Lent is usually a time of fasting from something, however this past year has been already about doing without. What if we add one small thing to be used once a week, daily, or when it might feel helpful?

St Ignatius’ prayer, called The Examen, helps with awareness and discernment of the movements within your day. The form I want to share with you has been broken into five steps. Detachment is important to this prayer. You want to detach so you can observe, remember, and consider your day. Here are the basic steps.

1. Become aware of God’s presence. Look back on the events of the day in the company of the Holy Spirit. Ask God to bring clarity and understanding.

2. Review the day with gratitude. Gratitude is the foundational. Walk through your day in God’s presence. Note the joys and delights. Look at the work you did, the people you interacted with. What did you receive and what did you give? Pay attention to small things—the food you ate, the sights you saw, and other seemingly small pleasures. God is in the details.

3. Recognize a “Consolation” and a “Desolation” from the day. Pay attention to your emotions. A consolation is an experience that causes you to feel fully alive, at peace,
   joyful, happy, comforted, whole, connected, your best self, etc. and could be
   understood as an experience in which you feel close to God.
   A desolation is an experience that causes you to feel drained of energy,
   frustrated, irritated, angry, sad, sorrowful, alone, isolated, unaccepted,
   fragmented, less than your best self, etc. and could be understood as an
   experience in which you feel far away from God.
   God shows up in desolations AND consolations. It’s easier to “experience”
   God in consolations and we often move away from God in desolations. But God
   is very near, so the gift is telling God about your experience and asking for God’s
   grace in the desolation experience.

4. Thank God for the consolation and pray into the desolation.
   Allow the prayer to arise spontaneously from your heart. Sit in the consolation
   with thankfulness. Ask for God’s grace in the desolation.

5. Look with hope for tomorrow.
   Pay attention to the feelings that surface as you consider what is coming up.
   Allow these feelings to turn into prayer. Ask for God’s guidance, help and understanding for tomorrow.

Keep it simple: consolation and desolation in your day. Engage gratitude and seek guidance.

—Dianne

PS: Look for a simple Lenten Contemplative Practice each week in between blog entries.