A Prayer Practise: What is Examen prayer?

Posted on February 17, 2016February 17, 2016 by Matthew Laker

Looking for help to kick start or develop your prayer life? Consider using the Examen prayer.

First some history:

A soldier was wounded in battle and while recovering he read about the life of Jesus and the people who followed his path. In time, he would convert to following Jesus. In exploring this faith and life, he became a priest to spread the gospel. In 1534, he and six others gathered and bound themselves by a vow to serve Christ. In doing this they called themselves the company of Jesus. Eventually, they would become ordained priests and ultimately become what we know today as the “Society of Jesus” or “Jesuits.”

From this group has developed something known as the “Examen prayer.”

The examen prayer is an intended short daily reflection. It is a method of seeking and finding God in your daily life. People have taken the practice and adapted it in small ways over time. However, the core seems to have stayed the same.

It is a great tool to help you engage, enter, and experience the life you were created for. It is a great tool to pick up for the lent season or add into your regular routine in life.

Examen Prayer Steps:

St. Ignatius, a Church in Boston that is staffed by Jesuit priests, shares the five steps of the Examen prayer.

1. Recall you are in the presence of God. No matter where you are, you are a creature in the midst of creation and the Creator who called you forth is concerned for you.

2. Give thanks to God for favors received. Pause and spend a moment looking at this day’s gifts. Take stock of what you received and gave. Notice these clues that guide living.

3. Ask for awareness of the Holy Spirit’s aid. Before you explore the mystery of the human heart, ask to receive the Holy Spirit so that you can look upon your actions and motives with honesty and patience. The Spirit gives a freedom to look upon yourself without condemnation and without complacency and thus be open to growth.

4. Now examine how you are living this day. Recalling the events of your day, explore the context of your actions. Review the day, hour by hour, searching for the internal events of your life. Look through the hours to see your interaction with what was before you. Ask what you were involved in and who you were with, and review your hopes and hesitations. What moved you to act the way you did?

5. Pray words of reconciliation and resolve. Having reviewed this day of your life, look upon yourself with compassion and see your need for God and try to realize God’s manifestations of concern for you. Express sorrow for sin, give thanks for grace, and praise God for the times you responded in ways that allowed you to better see God’s life.[i]

These steps can serve as a framework to help guide your prayer time. Many in steps four and five have included times of prayers for others as well.

Are you struggling in your prayer life or looking for a tool to help? This is one I have found useful in my life. Let me know how it goes for you.

[i] http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/prs/stign/ignatian_spirit.html

What is Ash Wednesday?

Posted on February 10, 2016January 3, 2020 by Matthew Laker

What is Ash Wednesday?

Ash Wednesday is the start of Lent. Lent is the season before Holy Week (Easter) used to examine our desires and realign ourselves with God. Many churches will host an Ash Wednesday service on Ash Wednesday.

The first time I experienced an Ash Wednesday service I was on staff at a church that practised it. As far as I remember I never took part in any such service growing up. This was a new experience for me and was a little strange and different. One of the strange elements was the putting on of ashes.

The big symbol of Ash Wednesday is the “Ash”.

At some point in the service people come forward and the leader with ash on their finger makes a cross on the forehead of the individual. As the ash is placed on the forehead the leader says, “Remember that you are ashes, and unto ashes shall you return.”

The ash is a visible reminder of our own mortality and need for repentance. It is a reminder of our sin and the need for a saviour. The making of the cross on the forehead is a reminder that death is not the end. In that moment, we are reminded of the sacrifice and mercy and love that God has given. It is a call to transformation over the Lent season moving away from death in our life to life in Christ.

The Ash Wednesday services are a great way to:

1. Connect with our rich heritage.

2. Contemplate our own sin.

3. Contemplate your own death.

4. Connect and draw close to Jesus through the experience of communion, putting on of ashes, prayers, music and community.

Ash Wednesday can be a great tool in enriching our spiritual journey and in the discipling of others in the way of Jesus.

If the lent season is not part of your journey consider embracing it this year as a way to further deepen your walk with Jesus.

Looking for a resource on beginning with lent? Check out these posts here.

4 Reasons Why Evernote can help your Bible Study

Posted on January 15, 2016January 10, 2016 by Matthew Laker

Ever sat and listened to a speaker and taken notes, only to misplace them?

bible5 Have you ever been part of a smaller group, or master group, where you are reading/studying something together and are looking for a place to keep your notes? Have you ever been doing your own bible study and have notes all over the place?

I used to have so many little pieces of paper shoved in my bible from insights I picked up from various locations. Then they would fall out and everything would be completely disorganized. I have found that Evernote can help with all this.

[sh_quote]Evernote is a great tool to help with your Bible Study.[/sh_quote]

In 2013, I decided to do a personal trail run with a software called Evernote . Evernote is a free note-taking software and for most people all you will need is the free version. They do offer an upgrade that is not too much, which I upgraded to about a year after my trail run, but it is not necessary for everyone. Evernote works on multiple devices and you can sync your notes across each device.

There are many uses for Evernote, one great perk being note-taking for bible studies, or notes when listening to a sermon.

Here are four ways Evernote can help you take your bible study to the next level.

1. One place

You can keep all of those thoughts and notes together. For a long time I had so many little notes jammed in my bible that they would fall out and I would lose them. Evernote lets me keep my notes in one place.

2. Organized

You can create several different notebooks in what they call “stacks”. This lets you have notebooks inside notebooks. The advantage of this is you could have a stack notebook called “sermons”. Then in there, you could have a notebook called “2016 sermons”. Then inside of that notebook, you create notes. Then on Sunday, or whenever you are listening to a sermon, you open this up and create a note in the notebook for that day. You tag and give it a title and it is there for you. You could even create a notebook stack called “bible study” and in there have notebooks for each book of the bible or even themes.

3. Recall

Let’s say you are talking with someone or studying and want to recall some information. You can search for words and find your notes. Evernote has a tagging feature that makes searching even easier. I strongly suggest using descriptive tags that will easily narrow down what you are looking for. Another help for the recall is good notebook organizing.

4. Mobile

This has become one of the greatest reasons why I love this program — I can use it on my phone wherever I am. Then when I am home, I can sync it on my wi-fi. I can then bring it up on my laptop and use my notes however I want.

Evernote can be a great tool to help take your bible studying to the next level. If you do not have Evernote, it is free and you can follow this link to sign up and download.

Beginner guide to advent: Symbols of Advent

Posted on December 3, 2015November 29, 2015 by Matthew Laker

The Advent season is one filled with many symbols, but two core symbols dominate.

The first is the wreath and the second are the candles. During the Advent/Christmas season, there are many surrounding symbols that have been added. Often the symbols have been adopted and redeemed for Christ. Tension comes from adopting for some, but Jesus is in the business of taking something old and making it new.

In churches and some homes, the wreath is one of the most well-known symbols. It comes from northern Europe and does not have its origins with Jesus followers. It has been adapted to point us to Jesus. Evergreen leaves are placed in a circle to remind us of life and God’s never ending love.

Candles are the biggest symbols we see in many churches and homes. Often candles are placed inside the wreath. Many churches will light one candle each Sunday service of advent until all four candles are lit Christmas eve or Christmas day.

Three of the candles are purple representing kingship or even repentance. One candle is often pink and represents Joy, reminding us of the need to rejoice in this season. Some will put a white candle in the middle and light that candle at the Christmas eve service or on Christmas day. The focus is not so much the colour, but the light. Today you sometimes see people using just plain white candles.

Purple is often the colour of advent. It represents repentance, fasting and royalty as we welcome the king. Often we do not think of advent as a time for fasting, etc., however, we must not forget its connection to the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. Jesus came in the flesh to reveal God’s grace through his life, his teaching, death and resurrection. For this reason we see some shared colours between the season of advent and the season of lent.

There are other symbols that are connected to the Christmas story such as the star and the manager. The Christmas tree has also become a staple in many churches and homes here in the West. Again this is an example of a symbol that has been claimed and transformed to point us to Christ. Later, decorations with Christian symbols would be used to decorate the tree.

There is also a tradition called the Jesse tree. It seems to have its origin from the medieval times and is used to tell the story of the bible from creation to the birth of Christ. The name comes from Jesse who was the Father of King David in the old Testament. Isaiah 1:1-4 is the root of this symbolism speaking of a branch that shoots up from the stump of Jesse. Like many other symbols, trees have been used to help teach people who can not read or write learn the stories from creation to the birth of Christ. Today it is used more often as an advent Calendar. Here is a great online resource to learn more. Read the intro here: http://www.loyolapress.com/the-jesse-tree.htm

You can use a normal tree and each day of advent, or just on the Four Sundays of advent, hang a special decoration or ornament that tells a story from the bible on the tree.

The symbols of advent are used to help us focus on both the past and the future. They speak and serve as a signpost on the spiritual journey as the followers of Jesus affirm that Christ has come, that he is present, and that he will come again.

Beginners Guide to Advent: A Short History of Advent

Posted on December 1, 2015November 29, 2015 by Matthew Laker

The season of advent “ties our lives to Christians throughout history”( John Feister, the editor of AmericanCatholic.com).

For many, the season of advent is filled with indulgences, distractions and

commercialism that pushes us to rush into Christmas. However, observing this centuries-old Christian practice has the potential to feed us and lead us to a deeper and more fulfilling state.

Advent is a season you will not find in the bible, and for this reason, an argument is sometimes put forth against this tradition. This objection, however, does not undermine the value of this practice to our faith formation and journey with Christ.

The early stages of advent are not well known. It is not until sometime between the 4th and 5th century in Gaul and Spain that “advent” was first seen in its early stages.

During the end of the 400’s there are some sermons that speak of preparation before the birth of Christ.[1] In a sermon from St. Gregory the Great, who was a Pope from 590-604, he speaks of the second Sunday of advent. By 650 in Spain, we see the celebrating of five Sundays. Some have shared it was during the 6th-century that followers of Jesus in Rome started linking the season to the coming of Christ, focusing not on his birth but on the second coming. It is during this time momentum for advent begins to take off[2]. Different regions seemed to work out different practices around this season. Then Pope Gregory (1073-85) takes the celebration from five Sundays to four, the preparation initially not being about Christmas day, but Epiphany.

Epiphany is a celebration found in early January that celebrates the Baptism of Jesus, the miracle at Cana and the visit of the magi. Once again, we see the use of the calendar for the purposes of teaching and making disciples. In many cases, this is used for new Christians to be baptized and welcomed into the church. Like lent people would spend 40 days examining their life and repenting.

Traditionally the Christmas season began Christmas Eve and went for 12 days ending with Epiphany. The time before this was advent, a season of preparation for Christmas. Today, the Eastern Church participates in a fast that is longer and more like lent and the Christmas celebration lasts for three days. In both the eastern and some western Churches there are services held on both Christmas Eve and Christmas day.

During the Middle ages, there was a pagan celebration in December and the church worked to counter and Christianize it, thus further developed advent. Therefore, it became more connected to December. This does not mean that advent is a non-Christian activity. It just means Jesus followers at the time were looking for ways help people turn to Jesus. Thus, the development of a system to help focus on Jesus.

Advent seems to be a tradition that has evolved over time. It is a time calling the church together to fast, celebrate and remember. It has carried themes reflecting on both Christ’s first coming and his second coming. For the moment, there seems to be a strong connection to traditions from the last couple hundred years, but I suspect it will start to adapt again since strong culture shifts are taking place all around us.

[1] (http://www.aquinasandmore.com/catholic-articles/the-history-and-meaning-of-advent/article/173/sort/relevance/productsperpage/12/layout/grid/currentpage/1/keywords/advent

[2] (http://www.canticanova.com/articles/xmas/art1e1.htm) and (http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2002/decemberweb-only/12-2-52.0.html)