Prayer Practice Part Two

 

Two weeks ago, we engaged the wisdom of Ignatius of Loyola, a 14^th Century mystic.  We dove and dwelt in his five questions about being the fruit of the Spirit; living peacefully with God; striving for reconciliation not division; alignment (or integrity) of mind, heart, and soul; and faithful to Scripture.  I hope those guideposts have helped you over the last few weeks.  This week, I want to introduce you to another practice from Ignatius that can be meaningful each day.  Part of what I find helpful is the structure of the five prompts below give me a framework for prayer.  At the same time there is an openness and spaciousness within the prompts.  I see these questions as a compass rather than a GPS.  The invitations engage my sacred imagination and help align my head, heart, and soul.  Like the dynamic markings on a sheet of music that tell the singer to be quiet or loud; to sing slow or speed up or staccato; I believe these five invitations help us pay attention to God who is the conductor of life. 

 

Here is a second prayer practice from Ignatius:

 

○ Become aware of God’s presence.  Breathe deeply several times.  Settle into your body.  Place your feet firmly on the ground ~ it might be best to be barefoot or at least slip off your shoes.  Sit tall in your chair (I find I often slouch).  Now take in a deep belly breath.  Now breathe in so deep you can feel the oxygen all the way down to your big toe.  Let out an audible exhale sigh.  You may need to do this several times.

 

○  Review the day with gratitude.  If you do this in the morning, review yesterday.  If you do this practice in the evening, you can rewind the hours you’ve been awake. Name one or two thanksgivings ~ moments you felt your soul surge.  When did you smile or laugh or feel love wash warmly over you? 

 

○  Pay attention to your emotions.  Write down what is in your heart.  Remember from last week that emotions are energy in motion; but that they are data ~ not directives.  You don’t have to listen to every emotion, they don’t get to pick the radio station.  And you can have more than one emotion at a time, they can even contradict each other.

 

○  Choose one feature/moment (experience or encounter) of the day and pray from it. Does that moment bring joy or lament?  You don’t need to pick the most significant moment, or the first ones that pops into your mind.  Sometimes the best moment is one that at the time you might have missed initially or overlooked.

 

○ Look toward tomorrow.  Where do you need God’s guidance in the hours to come?  Name aloud.

 

As you close your prayer may you know peace, joy, love, and grace this day.  Amen.