The Ripple Affect

Whenever I pull into a grocery store parking lot I’m often struck by how many shopping carts are scattered all over the place.  Could it be that the carts have a mind of their own?  That they drive themselves all over Kroger-town or Publix-town to compete for shoppers’ attention?  More than likely after shoppers unload their paper towels, pampers and peas, they are just too tired or too lazy to return their cart to its corral or even, heaven forbid, to the store itself.  This may seem trivial, but the ramifications are anything but; other shoppers can’t easily park because there are shopping carts in the way.  A strong gust of wind might blow a cart into a car, damaging both the cart and the car.  The grocery store has to repair or replace the cart, passing the expense onto the consumer by raising the price of groceries.  The point is that everything we do, or don’t do, has an effect on someone else.  This is why the Church teaches that sin is both individual and communal.  Our sins not only hurt ourselves but they have the potential to harm society as well.  Much of the time, we aren’t aware of how our words and actions affect others.  So the Church gives us something called an Examination of Conscience to help us recognize our sins. The examination of conscience can be traced back to St. Paul who encouraged the faithful in Corinth to examine themselves before participating in the Eucharist.  Today the examination of conscience exists in many different formats, even in an app.  Ignatius of Loyola called the Examen a gift that came directly from God so he included it in his famous Spiritual Exercises and encouraged the faithful to practice on a daily basis.  But, unlike most examinations which focus on our actions, the daily Examen focuses on God’s presence, helping us to see God’s hand at work through our experiences.  Ignatius knew that the more we are aware of God’s presence, the less likely we are to sin. The daily Examen is a good practice to begin especially as we prepare for Holy Week.