Midday Meditation: We’ve spent time with the Examen and Ignatian Meditation/imaginative prayer this week—big pieces of the Spiritual Exercises. Apparently, there’s a third way Ignatius recommends praying, and it’s a prayer oriented around the breath: “The Third Method of Prayer is that with each breath in or out, one has to pray mentally, saying one word of the Our Father, or of another prayer which is being recited: so that only one word be said between one breath and another, and while the time from one breath to another lasts, let attention be given chiefly to the meaning of such word, or to the person to whom he recites it…” ― Ignatius of Loyola, The Spiritual Exercises Have you ever tried praying a prayer in rhythm with your own breath like this? Some of us have practiced breath prayers that involve one or two words or short phrases going along with the in-breath and out-breath. But have you ever considered taking a longer prayer, and letting this practice stretch it out long? Perhaps a memorized one like the Lord’s Prayer, or perhaps you read through a blessing or poem at that speed—one breath per word. How does it make space for the prayer to expand in your soul, even as your ribcage expands to bring air in and out with your breath? What do you find God, your soul, and your breath inviting you into today?

Posted by Jamie Bonilla at 2023-08-31 18:14:45 UTC