Reflection

It is in the everyday that we find God. Ignatian spirituality emphasises pausing and considering the place where God speaks.

"The unexamined [un-reflected] life is not worth living." 
Socrates (469BC-399 BC)

Reflection is key to the life of one who values spirituality. From the earliest of times, people have seen the need to stop in their tracks to reflect on their life experience, in order to move forward in a wise and balanced way.

Reflecting on daily experience grounds us in the present reality and enables us to become more aware of our strengths and weaknesses. We avoid drifting into meaninglessness; becoming focused and the person God intends us to be.

In the early 16th century, Inigo of Loyola, as a layman, wrote a guide for a person seeking to know, love and follow Jesus along the path of life. The collection of meditations was known as “The Spiritual Exercises”. One hundred years later, Mary Ward adopted this Ignatian approach to prayer.

While this book could be described as a code of spirituality for the Jesuits, it is more than that. It is a way for all who seek God to clarify the direction of their lives, to test the integrity of their attentiveness to God's Spirit. Over the centuries this method has been effective in enabling people in all walks of life to come to a point of decision in the light of faith, as they take time to ponder and reflect.

In Ignatian spirituality, everyday life is the place where God speaks. It is through the practice of being attentive to the ordinary things around us we come to know God and ourselves in a more profound way, and open up to the possibility of new growth and life.

Examen

One of the ways we become more reflective is through “Examen”. We take 'time out', usually at the end of the day, to get in touch with our feelings and the movement of the Spirit of God within us. We turn to God in prayer as we reflect on the day. While the “Spiritual Exercises” refers to a longer and in depth retreat experience, the basic process of reflecting on daily life can be used individually or in a family of small group. We follow a simple routine:

Become still: make the mental space to let go, to reflect, to listen.

(As you follow these instructions select "hide" in the top right corner of your screen to close this page and view the peaceful imagery by Susan Daily ibvm.)

• Begin by thanking God for the good things that have happened.
• Ask for the help of the Holy Spirit to guide you as you let the experience of the day rise up within you.
• Recall being moved by a particular event or person. Ask yourself: How did I feel? Why did it move me?
• Stay with that feeling and ask what matters to you. Why might you feel like that? Where is this feeling of joy, anger, envy, hope, love coming from?
• Take a few minutes to talk with God about where your heart lies. Is this leading you towards your best self or away from what you hope to become?
• Give thanks for the graces of the day and ask for God's help to live tomorrow with love.

As Gerard Manly Hopkins, English poet and Jesuit, once wrote, "I greet him the days I meet him / And I bless him when I understand”. (In "The Wreck of the Deutschland".)

 Prayers and reflections