Praise from Past Retreatants

What did you find helpful during this retreat?

• Thinking of God as a friend.  A God to sit down and talk with. Also meditation - sitting quietly and listening to what God had to say.
• It allowed me to explore various ways of praying and helped me firmly establish a daily prayer routine.
• With my guide’s help I slowed my mind down first and then made the commitment to focus and pray. I experienced such an awakening and soooo much of God’s love pouring out to me that I wept a lot!  I can’t tell you how much this has changed my thinking and my life. I am so grateful!
• The prayer handouts, the actual prayer, the discipline, the meetings with my prayer guide.Telling us to think about being on retreat each day. Practicing with the guide – meditative prayer.
• Having gone through Bridges, I was expecting a very abbreviated version of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. I was pleasantly surprised that my guide took me where I was and didn't try to fit me into the Exercises in the structured format we had in Bridges. He took me right where I was and let the Spirit lead us to what I needed to pray over at this point in my life. I found that extremely helpful and I am grateful. I addressed some things in prayer that wouldn't have fit in a pre-ordained Ignatian format, and I'm glad my guide was flexible enough to follow the Spirit.
• I think I will discover the benefits of this retreat as time goes by. I liked being “plucked” in and out of my daily routine to draw closer to God.
• The human connection of another Christian in sharing thoughts and feelings. I felt spiritually rejuvenated throughout the week because of the prayerful respite in my daily routine.
• I found it helpful to be exposed to different types of prayers – opened up new avenues for me to pursue in my relationship with God. Most of all I appreciated the one on one time with my guide. The openness that we experienced with one another helped me to experience the intimacy that I realize God wants to have with me and that I too long for.
• The printed prayers and booklets; the suggestion to use something to remind me during the day about being on retreat; I wore a bracelet and it was very helpful.
• Focus upon prayer as a tool to hear God’s reply. Strategies to show the way were key. Thank you for answering the “what next?” question.
• Learning how to read the Scriptures in a more personal context (rather than historical). I liked the poems that my guide photocopied for me – this introduced me to some inspiring writers.
• The daily routine. It kept me focused and on task. My own prayer time offered some things, but then to meet with my guide later and tie those thoughts together, or consider a new idea was the biggest blessing.
• Knowing I had to meet daily with my guide made me accountable – and insured that I made time for the 30 minutes of daily prayer, even if I didn’t think I had time I found myself scheduling it into my day, just like any other obligation. That was good!
• The idea of taking a portion of the Bible and immersing myself in it as if I were there. Then I was to see what I thought applied to my life.
• Being able to talk to someone each day about my struggles and issues, and have my guide understand and help me with praying about them.
• Keeping my home silent and the environment more prayerful! I never thought of being on retreat at home.
• Learned that the Lord really loves and accepts me as I am – I really accepted that realization thinking as a parent (me) with a child (my own children).
• Being able to select the best time for me daily. Assignments for next day. To discover Jesus is always with me!

Do you have any comments regarding your prayer guide?

• She was wonderful! Asked very thought provoking questions, tied my thoughts together, challenged me, a great listener. I will always remember this special week because of her.
• It was like my guide could read my mind – his attunement was amazing.
• My guide was another messenger in my life. The guidance from her was a gift to me.
• I feel God matched my prayer guide and me perfectly. She was a wonderful spiritual role model, always calm, and an excellent listener with good suggestions. I hope to continue with her maybe once a month.
• Excellent. My guide was very centered and relaxed as we met. I felt very listened to and knew that his words to me came from the Spirit. He didn’t come with an agenda, was able to go with the flow and meet me where I was. His own life experiences that were shared with me helped me to connect. Truly felt God matched us up!
• Drew out gifts that I take for granted.
• I appreciated her quietness.
• I appreciated my guide’s acceptance. Her clear focus on developing a relationship with God by attending to my feelings during prayer time and being open to God’s response are were helpful. Repetition helped as did her insights.
• It was a great match. My guide was able to listen to my “energy” and returned the next day with additional responses to my questions. He let me explore and express. The guidance about “showing up and committing to developing a relationship” rang true.
• My guide was very good for me. Before we began I thought my guide was going to do most of the talking/lecture, but this was not the case. She was able to ask questions that made me think, remember, talk, write, but without pressure. She was a blessing to me. I’m thankful to have had her and I hope each retreatant felt that God chose the very best guide just for them.
• Excellent, engendered trust, exceptionally easy to open up to, brought relevant experiences to bear, lead well. I sensed that he was focused on me – a good friend and guide.
• What a blessing my guide was to me. Very comfortable to be with, gave me many ways to come closer to Jesus. I was able to open up and share things with my guide that I haven’t been able to before. This brought healing for me. What a gift our prayer time was. My guide has such a deep relationship with Jesus, and shared this with me – the scripture readings she gave me were so handpicked by God. What a Blessing. I am going to continue to meet with her.
• Perfect. We clicked – even though I was not sure we would. God’s grace was certainly evident.
• My prayer guide was kind and gentle and created a safe environment for a very personal experience.
• My prayer guide was a gift from God this week. She shared spiritual knowledge and insights while gently questioning me and helping me share my experience of God’s powerful presence. She helped guide me on a journey to deepen my love relationship with God, which was my goal.