At the beginning of March, the chaplain’s office adapted a version of the Ignatian Examen prayer and placed a basket of copies in the chapel. In Jesuit volunteer Maddie Murphy’s rendition of the exercise, each aspect of prayer is directed toward one of today’s most disputed social justice issues – racism. Her hope is that we can use the Ignatian formula to fix the racism that she sees at the core of our society, starting at a spiritual and individual level.
The original Examen is an end-of-day reflection in five stages. First, one places oneself in God’s presence and gives thanks. Second, one says a prayer for grace to understand how God is acting in one’s life. Third, one recalls feelings and moments from the day. Fourth, one reflects on how one handled those moments and feelings. Finally, one makes a general plan that considers what one did well and what one did not do well for reference and improvement the following day. The exercise is concluded with a recitation of the Lord’s Prayer. Murphy reworks these stages so that they are directed towards the healing of our internalized racism and white privilege. She hopes that by revisiting our emotions during moments when we used our white privilege throughout the day, we can change our attitudes towards the sin of all sins and begin to eradicate it within us.
Murphy’s prayer imitates the Ignatian Examen in that it has five stages, but they are all directed towards making “white folk” into “racial allies.” First, where Ignatius calls us to become aware of God’s presence, Murphy invites us to remember the marginalized and recognize “Her” face in the faces of the oppressed. She also asks us to remember the “systems that seek to keep us from loving one another,” that is, the institutionalized racism in our country. Then, instead of saying a prayer for grace, Murphy invites us to reflect on the ways in which we used our white privilege that day. She raises questions like, did we open our ears to the people of color we encountered that day? Didwe make our workplaces as comfortable as possible for those of all cultures? Third, rather than reviewing our day and recalling specific moments and feelings we had, Murphy asks us to remember where we felt negative emotions like fear, anger, and hatred in “reflecting how we utilized our privilege today.” If we have prejudices we are not aware of, or we remember a time when we felt “discomfort” (towards racism, I suppose), she recommends that we address this feeling and educate ourselves so that we can stand up for the oppressed next time a situation presents itself. In the fourth step of the prayer, where Ignatius tells us to reflect on our feelings from the day, she invites us to recall an opportunity we had to use our privilege to “make or take space” from people of color. She asks us to pray for certain virtues that will apparently help with this issue, like “courage, insight, humility, and self-awareness.” Finally, she essentially tells us to act now, and to look into the next step towards “white allyship,” which may mean joining an activist group or educating ourselves through reliable mediums like books and articles. This step replaces Ignatius’ instruction to look to tomorrow and think of ways to better align ourselves with God’s plan.
A crucial problem that arises when we change a prayer formulated by a great saint so that it fits some preferred ideology is that it quickly loses its spiritual focus. It shifts from its purpose, which is to recenter the hearts of those who pray it towards God. It presents the human person through a narrow lens and deprives the Examen of its introspective qualities. Murphy’s prayer is also quick to assert blame. It magnifies a sin it claims we already have, tells us to humble ourselves, and attempts to motivate us to fix it. Ignatius allows for freedom in self-correction and reflection. He sees human reason for what it is: a powerful God-given tool that we can use to identify our vices as well as our virtues. Upon reflection, we can know ourselves well enough that we can, with the grace of God, improve our lives. By contrast, Murphy’s prayer sounds more like a call to social action than a reflection for spiritual betterment: “Be prepared to translate this spiritual work into concrete, physical actions.”
Murphy’s emphasis also contributes to her prayer’s lack of spiritual nourishment. She occasionally tells us to note what we did well throughout the day, but she wants us to consider in particular what we did wrong. Ignatius, on the other hand, never tells us to focus solely on our faults. He understands that we have to recognize God’s grace in our lives and the virtue He gives us to live out His will.
The Ignatian prayer is universal. It is meant to be meditated upon by all people. When it is directed towards something like eradicating one’s alleged white privilege instead of ordering one’s actions towards God, it is deprived of its universal nature – ironically, making it so that white people are the only population that can pray it. Murphy’s fourth step points directly to this kind of faulty logic. She asks that we remember moments when we “make or take space from people of color.” This is incredibly patronizing. It necessitates using one’s white privilege: it gives power to the white man, suggesting that it is he who must pave the way for people of color.
So, when the Chaplain’s office placed a basket containing copies of Murphy’s prayer in the chapel, we might ask, cui bono? Who stands to gain by it? Murphy’s prayer is not inclusive. It is exclusive towards some members of the Church. It cannot be prayed universally. And universality is one of the key elements of a good prayer, because the ultimate end of prayer is unity and fellowship in Christ. As a Jesuit Catholic college, our students should be encouraged to love and welcome all people. But the College ought to lead by example.