Guidance in Prayer
Spiritual direction is “help given by one Christian to another which enables that person to pay attention to God’s personal communication to him or her, to respond to this personally communicating God, to grow in intimacy with this God, and to live out the consequences of the relationship.” (William A. Barry and William J. Connolly, The Practice of Spiritual Direction)
For those interested in Spiritual Direction a good introduction is Fr Thomas Dubay’s book “Seeking Spiritual Direction – Growing the Divine Life Within” 
Weeks of Guided Prayer
(WGPs) have been adapted from the Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius Loyola. Father William Barry, Jesuit, says in a commentary on the spiritual exercises, “whether we are aware of it or not, at every moment of our existence we are encountering God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, who is trying to catch our attention, trying to draw us into a reciprocal, conscious relationship with Himself.”
In a WGP you will need to set aside
- a time for personal prayer each day (usually 30 minutes),
- there will be a daily meeting with the prayer-guide/prayer companion.
- guidance in various ways of prayer, particularly in imaginative contemplation and ‘lectio divina’.
It is also possible for Weeks of Guided Prayer to be adapted according to need, e.g. meeting your guide weekly rather than daily.
Weeks of Guided prayer –
The Daily Examen
The Examen is an ancient practice in the Church that can help us to prayerfully reflect on the events of the day with the purpose of becoming more aware of the ways in which God has been present to you, the times when the Holy Spirit was drawing you towards life.
The Examen has also been adapted for for children and young adults.