St. Ignatius of Loyola invites us to contemplate this mystery of our God, who is ultimately transcendent, immanently present and loving us in everything that is created. Prayer is essential during a retreat because it is our means of communication and encounter with God. Yet prayer is so simple and natural to us that it is difficult to talk about or teach. One way of describing prayer is to say that it is being present to the presence of God in us. Prayer is noticing that God is trying to get my attention.
Prayer is, most simply, being present.
During prayer, and especially during a retreat, we will normally experience spiritual consolation and desolation, which are the feelings of God s presence or absence. Once we find ourselves navigating these turbulent waters we will need a guide to help point out the temptations and deceptions lurking there. It will be through the accompaniment of an experienced spiritual director that we will be able to sort out and discern these various movements of spirit that lead to a deeper knowledge of God and ourselves. A wise guide never imposes his or her own spirituality on us , but helps us discover our own spiritual path which is authentic to who we are and how God uniquely and mysteriously lives in us. Hopefully we are learning from our mistakes.