“Try to keep your soul always in peace and quiet, always ready for whatever our Lord may wish to work in you. It is certainly a higher virtue of the soul, and a greater grace, to be able to enjoy the Lord in different times and different places than in only one.” - St. Ignatius of Loyola
On a bright and early Sunday morning, I arrived at George Bush Intercontinental Airport to meet with fellow colleagues for the annual Jesuits USA Central and Southern Province Colleagues Retreat - a weeklong silent retreat at Sacred Heart Jesuit Retreat House in Sedalia, CO. This was a new experience for most of us, taking into practice the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. Working at Strake Jesuit for the last five years has taught me about the richness of Ignatian spirituality, namely the importance of stepping back, embracing silence, and listening to the still small voice of God.
Fr. Hung Pham, S.J., began the retreat by saying, “If you find yourself uncomfortable, you are doing the Spiritual Exercises… being scared of silence is ok; you are entering a new place.” As an introvert, I thought I would easily settle into the silence, but the first two days were challenging. My spiritual director, Fr. Warren Broussard, S.J., was the only other person I would speak with during the week. However, once I got into the rhythm of the retreat on the third day, I became comfortable, could step back, and could see how God was at work in my life. One of the key moments of the retreat was praying the examen daily.
The beginning of a new school year can feel like anything but silent. There is orientation, meeting new students and colleagues, learning new technology, and settling into a new year's routine. With the hustle and bustle of the new year, I reflected on that silent retreat, seeking ways to incorporate prayer and see how God works in my daily life. I was then reminded of the examen, which we pray at the end of each day at Strake Jesuit. In the Spiritual Exercises, St. Ignatius lays out five steps for the examen: gratitude, petition, review, forgiveness, and renewal. Each step invites us to acknowledge God’s presence throughout the day and helps us to recognize when we might have failed to see God.
In The Examen Prayer: Ignatian Wisdom for Our Lives Today, Fr. Timothy Gallagher, O.M.V., says, “To pray the examen daily is to listen constantly for the “still small voice” (1 Kings 19:12) of God speaking in our hearts. The examen expresses our daily readiness to hear God’s desires for our lives… to pray the examen is to confess that “Jesus is Lord” (Rom. 10:19) every day of our lives, eager to know his desires and to follow where he would lead us in the hours of our day.”
As we continue the year, I encourage you to look at the examen and consider adding it to your daily prayer routine. You may be surprised to find God in the seemingly mundane parts of the day, continuously calling each of us to holiness - even in the smallest of ways. May God bless our community as we strive to live Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam.