Be still and know that I am God.
Psalm 46:10
Last Tuesday, the All Saints Church staff gathered virtually for a half-day retreat led by parishioner Joe Coyle. The theme? "Getting A Grip on Modern Life." Joe has many years of experience teaching this work/life balance seminar, and his words of wisdom were both encouraging and challenging, with many practical exercises and applications.
In this seminar, Joe reflected on the importance of examining our lives. All too often, we are caught up in our “to do” lists, and we fail to reflect in thankfulness for our blessings; and in retrospection to determine if we are living the lives we want to lead. Mtr. Brit commented that this practice of reflection is much like the Ignatian spiritual practice of the Prayer of Examen. While I had heard of the Prayer of Examen, I knew very little about it, much less having ever practiced it. So, naturally, I had to learn more.
In the 16th Century, St. Ignatius of Loyola encouraged his followers to engage in this spiritual practice of remembering that brings us into awareness of God’s presence and the Holy Spirit’s movement through the day. Here are the steps that are used to guide this practice of reflection:
- Pray for light to understand/appreciate the past day.
- Review the day in thanksgiving. Where do I recognize God’s presence? In my thoughts and actions, when was I most Christ-like?
- Review the feelings in the replay of the day. Trust and receive God’s grace and forgiveness for thoughtless and uncaring actions.
- Choose one of those feelings (positive or negative) and pray from it. Ask God to help you be more aware of his presence living within you.
The Psalmist who penned today’s Scripture clearly understood the importance of this type of reflection when he exhorted, “Be still and know that I am God.”
This year has left many of us weary and fearful. We’re learning how to home school effectively, work from home efficiently (or work onsite without getting ill), re-think how we celebrate holidays and milestones, and figure out how to do our daily activities in a physically distant way. Some of us are lonelier and some have had about all the togetherness they can handle. If your life is like mine, you are predominantly focused on your demanding “to-dos” and the scary “what-ifs.”
This Advent season, will you join me in taking advice from the Psalmist, St. Ignatius, and Joe Coyle? Let this be the antidote to our busy-ness and fears. As we anticipate the coming of Christ, let’s take time to reflect in thanksgiving and become more aware of Christ’s presence living within us.
God bless you!
Lois
