In my conversation with Brother Paul Quenon, O.C.S.O., on the premiere of the second season of “The Spiritual Life” podcast, we tackled six questions we’ve gotten from listeners and viewers over the last year. We thought that having a Trappist and a Jesuit, given their different spiritual perspectives, address the same questions would make for a lively conversation. And it did! But the main question, and the reason we dropped the episode on Jan. 1, was this: How do I reset my spiritual life in the New Year?
That is an easy question for a spiritual director to answer since it comes up so often in sessions with my “directees.” Things feel stale, prayer feels dry, and the spiritual life feels, well, boring. So what can you do?
For one thing, mix it up. If you have been doing imaginative prayer for the last few months (nothing wrong with that!), then maybe set that aside for some centering prayer. And vice versa. If you have not been to eucharistic adoration for some time, why not drop by your parish after work and spend some time quietly before the Blessed Sacrament? How about hymns? Have you ever prayed with music before? Try that.
Another option is to do less. I know this sounds counterintuitive, but many times I find that people overload themselves with too many “shoulds” in prayer. A few years ago, on a retreat, one woman told me her morning routine: read the daily Mass readings, pray the morning prayer, say a Rosary, pray for the dead and pray for all the intentions others had asked her to pray for. It was too much for her, and prayer started to seem like a burden. She dreaded it! So I said: Do less. She cut back and was, she later told me, able to enjoy her prayer more.
Finally, re-engage with the examination of conscience. Nothing jump-starts your prayer life more than noticing where God is already active in your day. The examination of conscience (or “examen”) is basically a review of the day, which you do at the close of the day, noticing where God was. And seeing where God was makes it easier to see where God is—and will be.
All those things should help shake things up a bit. Happy New Year!
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