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| Prayer is for everyone |
I vividly a snippet of a homily from late Msgr. Cassidy about prayer: "all of life is data for our prayer." The Ignatian Examen is a method of prayer that takes what Msgr. Cassidy said seriously, as it uses our life experiences and asks those questions above and a few more. The goal is to become aware of how God is acting in your life so that we can be grateful for God's presence afterward with the hope that in future days we learn to be grateful for God's presence in the moment.
There are many, many resources online on praying the Examen. Here are two that I find most helpful.
Pray-As-You-Go Audio Examen
Before the "no turning back" point of falling asleep, play this audio meditation version of the examen (MP3 link). I've used this before and it brings me much peace.
The lady (with a foreign accent) guides the listener through the course of their day from morning to evening, asking questions and allowing time to reflect. Within eight minutes, you'll find that God was more present in your day than you might have thought, and have an opportunity to speak to God about whatever it is that went on in your day. Peaceful music helps settle even the most restless listener's heart so they can more authentically enter into the meditation.
Five Step Prayer Method
In a website crammed full of good resources for prayer, the page How Can I Pray? stands out. On the page you'll find an explanation for praying the Examen with easy to understand explanations.
Here are the five steps. To see the complete explanation click here.
- Become aware of God's presence
- Review the day with gratitude
- Pay attention to your emotions
- Choose one feature of the day and pray from it.
- Look toward tomorrow
However you can pray through your day, give it a shot! You won't be disappointed. But don't take my word for it.
Do you have another way of praying through your life experiences? How?
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