My morning started off a bit trying today, and I had to take a zone out period in the middle of my morning meeting to say my favorite morning offering. It is:
"Dear Lord, I do not know what will happen to me today. I only know that nothing will happen that was not forseen by you, and directed for my greater good from all eternity. I adore your holy and unfathomable plans, and submit to you with all my heart; for love of you, the pope, and the immaculate heart of Mary. Amen."
Later, back in my office, I picked up my copy of Living Faith to do the daily reflection. It was entitled "Take a Moment for gratitude":
Give thanks to him, bless his name; for he is good. Psalm 100:4-5
"Saint Ignatius Loyola recommended a prayer called the Examen as a helpful method of reflecting on one's day. The first step...after one settles down and focuses on prayer, is to replay the day in your mind and express gratitude for those things that you consider blessings from God, but may have missed while they occurred. This can be a beautiful sunrise, a child's smile...Perhaps over the next week, we can try to stop during the day, reflect for a few minutes and tell God how grateful we are for everything."
This really made me feel better. When I get frustrated with things, I tend to focus only on that and forget about how totally wonderful my life really is. So, I feel better. And going into a 3 day weekend, this is a very good thing :)
In an amusing aside, my Enhanced Drivers License came in the mail yesterday. I immediately tore into it and examined my picture. Not awful. Probably the least objectionable photo I've ever had appear on my drivers license. Mike came up behind me:
"Oh wow, that's a really nice picture of you. Are you wearing lipstick?!"
The last time I had worn lipstick prior to that was at our wedding, hence his shock. In fact, it was the exact same tube that I used in both instances; it's the only one that I own. I'm just not a lipstick person; gloss I'm all for, but I can't stand lipstick on my lips. However, the level of my desperation for a cute photo trumps my dislike for lipstick, so there you have it.
This reflection struck me, too, as I always thought of "Examen" as something connected stricly with the "what have I done wrong today?" kind of reflection. :)
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