Retreats
A retreat is time you spend with God
I give individually directed retreats You and I agree on how many days the retreat will last. During the retreat you receive direction once day via skype/zoom, you unplug. You keep silence, take off from work, and keep away from social media and email as far as possible.
During a retreat there are typically four periods of prayer a day, each of about 25 minutes duration. If you don’t live alone, think about finding a place where you can be alone, e.g. the home of an out-of-town friend.
The ignatian examen
A loving reflection
Together with God we look back over the day that has passed. Here is a very simple version of the examen based one in the book, “Sleeping with bread” by Dennis and Matthew Linn, and Sheila Fabricant Linn.
Sit down in a quiet place and relax. Ask God to to send you light so you can see where God has been with you today. Thank God, and turn your sight inwards.
What moment today am I most grateful for?
What moment today am I least grateful for?
What was the high point of the day?
What was the low point of the day?
What was the strongest feeling of the day?
Now take a moment and think about tomorrow. Which challenges and good things are you expecting the day to bring? Bring your examen to a close, and thank God for the time you have spent together.
There are many ways to pray the examen. In his book, “Reimagining the Ignatian Examen” Mark Thibodeaux SJ provides over 30 suggestions for how to pray an examen. The most important thing is to do it, and to journal what you experience.