At the little service on Sunday we explored the theme of Lent by looking at a way of seeking God, and becoming more aware of God in our own experiences.
We used an ancient way of praying advocated by St Ignatius of Loyola, called the Examen. Ignatius talks of the concepts of consolation (spiritual comfort), and desolation (spiritual distress). Consolation isn’t necessarily about happiness or counting our blessings, it’s more about identifying what brings us life, what enables us to feel close to God, what enables us to respond with and to love. Desolation isn’t necessarily about confessing our sins, it’s about identifying what is life-denying, what feels like it separates us from God, what hinders us from responding with and to love. The Examen is a way of reviewing the experiences of a fixed period of time, or a certain event or relationship, that invites us to discern our consolation and desolation, listen to God through it, and learn from it.
The beauty of this for me is that it acknowledges that both consolation and desolation are a profound part of human experience. Both are inevitable, and we can seek God in both, and learn more about God’s desire for our lives, and who we truly are – the light and the darkness that makes up each one of us.
I have put the outline for the meditation I led, which you can use for any situation, here, in the archives on the wiki thang.
I use this really often and it's such a source of grace for me - it feels a really safe way of confronting my real self, held in the love of God. Stuff surfaces that I might not have thought about otherwise, and it's helped me to identify things that are of great value to me and things I really struggle with, about myself and the way I interact with the world around me.
I want to say thanks too to everyone who shared their experiences after the meditation, it was really moving, especially to Clare who planned the service with me and shared really deeply.