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St. Ignatius Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits, and the man who popularized the Daily Examen, occasionally had a hard time describing what happened in his prayer. In his prayer journal, discovered after his death in 1556, he once talked about “an experiencing that cannot be explained.” Another time he recorded “a wonderful depth of reverence that I find impossible to explain.”
Over the last few weeks, we’ve been talking about the kinds of experiences that can happen in your private prayer—when you close your eyes, as it were. And we’ve talked about insights, emotions, memories, desires, feelings, and even words and images. But sometimes it’s hard to describe what happened interiorly, especially if it’s a profound experience. Not long ago, someone who sees me for spiritual direction was sharing something that happened in his prayer. He stumbled a bit, and then said, “It was so powerful! But I can’t explain it completely.” Then he paused and said, “That’s what makes me think it really came from God.” This young man knew what St. Ignatius knew, which is that, when it comes to prayer, just because you can’t explain it doesn’t mean that it’s not real.
The Examen came to me in an email just now, and I am better for the blessing that sought me out in an unexpected venue: a midtown Manhattan office cubicle. Thank you,