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What is a week of
accompanied prayer?
(Also known as Week of Guided
Prayer)
The
Week of Accompanied Prayer is the way of making a
directed retreat in the midst o daily living and is
usually ecumenical. It is such a simple structure and it
can easily be used in a church setting. And it works!
This format is based on the retreatant making a half hour
prayer period of Scripture each day and meeting with a
prayer guide (on a one to one basis) for half an hour
each day. Retreatants make their prayer exercise at home
and come to the church appointed to see their prayer
guide for half an our Monday through to Friday. (Home
visits can be arranged for the housebound.) On the
beginning Sunday and closing Saturday there is a group
session.
The
structure of the Week of Accompanied Prayer is
very simple. Imagine a parish setting. There is an
ecumenical team of trained prayer guides (also known as
prayer companions) who are lay persons, clergy and
religious and there are the retreatants who have signed
up for this experience. They range widely in their
expectation and desire but they have all come because
they want to deepen their prayer life or to learn to pray
with Scripture. Everything has been pre-organised. The
church is set up with prayer places available, tea room
organized, (where retreatants can meet each other on a
daily basis before or after seeing their prayer guide)
and the prayer guides have a list of their retreatants.
Both the retreatants and prayer guides know what time
their daily sessions will take place.
OPENING
SESSION Sunday Evening
The goal of this session is to
meet one another, to introduce the prayer guides, to get
started to give some tips on prayer, to attend to last
minute organization, to SET THE TONE, to begin to create
a community of prayer. Guided examples of praying with
Scripture will be given. During this session prayer
guides meet their retreatants, check interview times,
agree a scripture passage for prayer the following day
and become familiar with their church prayer place. By
the end of this session all the participants are
motivated to pray for half an our each day, have their
Scripture text and have a fairly good idea of how to go
about it.
WEEKDAY
SESSIONS Monday through to Friday
Each retreatant comes back to the
church daily at the time and place previously arranged to
meet their prayer guide for half an hour. Prayer guides
will listen without interrupting and gently help and
affirm retreatants in listening to the living God. They
will suggest and guide regarding how the prayer time can
be spent the following day. The prayer material is based
on Scripture which will be given by the prayer guide with
the agreement of the retreatant and will be related to
the retreatant’s life. Prayer guides will NOT
counsel, nor advise or instruct.
CLOSING
SESSION Saturday Morning
a)
‘round off’ and to appropriate the experience
of the week
b)
give some tips for the future
c)
help establish or continue the boding development of a
community of prayer
d)
suggest some resources that are available for a life of
prayer
e)
CELEBRATE
Based on ‘Directed Retreat
Goes to Parish’ by John Veltri SJ – adapted by
Anne Rees