One of the greatest gifts of Ignatian Spirituality is the Ignatian Examen. Saint Ignatius of Loyola himself considered it a gift that came directly from God. Its five steps—being aware of God’s presence, offering gratitude, reviewing the day, being aware of shortcomings and making plans for the coming day—invites us to always be in touch with our inner core that is ‘God always with us’. Emmanuel in our Emmaus is real. Indeed, it is possible and not a distant dream to find him in all things.
Every day in the ‘flesh’ of the Ignatian Examen, is a day to “cultivate the spirit of a monk” in an intense world that is rapidly changing. Practicing the Ignatian Examen twice a day deepens our dedication and commitment to walk constantly in awareness and to give meaningful time to contemplating everything that we do and everything that has taken place. When this becomes our daily way of life, we experience great inner stillness and develop an openness to the call of eternity, inviting us to be mindful of God’s constant presence. He was with us. He is with us. He will be with us. And this we trust in gratitude and with hope.
To cultivate the spirit of a monk in a busy world through the Ignatian Examen is, first of all, to allow ourselves to be part of the power of silence. There is a call to give some quality time to getting in touch with ourselves in solitude. We take ten to fifteen minutes to distance ourselves from our busy hands and thoughts in order to examine ourselves in the presence of God. Secondly, it was the Jesuit poet Gerard Manly Hopkins who said that “the world is charged with the grandeur of God”, and through the Ignatian Examen we are invited to grow in this awareness. It calls us daily to enter into and enjoy a feast in this grandeur of God, so that at the end of the day no one is left abandoned, unsatisfied, thirsty or hungry because of the richness and the fullness of God. Thirdly, the Examen requires from us a freedom to extend an invitation to God. In the Gospel passage of the walk to Emmaus, the two disciples have this freedom and invite Jesus to “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over” (Lk 24:29). And this freedom ought to become our freedom too. At the end of the day, when the sun has almost set and when sleep is about to cover our eyes, we allow ourselves to be part of God’s stories and God’s stories to be part of our stories, freely and gracefully. This freedom is our recognition that God ought to be part of our daily actions, thoughts, dreams and plans.
The Ignatian Examen is a simple daily spiritual exercise, a way of living and loving. We are living in the presence of God. We are also loving God and being loved by him through our real experience. Through the sacred minutes spent in our daily examen, reviewing our days with grateful hearts, we will pick some spiritual fruits from the rich divine trees that continue to grow and flourish in our daily experience. Like a little monk who contemplates in action with a desire to find God in everything amid a busy environment, teeming with things to dream, possess and choose, we examine our own thoughts, will and action seeking the greater glory of God in our daily experience.
Written by:
Sch. Thomas Joakino da Costa, SJ