Eastertide Examen Prayer
Reflection by Ashley Brooks
In the Catholic tradition, the Easter season extends for 50 days, known as Eastertide. During this time, we remember that we are called to be a people of joy: an Easter people filled with hope and new life.
The world around us, however, doesn’t always get the memo about that. How can we live from a place of Easter joy when wars and injustice rage around us? It’s easy for hope to slowly seep away, like water escaping cupped hands.
There is no magic solution to restoring hope and joy. Yet the Ignatian practice of the Examen prayer can help you continue to live from the life-giving resurrection of the Easter season, even as you navigate the difficult realities of life. We invite you to incorporate this Easter Examen into your prayer sometime before Pentecost. As you enter into this prayer, keep your mind open to noticing the ways in which new life is already moving in and around you.
What Is the Examen?
This Ignatian prayer practice is a time to meet with God and reflect upon your day. When practiced regularly, the Examen can help you become more aware of the subtle movements of God in your life. Learn more about the traditional Examen with our post Praying an Examen: an Invitation to What Gives You Life.
Eastertide Examen
Arrive in Gratitude
Begin by grounding yourself in your space. Settle into your chair and take a few slow, deep breaths. Remember that each breath is the breath of life moving through you.
Just as the Resurrected Christ joined his disciples walking on the road to Emmaus and in the Upper Room, invite him to walk with you in this reflective prayer. Thank God for journeying alongside you in every moment, whether they are filled with joy, grief, or something in between.
Notice Love and Joy
Bring to mind the last few weeks of springtime. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you recall moments of joy, hope, and love during this time. Use these questions to guide your reflection:
Where did I notice signs of new life in myself or those around me?
When did I experience joy, laughter, or hope in an unexpected place?
When did I offer signs of Resurrection and hope to others?
When was I reminded that death and despair don’t have the final word?
Notice What You Don’t Feel Grateful For
With gentleness and compassion, turn your attention toward the difficult parts of the last few weeks. Even in the Easter season, when all creation is singing of new life, we have experiences that are heavy, challenging, or full of grief. Consider how you have met these moments that you might not be grateful for:
When did I resist new life?
When did I feel overwhelmed by the pain of the world?
When did I lose touch with hope or feel abandoned by God?
When was it difficult to remember that the Resurrection is unfolding in my own life?
Respond with Compassion
Now that you have spent some time with this Examen reflection, we invite you to respond to God. Ask yourself how you feel about your Easter season so far and how you want to carry this prayer forward.
Is there something stirring within you?
Is there a question you’re carrying that you’d like to bring to God?
Is there a curiosity you want to explore?
Is there a grief you need to voice or a joy you want to celebrate?
Pause with these thoughts for a few moments. Consider how you may want to compassionately move forward with kindness for yourself and others.
End with Gratitude
Close your prayer with gratitude. Hold your experience loosely, without trying to control or fix the emotions that rose to the surface. Thank God for the experiences you had during this prayer time.
Invitations Toward Resurrection
Joy holds hands with grief. New life stirs within us in ways that we may not expect. As Easter people, we live in the tension of a hurting world, held in the hands of a loving God.
As we journey through the last few weeks of the Easter season, we invite you to consider the ways in which you are called to live out the Resurrection. Maybe you feel a nudge to find a spiritual director—or perhaps there’s a stirring to learn more about the transformative path of spiritual direction training.
If this is something you want to explore, join us for a no-pressure online open house on Monday, June 15. You’ll hear from faculty and alumni of our Spiritual Direction Formation & Training Program, and will have time to ask questions, big or small. Click here to register and learn more!