Reading
So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.
Matthew 6:34
Reflection
In the days leading up to Halloween, I took my daughter Cece to dance class. As we walked into the building, I noticed a few students in costumes. Cece was not in a costume. I began to wonder whether I had missed something.
As Cece walked into her classroom, I looked around and saw that she was one of two students not in costume, and I began to worry that she was going to be horribly disappointed. Fortunately, her teacher had an extra pair of fairy wings that Cece was able to wear, but I still worried that she would feel left out.
In a culture that is so busy that we often feel like we’re swimming upstream in a rushing current just trying to keep up, it is easy to miss out on the present because we’re either worrying about the future or ruminating on the past. Tied to our devices because we’re catching up on notifications, or lamenting about what didn’t go our way, we completely miss the present—the only time we can actually inhabit.
As Pastor Mark said on Sunday, “We are made to live in this day.” Not tomorrow or yesterday. Today. The only day we have.
One way the church teaches us to live more presently is by reviewing our days as we live them. This practice of prayerful review, known as the daily Examen, was developed by Ignatius of Loyola in the 16th century. This prayer can be used in a variety of ways. John Ortberg describes the steps of one common approach to the daily Examen this way:
1. Ask for God’s help.
2. Inventory your blessings.
3. Pray about significant feelings that emerge as you review the day.
4. Rejoice and seek forgiveness.
5. Look to tomorrow.
In the Examen, we invite God to guide us, celebrate our blessings with gratitude, and review our day, paying particular attention to how our actions and feelings drew us closer to or further from God. We then give thanks for God’s presence and seek forgiveness for our failures. We conclude by pondering how we can live faithfully with God in the day to come.
This practice can help us to be more aware of where God is in our busy days and how we can be more present the next day so that we can actually experience God in our lives.
In the grand scheme of things, a missed dress-up day at dance class is not a big deal, and a daily review at night is not going to cause me to magically start remembering everything. But as I reviewed that particular day, I might have noticed my hurry in the minutes before we left the house. I may have seen an opportunity to check my messages from the studio before leaving the next time. And I may have even realized with delight that despite not having a costume, Cece had a wonderful evening dancing in her fairy wings, and I thank God for her contagious joy.
Prayer
As you begin your day, take a few moments to reflect on yesterday. You can use the following instructions from the Society of Jesuit, which was founded by St. Ignatius.
1. Place yourself in God’s presence. Give thanks for God’s great love for you.
2. Pray for the grace to understand how God is acting in your life.
3. Review your day yesterday — recall specific moments and your feelings at the time.
4. Reflect on what you did, said, or thought in those instances. Were you drawing closer to God, or further away?
5. Look toward today — think of how you might collaborate more effectively with God’s plan. Be specific, and conclude with the “Our Father.”
Prayer from Jesuit.org, adapted for morning use.
