“He who goes about to reform the world must begin with himself, or he loses his labor.”
― St. Ignatius of Loyola
Hello all,
hope you are well,
and that you are all,
looking forward to Spring.
Here,
in my beautiful ugly,
it’s still Winter,
icy sidewalks
and snow.
But, the sky is bluer,
the days are longer,
and the chill seems,
less biting,
I feel it,
in my fingers,
in my toes,
Spring is on it’s way.
Been a long hard Winter,
for all of us.
It is Lent and I have,
been,
spending extra time,
praying,
going through,
the book I have selected,
for Lent.
The Ignatian Adventure by Kevin O’brien sj,
it is a book to help guide you,
through the thirty days,
spiritual excercises.
A Jesuit priest,
at least twice in his life,
must go through,
a thirty day,
quiet retreat,
it involves the,
examen,
The Daily Examen is a technique of prayerful reflection on the events of the day in order to detect God’s presence and discern his direction for us. The Examen is an ancient practice in the Church that can help us see God’s hand at work in our whole experience. source Ignatian spirituality.com
which is done twice a day,
not just during the thirty days, but every day
it involves so much more,
the spiritual excercises,
a deep delving into,
our personal relationship with,
God.
Most of us cannot,
take,
thirty days out of our lives.
This book proposes,
we do the excercises over a longer,
period of time,
for twenty to forty minutes,
a day.
A time of contemplation,
a time of prayer,
a time to deepen our relationship,
with God.
The excercises are divided,
into four weeks,
1)Experiencing the boundless mercy of God
2)Accompanying Jesus Christ on mission
3)Being with Jesus in His suffering and savoring the grace of compassion
4)Experiencing the Joy and Sharing the consolation of the risen Lord.
When you don’t spend,
thirty consecutive days,
going through the excercises,
it takes longer,
which is fine,
it takes the time it takes,
it is not a test,
nor a contest,
it is about going very deep.
The author,
who is a Jesuit priest,
suggests that if you are doing it,
for Lent,
you should start with week three,
and follow with,
week four for Easter.
I admit I find it,
difficult,
to silence my mind,
to tune out the world,
to listen,
to hear.
To differientiate,
between my own,
thoughts,
hopes,
fears,
and hearing God.
I have also been watching films,
about monastic life,
be it monks and friars,
or Cisterian and Carmelite nuns,
I find the idea,
fascinating,
always have,
way before I became,
a Christian,
I admired these people’s,
absolute faith,
devotion,
to prayer, to work,
to helping the poor.
They are humans,
with hopes and dreams,
foibles and faults,
talents and gifts,
and they devote all,
to God.
How many of us can say that?
how many would want to?
These are some of my questionings,
in the period of Lent.
Be well
Later girls,
BB