Frequently Asked Questions

Week / Month of Guided Prayer is an independent ministry offered through a non-profit Missouri corporation formed for that purpose. The ministry is performed out of the community of prayer guides.

This ministry is ecumenical, and frankly, when speaking one-on-one with a prayer guide about your personal relationship with God, the distinctions that come with various denominations and theological views rarely enter into the conversation.  Most, but not all, of the prayer guides are Roman Catholic.

Sr. Mary Funge, a member of the Society of Helpers religious order, brought the Week of Guided Prayer to St. Louis in 1995. Mary was introduced to this retreat format in Liverpool, England in 1991 and over a period of two years served in eight such retreats. Returning to the United States in 1993, Mary spent a year in Chicago and organized six Weeks of Guided Prayer in that area. Just by chance, she made a trip to St. Louis, where she became acquainted with the Bridges Program (the 19th Annotation, retreat in everyday life, of the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola). Impressed with the many people who had experienced Bridges, as well as the follow up training program “Prayer Companions,” Mary quickly decided to move to St. Louis. Joined with many of these Prayer Companions, Mary led about 35 Week of Guided Prayer retreats in a variety of parishes, as well as three retreats for women in prison, over the next ten years.

In 2003, Mary met Clarence Heller, who was at that time studying at Aquinas Institute of Theology pursuing a Masters in Pastoral Studies and a Certificate in Spiritual Direction. Mary invited Clarence to join with this community of prayer guides by serving in some of the Weeks of Prayer. About a year later, Mary invited Clarence to take over as the coordinator of this ministry and Clarence happily accepted. After an apprentice year, Clarence assumed full responsibility as coordinator of this ministry in the summer of 2005. Since that time, the number of prayer guides in the community has grown (many of them graduates of the Aquinas Institute spiritual direction program), the month long retreat format was introduced, the number of retreats has been increased to seven per year, and the ecumenical aspect of this ministry was strengthened.

The Week of Guided Prayer actually originated in Canada. John Veltri, SJ was asked by Bishop Remi de Roo of Victoria to put “something” together for loggers in the woods whereby they could pray during the course of their busy lives. Later, John decided to adapt this to parishes, composing a manual in 1984 entitled “Week of Directed Prayer in a Church Setting.” That manual was updated in 1997 and is still freely offered online today.

Our retreat ministry is an organic one. Although its roots go back to the work of John Veltri, SJ and it evolved through the love and dedication of Mary Funge, SH and her fellow Prayer Companions, it continues to grow and adapt to those we seek to serve.

No, however registration is encouraged at least nine days prior to the start of a retreat. This is because prayer guides need to be arranged for the retreatants (each prayer guide typically accompanies two to three retreatants). Retreatants often register after this suggested date (on a few occasions some have simply shown up at the opening session), and with a very rare exception, we are able to accommodate them. Understandably though, registering sooner rather than later facilitates planning for the retreat.

Most of the prayer guides are lay persons and a fair number are vowed religious sisters. Many of the prayer guides currently or previously served as Prayer Companions in the Bridges Program (refer to the question about the history of our program), and many of the prayer guides have certificates in spiritual direction or other graduate-level formation from institutions such as the Aquinas Institute of Theology. (Bridges has its own formation program for Prayer Companions.) All guides have some form of formation/training appropriate to this ministry. Most importantly, however, is that the ability to companion another in a setting such as this retreat is a gift of the Holy Spirit. Certification in itself is not adequate without the gift. Further, those with this gift have a responsibility to undertake formation (both initially and ongoing) to develop this gift. The Week of Guided Prayer, in addition to numerous other entities supporting the ministries of retreats and spiritual direction, offers various opportunities for this ongoing formation. Prayer guides are not allowed to serve in their own church/parish, nor may companion someone they know.

The most important part of this retreat is the retreatant’s private prayer time each day. During the one-on-one meetings with the prayer guide, the retreatant brings his/her experiences of what happened during the prayer times, as well as other life events and experiences relevant to his/her relationship with God. During these private sessions, the prayer guide typically is much more of a listener and companion than a teacher or sharer of wisdom. By reflecting back to the retreatant what is heard, by asking an open ended question, by sitting together in silent prayer, or in various other ways, the prayer guide can often help the retreatant listen more deeply to what God wishes to communicate, as well as help the retreatant get more in touch with what s/he wishes to communicate to God. All of this occurs under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Another important source of guidance is the specific, unique deep desire for this retreat provided by the retreatant to the prayer guide. With God’s grace, the feedback about the retreatant’s desires and experiences during the retreat, and the knowledge of the prayer guide, suggestions (“guidance”) bubble up to the prayer guide before, during, and after the one-on-one sessions regarding specific techniques, Scripture passages, and other materials that may be helpful for each particular retreatant to employ. All suggestions are given in freedom, i.e. the retreatant may choose to use them or not.

Yes, unless something quite exceptional occurs. The best example of this exception is that your prayer guide becomes seriously ill or has some sort of emergency situation during the retreat, in which case you would be paired with another guide.

Yes, but there is no guarantee that this request can be satisfied due to other factors such as the number of men/women available to serve as guides on a particular retreat (most prayer guides are women), the time of day you are requesting versus the time of day the particular guides are available, etc.

It is amazing how many times the retreatants and prayer guides remark about how well they are matched with each other. The simple reason for this is that God is at work. There are several factors that guide the pairing process, but the underlying factor is that this is done in prayer. Other factors include the time of day you request to meet with a prayer guide. For instance, if you request to meet during the afternoons, then that narrows you down to only those prayer guides available in the afternoons. Another factor is that the same guide may not accompany two people who have close relationships. For example, a husband and wife or a mother and daughter would have different guides. Another factor is that a guide may not companion someone they know. Finally, it comes down to matching names of retreatants (and often that is all that I know) with a particular prayer guide. In and through this process, God works.

This has happened only one time over the past five years, representing about 600 retreatants. If you feel this is the case, by all means, tell the retreat coordinator and you will be given the option of being paired with a different prayer guide. In the particular instance cited above, the retreatant considered this option and decided to continue with the original prayer guide for the duration of the retreat.

Do the retreat anyway. If you know this at the time of registration, please include the time you will miss on the registration form because this can help with our planning. The most important part of the retreat is your personal prayer time each day, even though the one-on-one meetings with the prayer guides can also be quite helpful. If you know in advance that you will have to miss more than one session with your prayer guide, we suggest that you consider participating in one of our other retreats offered later in the year.

No problem. This happens sometimes, and although it is better if you can attend the opening session, it is not essential to the retreat experience. It is helpful if we know this at the time you register.

No problem. This happens sometimes, and if you tell us before your last session with your prayer guide, we will give you then the materials that ordinarily are distributed at the closing session. Some retreatants find the closing session their favorite part of the retreat, so attendance is encouraged.

We have two. First, as much as practical, try to clear your calendar for the period of the retreat. This will make it easier to find the time for your personal prayer. To be clear however, it is a retreat in everyday life, so there is no need to schedule vacation or put your life on hold. Integrating your prayer and experiences of God during this retreat with the rest of your life is one of the beautiful aspects of this retreat format. Second, start praying for three graces: openness, courage, and generosity.

There is no registration fee for this retreat, but free will donations are accepted. Regarding donation amount, we suggest that you wait toward the end of the retreat before deciding, and that you consider the following:

1. How much can I afford to donate?
2. How much was this retreat worth to me?
3. The average cost for each retreatant is estimated to be $46.

Donations can be given to the retreat coordinator, cash or check made out to Week (or Month) of Guided Prayer. Your support is greatly appreciated.