LET'S FLY: Five Moments of the Ignatian Examen

Photo: Researchers are hoping
to recruit more albatrosses
to police the oceans.
(Photo: Ondrej Prosicky/Shutterstock)

In Pope Francis’ message “Show Mercy to our Common Home” (September 1, 2016) he invited everyone regardless of the faith tradition to do an examination of conscience, aka the examen, which is the first step toward integrating love and care for creation. To help us go through this process, I have outlined the FIVE MOMENTS using the analogy of bird flight and adapting the examination of consciousness developed by St Ignatius of Loyola. It can be done anytime as one pleases to reconnect with God. Most people have it twice a day, before lunchtime and bedtime. As 8thworkers, celebrating Laudato Si' Week, let us use it as a way to deepen our calling as “protector of God’s handiwork.”

The Five Steps

The wandering albatross
is the newly appointed
policeman of the sea.
(Photo: MZPHOTO.CZ/Shutterstock)

I. BREATH: The secret to flying is the wing. But it is no secret at all that air must first be present before anything could even exist, let alone be lifted. We draw an analogy between the Ignatian examen and the secrets of birdlife and bird flight. Every bird relies on breathing in the air first to stay alive. Just like human beings, birds, as well as plants and fishes, are beings-with-breath. There is no genuine examen if we cannot become mindful of the basics. The basic awareness of being-with-breath directs one's attention to the Spirit as the breath and Giver of life, the impetus for meaning which sheds light upon everything. Therefore, the examen is a constant awareness to be-with-Spirit which is also a constant invitation that is evoked by each breath that we take moment-to-moment. Every breath serves as the living lens to look in and see God's Spirit who longs for us more than we long for God and is more alive in us than we are to ourselves. Without this Spirit, there is no drive to even get up from bed in the morning, let alone, to be disposed to pray. Human life is never solitary just like birdlife. Although a bird could be seen flying by itself, it is never alone. The Spirit is to the examen as breath is to life. Air is strong as it pushes externally and internally from near and afar against anything, including us, even if we do not feel its full might. We drink its strength when we breathe. That is why the examen starts simply with one’s breath. It is a powerful way of disposing oneself to be full of the Spirit. No wonder the words for Spirit, soul, life, and breath are interrelated in the major world languages. My breath is like the “wind beneath my wings” that propels this quarter-hour mindfulness exercise. Just think of a hummingbird that whirs its wings so fast to steadily hold itself hovering in the air while it drinks sweet nectar from a flower. I ask, "Where is God alive in me?" "Where do I sense God's living Spirit here and now?"

 A pair of wandering albatross
Photo: Graham Robertson

II. EXPERIENCE: We have said the secret to flying is the wing, so the secret of the examen is human experience with emphasis on human choices. God, who longs for us more, is already speaking to us and we are already responding to God through our everyday human choices. Both good and bad experiences become a part of who we are which function as our wings in navigating through life, e.g., human thoughts, feelings, actions, reactions, and inactions. The person that best fits a job is the one seasoned by experience, like a seasoned pilot, and there are no substitutes nor shortcuts to that. These are like the various shapes and types of feathers and muscles that grow on the bird's arms, which, after years of experience, are given proper shape and form. Bird's feathers are considered the most complex body structure found in any animal. They aid not only in flight but also in thermal insulation and in providing weatherproof shelter for the chicks. Each feather can have more than a million tiny branches called barbules. These barbules have hooks (hamuli) that tack the feather's main branches together like zippers. So if the bird ruffles its feathers, it just strokes the feather with its beak to fasten the parts and it is back in perfect form again. A bird spends time each day assessing and grooming its feathers to ensure a hassle-free flight. Likewise, the examen is an assessment of the day through mindful scanning of the previous hours remembering thoughts, feelings, actions, reactions, and inactions that arose. It is often impossible to cover everything in a short period so learn how to pick and choose. Ask yourself these questions to assess what was imagined, felt, said, done, or not done during the day, "Was it true? Was it necessary? Was it kind?" Ask for forgiveness from God.

Wandering albatross in flight
Photo: Mike Doube

III. PRESENCE: With both air and proper shape of wings, the flight might not still be possible without a third element called lift. It is a force that results from the interaction between the air and the wings. As the bird dives into the air it is pushed upward by air blowing over its body surface. As air blows above the wing, the body is lifted from behind through propulsion. It is likened to an invisible hand that lifts an animal aloft. At first, the bird might start exerting a lot of effort when flying. Just as in the examen, there could be a lot of challenges too at first. Birds experience being dragged down because the wind is not propelled or directed as it should be around the body. It could be a rollercoaster of joy and frustration especially for the fledglings on their maiden flights. But as the bird matures with more experiences in flying, it gains greater familiarity with the air flowing between its thicker feathers and stronger muscles. A bird constantly changes the shape of its wings to steer through the air. It can even move single-wing feathers to change direction. Both bird and air have become so united like two souls dancing in communion. Such is the bird's intuition which is like the interior knowledge that is deepened in every examen. A person, like a bird, knows when to make a downstroke, an upstroke, or other kinds of spiritual movements. A bird flaps its wings too fast that we cannot see all its movements. Similarly, we are like that, living our lives mostly unmindful of where we are headed and risking injury to ourselves and to neighbors. The examen has already been done ever since human consciousness existed. There is an ancient dictum, "The unexamined life is not worth living." The largest sea birds—the wandering albatross—circumnavigate the world three times a year. They only touch the ground to nest or to eat. Throughout their long lifespan, they are perpetually lifted up being embraced by the air. Likewise, examining one's life daily is central to living a healthy spiritual life sustained by God's presence. No wonder St Ignatius of Loyola held the examen in the highest esteem. To skip a day without the examen is like being disconnected from God's presence that embraces our entire body, mind, heart, and soul. To forget the Spirit's interior movements is like a bird forgetting how to fly or how to commune with the air. It would be good to ask here, "Where did I encounter the uplifting presence of God this past few hours?"

Wandering albatross on Iles Crozet
Photo: Kerry Steinberner

IV. GRATITUDE: A bird doesn't have to flap its wings to stay aloft. When the Spirit is blowing freely and we are aware interiorly then it is time to just glide with the Spirit. When a bird glides, the wings go motionless. Gravity pulls the bird toward the earth, but air rushing over its body surface gives enough lift, so the bird drops gently. If the bird starts high enough in the air, it can glide at some distance, but eventually, it will need to flap its wings to climb again. But one does not need to fly away too high. With the help of sunlight heating open surfaces of the earth, currents of warm air called thermals rise. Birds use air currents to be lifted without flapping a wing. This is, indeed, a great consolation for a bird in the form of a free lift. Gratitude is like soaring and gliding across the sky to see the world from God's-eye view, not from our own, and realize that everything is a gift. A series of grateful examen of even just the little things that come, which, when accumulated, will bring one closely united with God's greatest gift—Godself. Gratitude is much like a sonar that detects the proper coordinates along our path to God. Meister Eckhart said, "If the only prayer you ever said was, 'Thank You' it would be enough."

Wandering albatross on Campbell Island
Photo: James Doube

V. SURRENDER: It is good also to guard against two exaggerations. First is self-rejection—the greatest enemy of the spiritual life which contradicts the sacred voice that calls us the 'Beloved' (Henri Nouwen). Second is self-glorification—the greatest temptation which turns a person to become lukewarm and self-entitled. In Matthew’s parable of the talents, the lazy and lukewarm are some of the most wretched of the damned (Mt 25:14-30). They are grounded or prohibited to fly. One of the promises of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is for lukewarm hearts and souls to become fervent, impassioned, or burning. We are not called to be lukewarm but to be either hot or cold (Rev 3:15-17), i.e., to a discerning and self-surrendering love of the Giver who is the source of consolations, good gifts and talents received. St Augustine said, “My love is my weight.” Love alone is what bears weight in heaven; everything else is vanity or without weight. This is linked to the true meaning of Ignatian "magis" or "more," which does not mean ‘many’ but ‘much’ in relation to God who is always ‘more’ (Deus semper major).  The human spirit is inflamed by God's love first and then the deeds will overflow from it. After getting a free lift from one thermal, a bird glides off to arrive at its destination “con grande animo,” with a big spirit. This final part of the examen (also a new beginning) is a form of balancing, forward-looking and being led in the spirit of faith, hope, and self-surrendering love towards God’s ever greater love. Divine love is the “one thing necessary” (Lk 10:42) which is sufficient in each passing day. I ask myself, “Where is this love empowering me to stop, start, sustain or surrender after receiving God’s ever greater and unending love?” Amen.

Concluding Prayer 

Conclude the examen by giving thanks for the merciful love that you received during this time and then praying the final prayer in the Pope’s message “Show Mercy to our Common Home” written on the occasion of the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation (1 September 2016):

O God of the poor, help us to rescue the abandoned and forgotten of this earth, who are so precious in your eyes... God of love, show us our place in this world as channels of your love for all the creatures of this earth, God of mercy, may we receive your forgiveness and convey your mercy throughout our common home. Praise be to you! Amen.

Pope Francis said during the 27 March 2020 Extraordinary Urbi et Orbi, "We have gone ahead at breakneck speed, feeling powerful and able to do anything. Greedy for profit, we let ourselves get caught up in things, and lured away by haste. We did not stop at your reproach to us, we were not shaken awake by wars or injustice across the world, nor did we listen to the cry of the poor or of our ailing planet.”

The Pope seized the occasion to pray intensely invoking an end to the pandemic which has awakened us all to our fragility and helplessness. Likewise, Pope Francis has called everyone “to seize this time of trial as a time of choosing… a time to choose what matters and what passes away, a time to separate what is necessary from what is not.” Fr JM Manzano SJ

Building your resilience https://t.co/YqOE5IfIUV via @APA

— 8thworker (@8thworker) April 22, 2020