Week 3: Our Shared Story

This week we begin by reflecting on the goodness of God’s infinite love woven throughout creation. As a way to deepen in that love, we invite you to spend time recalling moments when you felt cared for and close to God.

Dwelling in those experiences can also lead us to recognize the incompleteness of the stories we tell about our world, our nation, and our own lives. In preparation for our session next week, we encourage you to spend time reflecting on your spiritual foundations and how you honor God’s creation.

To help in this focus, we encourage you to pray with the narratives of creation found in Genesis and return to expressions of God’s care, such as in Isaiah 43:1-7 and Psalm 139. We also ask you to watch a short video from the U.S. Department of Arts and Culture on the practice of honoring native land.

The review of our actions and priorities will also be guided by the practice of the Examen. The Examen is a form of prayer introduced in the preliminary notes of St. Ignatius’s Spiritual Exercises. It provides a structured way to pray through the events and spiritual movements of our days.

Grace for the Week

I ask for the grace to recognize the beauty of creation and the life-giving goodness of diversity.

Daily Resources for Prayer

• Day 1: A Midrash Creation Story

• Day 2: “Honoring Native Land”

• Day 3: Native Land: Territory Acknowledgement Tool

• Day 4: Examen for Solidarity with All of Creation

• Day 5: An Individual Racial Awareness Ignatian Examen

• Day 6: Pray with An Examen for Racism

• Day 7: Repetition

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

• How do you honor God’s creation and the sacred in your life? What are ways that you could “honor native land”?

• In your prayer this week where are you finding God? What are the struggles and challenges that surface?

• As you pray with the Examens on Racial Awareness and Racism what do you notice? What are the areas of connection and what are the areas of resistance?

PERSONAL REFLECTIONS…

Please take some time to record a few brief notes on your prayer. These can be as simple as a word, image, or quote.

Excerpt from An Individual Racial Awareness Ignatian Examen (for People of All Races)

by Elaine Ireland

1. Ask the Spirit for wisdom and help: “Lord, open my eyes and my heart and shine a light on this sensitive subject.” Ask for the grace you need: “Lord, increase my awareness. Let me look at myself and others nonjudgmentally and with love.”

2. Thank God: “For all gifts of my life: (list what you are thankful for). Thank you Lord for the diversity of life—for the variety of plants and animals that add so much to the wonder and delight in our world, and for the diversity within the human species.

3. Let your memory take over and see if you can recall instances from your life that stand out to you: media reports, TV or movie portrayals, or especially personal experiences and interactions with those whose skin color or ethnicity is different from yours…. Remember, feelings and thoughts are neither positive nor negative; they just are. Try not to judge or ruminate on actions or reactions.

4. Pick one thing that “speaks the loudest” to you from step 3. It just might be the thing that makes you most uncomfortable. Try to make it a feeling rather than a thought, so that you can pray from your heart, not your head. Pray for the Spirit to again shine a light on your reflection: “What am I hearing?

5. Ask: “What am I to learn from my reflection? Is there anything I need to be more aware of, or change, or do as result of my prayer today? … Thank God again for the opportunity to heighten your awareness and ask for the grace you need to move forward, to be more aware and open.

Earth's Creation by Emily Kame Kngwarreye