Lent           This last Wednesday was Ash Wednesday so we are now in the Season of Lent.          One Lent found St. Francis of Assisi (1181/2 – 1226 AD) in the process of making a small cup which, however, became a distraction during prayer.  What St. Francis did might surprise us.  His biographer tells the story:  One day as St. Francis was devoutly praying Terce with his brothers – the liturgical prayers for 9:00 AM, which consisted primarily of praying the Psalms – “his eyes casually fell on the cup and he began to look at it, and he felt his inner self was being hindered in its devotion. He grieved that the cry of his heart to the divine ears had been interrupted, and when Terce ended he said, so the brothers could hear:  ‘Alas, that such a trifle had such power over me as to bend my soul to itself!  I will sacrifice it to the Lord, whose sacrifice it had interrupted!’  Saying this he grabbe...

The Examen Prayer        In this last article in our series of prayer we want to look at prayer in the form of an examination of conscience.       St. Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556), founder of the Company of Jesus (Jesuits), has much to say about prayer, praying with the Scriptures, and meditation (reflective or imaginative). Any of the books, CD’s, or DVD’s by Fr. Timothy M. Gallagher, OMV, does a marvelous job of explaining St. Ignatius’ teaching, methods, and “how-to” steps in today’s language and profusely illustrated with practical examples. Fr. Gallagher also has a book called, The Examen Prayer, Ignatian Wisdom for Our Lives Today.       Catholic tradition has always recommended that we regularly examine our conscience to reflect prayerfully on our thoughts, words, deeds, and omissions in order to identify sins and faults needing correction. Certainly before the Sacrament of Penance (Confession), we alway...