The Movements of the Spirit
God Is Always in Our Lives
Finally, brothers [and sisters], rejoice. Mend your ways, encourage one another, agree with one another, live in peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you.... The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the holy Spirit be with all of you. - 2 Corinthians 13:11,13
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As we follow Jesus into Ordinary Time ponder the scripture texts of the two big feasts of Trinity and The Body and Blood of Jesus in your prayer time for the next two weeks. Take one of the three Sunday readings for your prayer consideration on days 1,3 and 5. On Days 2, 4 and 6 try a repetition of the text from the day before so the prayer content might look something like this: Note, you can always take additional days of repetitions of certain content if it is bringing consolation or desolation. If this occurs you might shrink the new content for now.
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NOTE: It is a very good idea to review your journal at least once per week to begin to consider if there are patterns of graces or disgraces in your prayer (journaled in your prayer review) and in your life (Journaled after your examen). These are very important in assessing on-going discernment. Discuss them with your group if you feel safe in doing so.
Group notes: if your group members are sharing patterns or gifts of God be attentive and non-judgemental. NOTICE any impulses to belittle what others are saying, disagreeing sharply with their assessments etc. whether you speak out or not. Pay attention to what you are really hearing and the thoughts and feelings that emerge. Bring these to your examen or your times of prayer.
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What Spirit or spirits are moving you during your prayer? THE GRACE TO ASK for in prayer during the next prayer period flows from the insights and failures of each the day after each prayer is to deepen the movements of the Spirit of God and to remove the influence of the spirits of the enemy. Always ask for the graces of deeper compassion and gratitude.
Questions to think about during your prayer review and during the two examens of the day that may open you to the graces you need to ask for later today or tomorrow. (Don’t try to ponder all of them go only to those that seem to call you to greater awareness right now).
Some Consolations:
Where did I most feel in touch with God’s mercy, love, joy, hope or patience?
Were the affects accompanied by insights or intellectual grasping of some truth? Did I find a deeper place within me to follow Jesus’s call to service of others? Did I find especially a closeness to the Eucharistic Community? How was it expressed in you?
Did I find myself to be grieved by sin or the harm toward other human beings or the creation around me? Were there tears or the feelings that accompany such sorrow and grief? Did I find the vulnerability of others around me such as those suffering from hunger, or children without what they need, or people or nature suffering from human cruelty moving me in ways that I want to work with Jesus to heal the situations? Did I find grief in my own heart from remembered hurts, that also gave me the grace to forgive those who hurt me?
Some Desolations:
Where did I feel most divided from these feelings or actively feeling anger, boredom, impatience, depression or hopelessness?
Were the points of being cut off from this work of prayer or examen due to some other event or feeling of the day?
Were there possible physical doors through which the enemy entered: Mood altering substances, food, fasting, someone else’s negative attitude, complaint or impatience?
Were there things you did or said to yourself or others that you feel guilty or annoyed about?
Were you looking for something specific (could be small) to aggrandize yourself such as doing something solely for money, approval, admiration, honor, control over someone, power in a group?
Did you find yourself wanting to do something for God and then being moved deeply to a specific action without due consideration?
Did you find during the day times that you saw what God might be asking, but chose to “shut it off “or turn away from that. Not necessarily a big thing – can be that you feel a moment of compassion and then squelch it to ignore someone or something that is small or not seeming important. (impatience at another driver, disapproval of the way someone dresses, mean ways of speech etc.)
Did I hear attitudes or ideas from others that I very strongly disagreed with so much that I wanted to speak ill of the person proposing those ideas? Was I so angry at someone’s ideas that I was rude or crude to them?
Don’t dwell on the negative attitudes at this time. Simply acknowledge them and ask God to give you the grace of forgiveness and the grace you need to not be trapped in that or those attitudes or behaviors again today (or tomorrow). Consider that God tells us how important our affection for others, or community with others, or our trusting care for others is as a response to Jesus’ invitation of these two major feasts (and His whole Mission that we share).
Be sure to spend time in conversation with Jesus or the Spirit of God about what you are discovering about yourself. Ask both persons of the Trinity for greater Love and the ability to exercise it in ordinary ways.
Journal things you discover large and small – assess whether these are consolations or desolations or a combination of the two.