Did you know that the Murphy Center for Ignatian Spirituality at Fairfield University has a 1 mile path designated as a Walking Examen?
As stated on the Fairfield University’s website:
“The Walking Examen, a one-mile prayer journey around Fairfield University’s scenic campus, is based on a prayer method popularized by St. Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits, in the 16th century. The intention of the meditation is to invite participants to trust, allow and delight in God’s love through a five-step process of contemplation and presence.”
Recently, students at Fairfield Prep experienced the Walking Examen. Elliott Gualtiere remarked this about the experience:
Fairfield University’s Walking Examen is the first of its kind on a Jesuit campus. Beginning on the plaza of the University’s Egan Chapel, this mile-long prayer and meditation trail was designed to cultivate prayerful discernment and an awareness of God’s presence around us. At Fairfield Prep, theology teachers expose their students to this prayerful exercise during class time. They pair their students up and they engage in spiritual conversation as they walk the path. They pause for quiet reflection even journaling at each stop along the way. I am amazed at how seriously the students take this experience.
You can read through the reflections for each of the five steps of the Walking Examen (Thanksgiving, Illumination, Examination, Contrition, and Hope) here.
Then, consider the following:
- What could a Walking Examen look like on your own school campus?
- What would be your five stops along the way to help your community to engage in reflection?
- How could a Walking Examen help your community experience finding God in all things?
