Meditations – Page 3 – Uniquely Cherished

A Prayer of Reflection and the Daily Examen

February 2, 2016February 2, 2016cmkenlinLeave a comment

The Examen is a technique of prayerful reflection on the events of the day in order to detect God’s presence and to discern his direction for us. It was developed more than 400 years ago by St. Ignatius Loyola.

As you enter the Sanctuary and the door shuts behind you, the noise of the outside world is silenced. But the noise and distraction of your worries and concerns may not yet be silenced. As you find a seat in the Sanctuary, take several calming breaths to center yourself and invite the One who is the Light of the world to walk with you as you rehearse the past twenty-four hours, gently sifting through the events of the previous day.

Light a candle or two in front of you to help you be aware of Christ’s presence. Become aware of God’s presence. Look back on the events of the day in the company of the Holy Spirit. The day may seem confusing to you—a blur, a jumble, a muddle. Ask God to bring clarity and understanding.

Review the day with gratitude. Gratitude is the foundation of our relationship with God. Walk through your day in the presence of God and note its joys and delights. Focus on the day’s gifts. Look at the work you did, the people you interacted with. What did you receive from these people? What did you give them? Pay attention to small things—the food you ate, the sights you saw, and other seemingly small pleasures. God is in the details.
Pay attention to your emotions. One of St. Ignatius’s great insights was that we detect the presence of the Spirit of God in the movements of our emotions. Reflect on the feelings you experienced during the day. Boredom? Elation? Resentment? Compassion? Anger? Confidence? What is God saying through these feelings?

God will most likely show you some ways that you fell short. Make note of these sins and faults. But look deeply for other implications. Does a feeling of frustration perhaps mean that God wants you to consider a new direction in some area of your work? Are you concerned about a friend? Perhaps you should reach out to her or him in some way.

Choose one feature of the day and pray from it. Ask the Holy Spirit to direct you to something during the day that God thinks is particularly important. It may involve a feeling—positive or negative. It may be a significant encounter with another person or a vivid moment of pleasure or peace. Or it may be something that seems rather insignificant. Look at it. Pray about it. Allow the prayer to arise spontaneously from your heart—whether intercession, praise, repentance, or gratitude.

Look toward tomorrow. Ask God to give you light for tomorrow’s challenges. Pay attention to the feelings that surface as you survey what’s coming up. Are you doubtful? Cheerful? Apprehensive? Full of delighted anticipation? Allow these feelings to turn into prayer. Seek God’s guidance. Ask him for help and understanding. Pray for hope.

St. Ignatius encouraged people to talk to Jesus like a friend. End the Daily Examen with a conversation with Jesus. Ask forgiveness for your sins. Ask for his protection and help. Ask for his wisdom about the questions you have and the problems you face. Do all this in the spirit of gratitude. Your life is a gift, and it is adorned with gifts from God. End the Daily Examen with the Our Father. Maybe it would be better to say, “prayer of our Savior” or “prayer Jesus taught us to say:”

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into and temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.

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Forgetting We Were Made in Your Image (1 Corinthians 12:1-13)

February 2, 2016cmkenlinLeave a comment

We often compare ourselves to each other,
sometimes favorably and sometimes unfavorably.
We compete with each other and with ourselves.
None of us believe we are as good as we should be.

We forget that you have made us in your image,
and that each of us has the gifts and challenges that you have given us.
You have shaped us to your purpose.
We forget that we are brothers and sisters in the body of Christ.

Teach us that when we are looking at others,
we should be looking to see how we can help them
or how they can help us grow.
You have shaped us to your purpose.

We have the gifts, talents and challenges that you have given us.
Teach us to use our gifts to help those around us.
Show us how our talents can be used to fulfill your plans.
Remind us how our challenges strengthen us and
help us grow.

We are your children, Lord.
Made in your image, each of us uniquely loved and cherished.
Remind us that we are good enough
Remind us to love ourselves as you love us.
Remind us to love each other and to celebrate each other.

We know that you are with us.
We ask that you be with ___.
As your children, we lift our hearts up to you
and offer ourselves to you.
We use the words your son taught us,
“Our Father…”

Light of the World (Matthew 2:1-12)

January 30, 2016January 30, 2016cmkenlinLeave a comment

We celebrate the birth of your son,
who has come to be one with us,
to experience life as we know it.
Many others came to celebrate as well.
The Magi, ones who did not believe in you,
came to celebrate and to give their praise.

If the Magi, who did not believe,
can celebrate you and give you
their earthly treasures,
how can we not give you ourselves?
We are the believers, Lord.
We have heard your teachings and
we follow your ways.

A star lit the way for the Magi to follow.
Your teachings have told us we are to be the light of this world,
we should be the stars who light the way for those around us today.
Just as we know that the sun will rise tomorrow,
we know that you are with us always,
we know that you have given us the gifts and talents we need to fulfill your plan,
we know that together with our brothers and sisters in Christ, we are strong,
we know that our faith does not remove the struggles in our lives,
but gives us the ability to persevere and to overcome those challenges.
There are those among us today who need your grace and healing strength.
Be with them and help them to feel your presence.

We are to be the light of this world.
At the end of our lives, when we come face to face with you, Lord,
will we be asked how we loved one another?
Help us to answer that we shared ourselves freely and openly with each other.
Open our hearts today and give us the opportunity to share our love, our treasures and our talents with others.

Christ came to us in love.
Remind us to share that love with others.

In love, your son taught us to pray. And, in the spirit of love, we raise our voices together, using the words he taught us,
“Our Father…”

What Good Can Come Out of Nazareth? (John 1:43-51)

January 30, 2016cmkenlinLeave a comment

We look at something or at someone,
and we make assumptions about what we see.

We watch the woman in front of us at the grocery store using food stamps,
and we evaluate her purchases.
We critique her clothing, the fact that she has a cell phone and how many children she has.
What good can come out of Nazareth?

We see protestors in the streets.
Some of us relate to them and celebrate their presence.
Some of us think to ourselves that those people have too much time on their hands,
and don’t want to take personal responsibility for themselves.
What good can come out of Nazareth?

We are a divided people, Lord.
We view the world through our biases, our assumptions, and often, through our judgments.
The big picture escapes us, it is easier to believe the soundbite, rather than ask why.
We live in a world of us versus them.
What good can come out of Nazareth?

We are supposed to be a people of love.
Remind us that we are all interconnected,
that our energy interacts with the energy of those around us.
Remind us, Jesus, that you made no judgments about those around you.
You accepted those you encountered,
regardless of the reaction of those who considered themselves to be socially correct.
You reached out to those who were powerless and marginalized,
and empowered them with your love and acceptance.
What good can come out of Nazareth?

We are the people who come from Nazareth.
We heard your teachings,
we follow you with our lives and our deeds.
We are the good that comes from Nazareth.
We are a strong community, gathering strength from each other,
united in our faith even while we debate with each other the best way to create your world here on Earth.
It is us to us, Jesus, to make this world as it is in heaven.
Help us to do that. Give us the strength and the wisdom to make it so.
Open our eyes to your plan and open our hearts to do your bidding.

We are the people who come from Nazareth.
And, we know that you are with us always.
We ask that you be with ___, our members in the body of Christ who need your added strength and healing grace.
As your people in love, we know that we need to spend time in prayer and contemplation.
You modeled the need for prayer and you gave us the words to start with,
“Our Father….”

No Prophet Welcome in His Hometown (Luke 4:21-30)

January 29, 2016cmkenlinLeave a comment

There is no one who knows us better than our families.
And, yet, do our families really know us or do they know who we used to be?
Do they know how we have changed over time?
Or do they only know us how they want us to be?
You know us, Father, you knew us before we were born
and you know how we have grown since then
and you know how we still need to grow.

As we grow in this life, help us to see what is important in life.
Give us the strength to speak up as Jesus did when he spoke up for inclusion.
Today, many say that being inclusive is a sign of political correctness,
something we should not tolerate, something that makes us weak.
Remind us, Father God, that your Son taught us to include everyone,
to value everyone, without judgment.
Remind us, Mother God, that we are all your children,
each of us loved and each of us uniquely cherished.
When we respect each other, when we celebrate and accept our differences,
we are respecting you and acting as you taught us.

We may not have the strength or the character to live our entire lives as did Nelson Mandela,
but we can stand up in individual moments of oppression and speak up for the powerless.
When we see a bully taunt their victim,
encourage us to stand up in protest.
When we hear a racist joke,
encourage us to stand up and say we will not listen to hate.
When we notice inequality in social programs,
encourage us to ask our politicians why and to demand change.
When we see someone being ignored,
encourage us to reach out to that person and raise them up.
When we see a child without the ability to receive a quality education,
encourage us to ensure that all receive an education regardless of their school district.
When we see cities without safe drinking water,
encourage us to ask ourselves why lower-income populations are treated less fairly than those with wealth.

Give us the voice to speak for those without a voice.
Give us the ability to hear the cries of those around us in pain
and to find ways to provide comfort to them.
Give us the strength to be your children, to be your body of Christ.
Give us the courage to stand up to the majority
when we know that the minority is in the right.
As your children, we support those among us who are in pain and in need of your healing touch.
We ask that you be with ___ in particular.

We are your children, Lord.
We are your family, the body of Christ.
As your family, open our eyes to see each other,
to see each other as we really are.
And as your children, we use the words that your Son taught us,
“Our Father…”