On Holy Ground: Guided Prayer - A Handbook and Practical Companion

On Holy Ground: Guided Prayer - A Handbook and Practical Companion

On Holy Ground: Guided Prayer - A Handbook and Practical Companion

On Holy Ground: Guided Prayer - A Handbook and Practical Companion

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Overview

Guided prayer is one of the main tools of spiritual direction and a popular focus for many retreats. Based on the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola, its aim is to help people make good choices that enable them to live in freedom before God. Prayerful reading of the scriptures and helping to interpret readers' reactions (which can be revealing) are its basic methods. This book explains the 'nuts and bolts' of this key aspect of spiritual direction.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781853118661
Publisher: Hymns Ancient & Modern
Publication date: 04/15/2008
Pages: 144
Product dimensions: 6.00(w) x 8.50(h) x 8.00(d)

About the Author

ANITA WOODWELL sgs is a parish priest in the Church in Wales and a spiritual director with over 20 years' experience. She has trained many clergy in spiritual direction and is a popular retreat giver at St Beuno's, the UK's centre for Ignatian spirituality, and elsewhere. She is Vocations Director for the Diocese of Monmouth and a founding member of an Anglican religious order, the Sisters of the Good Shepherd.

Table of Contents


Acknowledgements     viii
Foreword     ix
Introduction     xi
Some Fundamental Prerequisities for Prayer Guidance     1
Essential Characteristics for Prayer Guides     2
Skills Needed for Prayer Guidance     3
Essential Abilities to Develop     4
Disciplines Needed by Prayer Guides     5
Ongoing Support and Development     9
A Sacred Duty     9
The Dynamic of Ignatian Prayer Guidance     10
Dispelling Some Myths     11
A Fourfold Dynamic     13
The Week of Guided Prayer     14
The Structure of the Week of Guided Prayer     14
Other Forms of Individually Guided Retreats     16
Group Guidance     17
A Privileged Task     18
The Teaching Role of a Prayer Guide     19
Introducing Listening Prayer     20
Teaching Lectio Divina     24
Teaching Imaginative Contemplation     28
Explaining the Purpose of the Guidance Session     35
Teaching Basic Discernment     36
Teaching about Distractions in Prayer     39
Teaching Perseverance in Prayer     41
Teaching the Use of Examen     43
Teaching in the Context of a Guidance Session     44
Imparting Wisdom from on High     45
Listening Skills Appropriate to Prayer Guidance     46
The Nature of Prayer Guidance     47
The Basic Components of a Guidance Session     49
Guidelines for Listening and Affirmation     51
A Contemplative Role     53
The Art of Discernment in the Context of Prayer Guidance     54
Some Basics of Discernment     55
Consolation and Desolation     57
Identifying That Which Is of God     59
Recognizing and Dealing With What Is Not of God     61
Facilitating a Sound Decision     64
Sifting and Winnowing     67
Intervention and Exploration Skills     68
The Purpose of Interventions     69
Some Guidelines for Interventions     71
The Purpose of Exploration     73
Some Guidelines for Exploration     74
Sanctified Interest     75
Identifying and Summing up the Heart of a Prayer Experience     76
Emotional Reactions at the Heart of the Experience     77
The Visual at the Heart of the Experience     80
The Other Senses at the Heart of the Experience      81
The Intellect at the Heart of the Experience     81
Other Signs to Look for     82
Identifying the Heart of the Experience     82
Summing Up     83
Treasure Hunting     84
Choosing and Presenting Biblical Texts     85
The Purpose of Praying with Biblical Texts     86
The Universal Dynamic of Spiritual Growth     87
Some Guidelines for Choosing Texts     89
Some Guidelines for Presenting Texts     93
Proposing a 'Grace to Pray For'     94
Food for the Journey     95
Dealing with Potentially Difficult Situations     96
Basic Guidelines for Dealing With Difficult Situations     97
Situations Reflecting the Attitude or Mental State of the Person     98
Situations to Do With Method     103
Other Situations     107
Making the Rough Ways Smooth     113
Appendices     114
Practical Guidelines for Running a Week of Guided Prayer     114
Guidelines for Distinguishing the Creative from the Destructive   Gerard W. Hughes SJ     116
Some Guidelines for Discerning How Best to Serve God     118
Some Scripture Passages Suitable for Prayer      121
Reported Prayer Experiences on Which to Practise     125
Suggested Responses to the Prayer Experiences in Appendix 5     131
Some Guidelines for Ongoing Spiritual Guidance     136
Materials and Suggestions for Further Reading     139
Index     141
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