“Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light” (Ephesians 5:14). Every time I engage in the Examen prayer, the Holy Spirit shows up. Going through the steps and pausing where there’s a surge of emotions invites me to explore the root behind what I’m feeling or sensing. There have been instances when a root is identified and then—during the following day or sometimes weeks later—I awaken to delve a bit deeper and explore what I’ve been managing by myself in the dark. The prayer has revealed the Holy Spirit who never tires of inviting and nudging. Over the years, the Spirit’s light has shone on my hardened heart of unforgiveness, woundedness, impatience, and anger. In return, I’ve experienced a penetrating sense of freedom after following the Spirit’s promptings and trusting in the unfolding of becoming who God created me to be.
At a retreat a few years ago, I was being led through the Examen prayer and bumped into an emotionally rough patch of my life—unforgiveness. I was resistant to go deeper into the dark corners of my heart. I’d already spent too much time ruminating about what had happened and with whom. For months, I had employed the adage “out of sight, out of mind” to ignore what had occurred. With the Holy Spirit at the helm, this prayer practice uncovered a situation that was weighing me down. Failing to identify the pattern of unforgiveness in my life prevented me from emptying myself for the Holy Spirit to work with and through me.
Believing in the peace of the Holy Spirit is one thing, but emptying myself so that the Spirit’s peace could reside within was uncomfortable. While I had become well-versed in the steps of the Examen, I was tripping over them. Practicing this prayer daily increased my resolve to lean into the Holy Spirit’s power to reshape me, and to fill me with greater trust that God would take care of my pain, heartache, ego, and anger.
The practice of the Examen prayer showcases the powerful movement of the Holy Spirit when one surrenders to the process and invites the Spirit to illuminate the path of recall. What was my temperament like today? What thoughts did I entertain today? Did these thoughts hinder my desire to make prudent choices, or did the thoughts hijack my good intentions? What patterns do I notice, and which do I want to ignore?
A gospel song by Kirk Franklin, Where the Spirit Is, celebrates the freedom that 2 Corinthians 3:17 proclaims—“Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” The song begins with:
Where the Spirit of the Lord is
There is liberty
Where the Spirit of the Lord is
The captives are set free
The wounded are made whole
I’ll find rest for my soul
Where the Spirit is
There is liberty
May each of us ask God to remove whatever is hindering our ability to surrender to the freely given gift of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Let us pray: Come, Holy Spirit. Come now. Come as you wish. Consume in me whatever prevents me from being consumed by you. AMDG
Going Deeper:
-
Read more about the Examen Prayer in this article by Becky Eldredge.
-
Open Cultivate Gratitude using the Examen Prayer; in this article is a recording of a guided examen led by Becky Eldredge.
-
Spend some time reflecting with the Spirit of the Lord and consider the call to freedom using the gospel song mentioned, Where the Spirit Is. What is God revealing to you?
Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash
Thank you!
The “Into the Deep” weekly blog is a free offering to live our mission of accompaniment. If someone forwarded this to you, please be sure to sign up at the bottom of this website page so that you receive an email each week with the new blog.
Comment!
If something our writers shared resonates with you, please feel free to write a positive and uplifting comment by scrolling down to the bottom of the page.
Support Us!
You can help support this free offering with a small monthly donation! Your recurring generosity enables us to continue building our home of accompaniment. If you would like to donate, please do so here.
Lori Stanley
Lori Stanley, MA, is the Executive Director of Loyola Institute for Spirituality in Orange, CA. She has been a practitioner of Ignatian spirituality for 20 years and uses its tools to address social injustices and to answer the call to accompany, educate and empower others to discover God’s deep personal love for them. Lori has a MA in Pastoral Theology with a concentration in Spiritual Direction from Loyola Marymount University. She and her husband of 35 years have one adult daughter.
Comments
Loading comments...
Leave a comment