Parish Prayer Retreat: Week 1
Welcome to the Parish Prayer Retreat, an at home retreat to refresh and revive prayer life. So let us begin our six week journey by thinking about where we are now with prayer. The following article and exercises will help you focus you thoughts and feelings onto your prayer life. The beauty of a retreat such as this is you control how much or as little you do in any given prayer time. Two things to remember embarking on this retreat:
1. There is no right or wrong with prayer
2. It's quality not quantity - a good ten minutes is better than a bad half hour.
Each week will begin with an input( a maximum of a ten minute read) , this will be followed by a number of exercises which you complete at your own leisure. It is suggested that through the week you re read the input to refresh the theme of the week and see if it speaks to you in a different way.
So let us begin :-
What is Prayer ?
How do I Pray?
To begin, what is prayer? A lot of people understand prayer as asking God for things, what is often called petitionary prayer. Throughout Christian history, believers have encouraged each other to pray for their own needs as well as the needs of others. A mother prays for the healing of her sick child; a church prays for the comfort and security of a war-torn nation. We pray for all sorts of things: safe travel, good physical health, financial security. At its best, this form of prayer acknowledges our limitations and our real need for God.
But can prayer look differently? Prayer is a conversation with God.
When we pray, we are entering into a conversation with God. We are building up and engaging in a relationship with God. We are living out our deep desire to grow closer to God and to receive what God longs to give all of us: God’s unconditional love, which is always available, always freely offered, and always life-giving.
Another helpful way of understanding prayer comes from the Jesuit theologian Walter Burghardt, who once expressed contemplation/prayer as “taking a long, loving look at the real.” Let’s break this definition down into parts.
First, prayer begins with taking a long look. It’s looking at reality like slow-motion cameras at a sporting event. We get the chance to slow down and to take a closer look, which may reveal to us things we might have otherwise missed in our fast-paced lives.
Second, prayer is also a long, loving look. When I reflect on reality, do I look with harsh, judgmental eyes, or with the loving, tender, and merciful eyes of God?
Lastly, in prayer we look lovingly at the real: the reality of my life and the world. We start with reality because God does so through the Incarnation. God undertakes the work of salvation not by fleeing human reality, but by entering into it. In the ultimate act of solidarity, God became one of us in the person of Jesus. And Jesus experienced all that reality encompasses: from joy and laughter to suffering and death. So we know that God can hold the messiness of our reality and of our world. God can handle whatever we express in prayer. Because love holds all things.
How do I pray?
So, prayer is a conversation with God. This understanding of prayer gives me both a great sense of freedom…and nervousness.
I feel free because prayer does not have to be a formula. I don’t have to “have it all together” when I take time to pray. In fact, sometimes I may not know what to say at all. I may be at a complete loss for words. Thankfully the Church has collected and provided prayers over its long history to help us express to God the deepest parts of our heart. Just think of the Our Father, given to us by Jesus himself, or the Hail Mary. These prayers remind us of Jesus’ reassurance to be direct in what we are seeking and that sometimes we don’t need to use so many words.
But I also feel nervous about prayer, since prayer is not limited to following a single formula. All kinds of doubts and questions can come to my mind. “Am I doing this right?” “Does God really care about what I have to share?” “My life isn’t as bad as others. God has enough to deal with.” But where are these feelings coming from? Certainly not from God! We know that God wants to be in relationship with us, and always welcomes our prayers.
So, let’s not forget the other side of this relationship. If prayer is supposed to be a conversation, we need to remember that it should include both speaking and listening. This may seem obvious, but how often do we forget it! How often do I jump into prayer just to list all the intentions I have and the people I want to pray for, and then I end with a sign of the cross and move on!
Prayer, then, is the courage to listen to the gentle voice of love. Listening means allowing God space to speak to us: through the quiet of prayer, in our own deep desires, through the Scripture, or through the words of someone meaningful in our lives. As in any relationship, I am invited not only to speak, but also to listen with an open mind and heart.
Tips on Praying
There is no simple formula for praying, but here are a few tips for preparing yourself to enter into prayer.
First, what we do before praying is very important. Usually it’s not helpful to rush into prayer. Perhaps spend a few moments quieting down and settling into a prayerful and comfortable position.
Second, finding a good, comfortable space where you are free of distractions can make a real difference. Silence and solitude can help us focus on reading a Scripture passage, or looking back on moments from my day/life, and then reflect on how God may be speaking to me through them. A quiet place can help with that deeper listening to God’s presence, as well as notice our response.
Lastly, let’s admit that we might not always be able to set up for a good prayer period. We might not have time to quiet down and find a good, comfortable space. But we can trust that God meets us where we are. That means God can speak to us in the noise and confusion of our day. If you only have time to stop for a moment, call to mind God’s presence, and speak a petition…that’s prayer. And God delights in it!
Adapted from The Jesuit Post written by David Romero SJ
Prayer Journaling
Many people find recording thoughts and feelings in a prayer journal a useful exercise. It allows us to capture our thoughts and feelings like a camera captures a picture of an event. It makes it real, allows us to reflect on what has occurred for us in any prayer session.
It may be worth considering using a prayer journal as we start our retreat, it helps us to see where God is moving in our lives.
Activity 1
Look at the picture of the bubble people on the tree. You can print it out if you click on the PDF. Spend time with the picture, looking at all the different position of the people.
Find one person that helps you to describe you, where you are on your prayer journey. If you are happy with where you are that’s fine, however, if not find another person of where you would like to be on your prayer journey. In the coming weeks we might not get to where you want to be, but we might get into a different situation in the tree.
Think about:
· What will help you get there?
· What are your main barriers to you getting there and how can you overcome them.
· Record them in your journal.
Click and print if it helps
Activity 2
Points for Reflection for the week. Try and answer these questions honestly, writing them down in a journal and then reflecting on your answers through the week.
· What form does your prayer take?
· Do you find this fulfilling?
· Is there anything missing?
· Quality not quantity in prayer, how do you make the most of your prayer time?
· How can you make prayer fit in with the chaos that is daily life?
· Find your place to pray- It may be in bed, in your lounge, on a walk in the countryside. Think about where prayer will work best for you. It may be different on different days, that doesn’t matter.
· When can you find a ‘Quiet time’ in your day?
· Do you want to create a focus place? Use a lighted candle, a crucifix, a picture or a Bible as a focus for your prayer time.
· In the week ahead spend time revisiting these questions Remember there is no wrong way to pray.
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Thinking about how you can get the best quality prayer time in the coming weeks. It’s not about spending hours on our knees, it’s about taking a part of your day, however small, and wasting time with God.
Activity 3
Re read the opening article on prayer a few times and see what jumps out at you . What has it made you think about? Has it given you any fresh insights on your prayer life? Journal your thoughts and feelings.
Activity 4
For this week just make a commitment to pray, the way you usually pray, for a given time each day. Think about the points above and try to establish a prayer routine for the coming weeks, where can put whatever time you can aside to pray.
At the end of the first week - Reflect
Record in your journal ​
1. How did you find the week? Easy? Difficult? Somewehre in between? Why?
2. What have you leant about your prayer life this week?
3. Have you developed a routine for your prayer time? Do you need to?
4. Have you identified your barriers to prayer? If so have you thought about how you can overcome them?
5. Write down any other thoughts or reflections of the first week.
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