What is a Week of Guided Prayer?
St Ignatius of Loyola
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The week of guided prayer is based on what is sometimes called a retreat in daily life.
A traditional retreat means withdrawing from everyday life for a while. It's a wonderful experience, but it's difficult to take the time, it can be expensive, and sometimes it is just not possible. This is not a new problem! The idea of making a retreat in daily life comes from St Ignatius of Loyola, he devised this way of paying attention to God while continuing to be engaged in our ordinary lives. This actually fitted very well because Ignatian spirituality places great emphasis on discerning God’s presence in the everyday activities of ordinary life. A spiritual director or prayer guide will help you listen to God, notice where God is active in your life and discern how God is inviting you to respond. What we do in this week is a simplified and abbreviated form of the Retreat in Daily life devised by Ignatius. You are taking a week to focus on God. Each of us makes a commitment to spend a half hour a day in prayer. That means finding a space and a time that you can guard from interruptions. Prayer can be in many different ways: writing, walking, singing, reading scripture, imagining, quietly listening – and also talking to God. Your first prayer time could include time to reflect on what happened the day before. You might use a journal or notebook, or your computer to record your experience. Whatever you choose to do, remember that this is primarily a time when God is inviting you just to be present. God your maker, redeemer and lover is waiting for you and that's all that matters. |
So what does the week look like?
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To maximise your benefits from participating in a Week of Guided Prayer:
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