This daily Advent experience is based on an ancient contemplative practice called the Prayer of Examen. The prayer is typically credited to St. Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556), who encouraged fellow followers to engage in the practice for developing a deeper level of spiritual sensitivity and for recognizing and receiving the assistance of the Holy Spirit. At the heart of the practice is increasingly becoming aware of God’s presence and the Holy Spirit’s movement throughout your day.
As you engage the questions and scriptures here, may you increasingly become aware of God’s closeness and generosity, and may you begin to see life’s ordinary moments as opportunities to follow God more closely and obey him more faithfully.
How to use
The Prayer of Examen is primarily an exercise in remembering. One is invited, through four portions (presence, gratitude, review, response), to concentrate on experiences and encounters from the past 24 hours. The beauty of the practice is its simplicity; it is more a guide than a prescription. If some portion feels especially important on a given day, feel the freedom to spend all or most of your time in that portion. The purpose is to increase awareness and sensitivity, not to finish or accomplish a task.
For this practice:
- A comfortable and relatively quiet location is likely most conducive for reflecting
- The experience doesn’t need to be a certain length – as little as 10 minutes could be sufficient, and you could spend more time on certain portions compared to others
- It might be helpful to journal your thoughts and recollections or to write out what you notice during your times of prayer
- Consider sharing your experiences: allow encouragement and insight from others to influence you and cheer you on, and when appropriate give the same, together striving to be an ever-faithful 'community of solitudes'*
*This phrase comes from Parker Palmer's A Hidden Wholeness.