer sheets from our weekend retreat and really took the time to read some of the many ways these families have shared with each other and with me, how God has been touching their lives. So much so, that I simply had to share them with you today;

Where Did You Encounter God At Work In Your Days?

When my husband had a good week at work.

When I took my dog for a walk.

Time spent with my wife on our Date Night.

Praying for a friend recovering from emergency surgery.

Watching my daughter make a present for her sister's birthday.

Eating Ice cream with my sister.

Delivering papers in the rain.

I got 100% on my math test!

In the face of my Uncle Mike.

Seeing my family's faces all along the Boston Marathon.

When our dog comes in from outside.

Talking with my son and daughter about Awe and Wonder!

God was at school on the playground with all my friends!

Watching the sunset.

When I got a regular job/permanent position.

Playing soccer with all my friends.

When I helped my friend.

Preparing breakfast for my family.

When my papa got out of the hospital early and is home safe and healthy.

God was with me to give me creativity for cake decorating yesterday.

Comforting a close friend who was very upset about some bad news.

Sharing a birthday with my mom.

I saw God hugging me when I was down and assuring me that everything was going to be fine.


St. Ignatius called this the sweetest form of prayer and I cannot help but agree. After Confirmations are done I always get a little worried because so many of our families drift away as the business and hectic pace of life overwhelms them. As I read through these and the hundreds more that their sharing brought out I found myself reminded of Jesus certain assurance "And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’" and I can't help but offer a prayer of praise and thanksgiving;

Thank-you so much my Lord and my God, for all of the moments you share with us. You created the sun, the moon, and every star and planet. You set the universe in motion and loved every speck of life within it into being. Yet, in spite of how all-encompassing you are, you take the time to spend these moments with us. You share all of our joys, all of our excitements, all of our struggles, all of our tears. Never let me forget that there exists in this world, so great a love as that which you have shared with me.

Amen.


If you want to know more about the daily Examen check out these two wonderful sites;

Ignatian Spirituality

Other Six


Peace and God Bless




Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Other6 - Where do You Find God? Where Do You Need To Find God?

The Other6 Website is one I stumbled across a few years ago in my on-line travels. It was (and still is) a site run by the Jesuits, an order that has become quite renowned in using current media outreach to proclaim the gospel and at all times. It disappeared for awhile, always with the promise that they were working on a new format and interface and hoped to be back soon.

Imagine my pleasant surprise when I received a tweet a few weeks ago offering a link to their new and improved site!

What is the Other6? From their website;

"Ignatius of Loyola, the 16th-century founder of the Jesuits, devised an “examination of consciousness”—a prayerful review of the day intended to help people recognize where they were finding, or needing to find, God in their lives. Other6 takes the essence of this centuries-old practice of the Examen and adapts it for today’s Internet-driven world by posing two questions: Where have you found God today? and Where do you need to find God today?

Other6, an online ministry of Loyola Press, is Jesuit and Catholic in its inspiration but pushes no particular agenda; it is meant for anyone who seeks God with a sincere heart. Our prayer is that you will find this community a help in your search to draw closer to God."

In my work with the RCIA and more recently, with families preparing their children for Christian Initiation I have used Ignatius' daily examine to help people exercise their "God Eye" that sense we have been gifted with from before we were born that is drawn inexorably to our source of life and love, God. Like any other muscle, it gets flabby and out of shape through lack of use but, with just a little practice, can gift us with the uncanny ability to perceive the workings of our Heavenly Father in every facet of our lives and the lives of others.

Ignatius knew how quickly the heart can forget, how easy it is to loose our vision and our way. The practice of seeking out God's presence not just in church on Sunday, but in every moment of those other 6 days we move through each week, is like oxygen for the soul. It has the great potential to bring us into minute-by-minute contact with our Lord and God and dramatically change the way we carry our selves through all of our days and in all of our relationships.

You will notice we have added a feed on the right-hand side of our blog listing just a few of the ways people from around the world have found, or need to find God at work in their lives. As Lent shifts into Easter and winter gives way to the glory and growth of spring and summer, I encourage you to take time out of your day to stop, look, and listen for the whispering and shouting voice of your God who wants so badly to be a part of your life, and you to be a part of His.

Peace and God Bless