Using The Examen of Saint Ignatius on a Pilgrimage

Praying in real time

A Year with the Contemplative Pilgrim

Today I am reflecting on the spiritual aspects of my current pilgrimage. I have been practicing the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius for the past several months and through this the Daily Examen is becoming a part of my daily life. I find that I remain connected to my Higher Power, who I call God, as I operate in real time.

The Daily Examen involves five parts:

1.Become aware of God’s presence.
2. Review the day with gratitude.
3. Pay attention to your emotions.
4. Choose one feature of the day and pray from it seeking forgiveness and rejoicing
5. Look toward tomorrow.

As you may see, this form of prayer is ideal for daily life. Let's break it down as I continue.

A key part of remaining spiritually connected while on a pilgrimage is remaining aware of God's presence. When I am traveling there are moments when I feel distracted, even lost. It is in those times that I find it most helpful to be able to rely on my Higher Power for the insight or inspiration to reach out for help. I may need to find someone to assist me or perhaps I just need to calm down. Either way, being aware of God's presence with me and looking for God in all things is an integral part of Ignatian Spirituality.

In the evening, after the completion of my daily stage of pilgrimage, I also find it comforting to reflect on the past day with gratitude. I usually write my thoughts down in my journal and this also helps me to wind down. Gratitude is key in helping me work through the events of the day and helps me prepare for rest.

Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

Another essential aspect of maintaining my spirits as I walk is to be aware of my emotions. On my last Camino, I was concerned about the health of my mother who was on hospice at the time. This concern was the predominant emotion and it led me to end my Camino early in order return home for my mother's death.

While I was disappointed over not completing the Camino, I had great joy in being able to get home in time to be with her as she passed from this life. Being aware of my emotions in real time helped to make decisions that otherwise may have been difficult to discern. Ignatian Spirituality and The Examen were vital in this aspect of my walking.

Each day as I travel I have the perfect freedom to choose what I would like to focus on. As I have written before, I prefer to experience life free from distraction such as audio books or music. The reason for this is to allow me to be better aware of my surroundings. As a spiritual person I look for God in all things: nature, animal life and especially the people that I encounter each day. Having the perspective that God is seeking me out through my interactions with nature and reality during my day helps me maintain my spiritual outlook. I also find it fascinating to see the ways in which God reveals himself to me as I walk along.

Finally, using The Examen in real time helps me to prepare for the next day's journey. One of the most disabling aspects of solo travel is discouragement. When my feet hurt and I am lonely it can be easy to fall into a negative mindset. Keeping my focus on my encounters of the day, seeing how my emotions are guiding me back to my spiritual focus helps me to bolster my spirits. As I write down the experiences of the day using the Five Step Examen process I feel encouragement coming back into me. This allows me to sleep and wake refreshed and eager to face the next stage of my journey.

Until next time,