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The Retreat in Daily Life is an online, individually guided retreat, run over the course of a week. In this time of uncertainty for so many, a spiritual guide can help you find a new path. Would you like to make more time to pray, but aren't sure where to start? Do you want to spend more time with God and reflect on your life's path? Perhaps you would like some time out from a busy, full life for some quieter time? Or have you wondered about going on retreat but not got round to it because life gets in the way? Then the Retreat in Daily Life online is for you. As the Retreat in Daily Life is individually guided and tailored to the experience of the individual, it is equally suitable for those with some retreat experience and also for beginners with little or no experience of retreat. The Retreat in Daily Life is a Christian retreat and will use the Christian Scriptures as a basis for prayer and meditation.
The Retreat in Daily Life starts with an introductory meeting on Zoom for all the participants and retreat guides. Prior to this meeting, we will match you up with a retreat guide who will arrange your individual online meeting times for each day, Monday to Friday, at a time that works for you. These sessions usually last 20-30 minutes. You can do the retreat alongside your daily life, while making some time for prayer each day (we suggest finding 30-minutes for prayer each day). The retreat ends with a closing session online for all participants. Each evening (7.00-8.00pm) there will an optional prayer workshop on different aspects and techniques of prayer and meditation. We also have lots of online resources to help you pray at home.
Our Retreats in Daily Life are very popular and we try to make them available to as many people as possible. Accordingly, we limit participation in this particular retreat to once a year. If you have questions about Retreat in Daily Life, please contact ljc@jesuit.org.uk.
On this page you will find all the information and resources you need to take part in the Retreat in Daily Life.
We suggest you do not try to go through all of this material at once but just look at the section you need for each day.
If you have any questions or need help, please contact ljc@jesuit.org.uk
The Retreat in Daily Life runs over the course of a week and is an opportunity for you to set aside some time for prayer and meditation each day, accompanied by an experienced retreat guide who will help you prepare the prayer and suggest ways of praying and material to pray with.
The whole retreat takes place online using the Zoom app. There is an opening and closing session, a daily individual meeting with your retreat guide, and optional workshops each evening.
You will be matched with your retreat guide before the retreat begins. Your guide will contact you to arrange your individual meeting times for Monday to Friday at a time that will work for you. You meet with your guide each day for between 20-30 minutes.
Each day you set aside some time, agreed with your guide but usually about 30-minutes, for prayer and meditation. The most important elements of the week are the time you spend in prayer and the conversations with your retreat guide.
To give you a sense of how the week flows, all participants and guides meet together for an introductory meeting on the Sunday (7.00-8.30pm).
Everyone on the retreat gathers for the Opening and Closing Sessions. The workshops are optional - you are welcome to join those you think will be helpful to you (more information on each workshop is given in the tabs below).
- Sunday 7.00-8.30pm - Opening Session
- Monday 7.00-8.00pm - Ways of Praying Workshop 1 (Lectio Divina)
- Tuesday 7.00-8.00pm - Ways of Praying Workshop 2 (The Examen of St Ignatius)
- Wednesday 7.00-8.00pm - Ways of Praying Workshop 3 (Praying with Art)
- Thursday 7.00-8.00pm - Ways of Praying Workshop 4 (Imaginative Contemplation)
- Friday 7.00-8.00pm - Closing Session
The guides for this retreat are all trained in the Christian spirituality of Saint Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556) and are part of the extended team at the London Jesuit Centre.
St Ignatius (1491-1556) committed his life to God when he discovered that God could be found in all things and that he could have a genuine encounter with the person of Jesus by entering into the gospel stories imaginatively.
The guides are a mixture of priests, members of Catholic religious orders (such as the Jesuits),and lay men and women, all of whom practice Ignatian Spirituality in their own lives.
A few days before the retreat begins your Retreat Guide will get in touch with you by email, using the email address you gave us when you enrolled on this retreat.
They will introduce themselves and give you a Zoom link and ID/Passcode for your daily meeting with them. Please note that this Zoom link is different from the one you will be sent for the Opening and Closing Sessions and workshops of the retreat.
Your retreat guide will suggest that you use some Scripture passages for prayer and reflection -so you need a Bible.
If you do not have a Bible with which you are familiar and comfortable, we would suggest a modern translation such as the Revised New Jerusalem Bible (RNJB).
You can also access the Jerusalem Bible online here:
This Retreat in Daily Life, like most courses and events at the London Jesuit Centre are offered free of charge.
However, we do invite a contribution to cover the cost of putting on the retreat and to make it as widely accessible as possible.
For the Retreat in Daily Life, we invite a contribution of between £50 and £150. This amount is calculated to be the actual cost of offering the retreat. We are a registered charity and a non-profit-making organization.
If you are able to give more to support the work of the London Jesuit Centre, that is very greatly appreciated. If you are able to afford less, or nothing at all, that is fine -you will always be welcome here.
You can make your contribution online here. It is quick and simple.
Or you can make a donation by bank transfer (please mark the transaction "RDL"):
Account Name: TRCP London Jesuit Centre -Donations
Sort Code: 30-65-41
Account No.: 43164960
International: IBAN GB03 LOYD 3065 4143 1649 60 or BIC: LOYDGB21682
The Retreat in Daily Life is run entirely online using the Zoom app.
If you are not familiar with Zoom, it is free to download and very easy to use. You can download the Zoom app here (download ZoomClient for Meetings).
The Zoom link for this retreat is here: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86959040845?pwd=NC9Hb2dVanYzdmZSeTdNK1pVcG9IQT09
or you can open your Zoom app and enter the Meeting ID 869 59040845 or Passcode 972345 or from the link at the top of this page
We will use the same Zoom link (or Meeting ID and Password) for all the group sessions of the retreat. Your retreat guide will give you a different Zoom link for your one-to-one sessions with them.
The Opening Session of the retreat is at 7.00pm on Sunday and will last about 90-minutes.
You should log onto the Zoom meeting about 5-minutes before it is due to start. You will see a message saying that you are waiting for the Zoom host (that's us) to admit you. We will then admit you to the group session and welcome you. Please note that all sessions will begin promptly on time.
It is useful to have a notepad and pen to hand for this session.
During the Opening Session, the Retreat Lead will introduce him/herself and the other members of the team. We will explain how the retreat works and what to expect from your individual private sessions with your Retreat Guide and the optional group workshops.
The Opening Session will include a time of prayer together. This is intended to help you into the retreat and give some pointers about how to become still and prayerful. This will be an experience of ways of entering into prayer that enable us to be more aware that God is there welcoming us with love. Of slowing down to be more present to the moment, of focusing on what it is that we most desire and being with God. Ending with ways in which we can reflect on our prayer time. You may find this structure of prayer helpful throughout the retreat.
At the Opening Session, you may be invited to share your hopes for the retreat - so you may wish to give this some thought beforehand. But it is entirely up to you to share on not - there will be no pressure to do so.
At the end of the Opening Session, you will go into a breakout room online (don't worry about how to do this - the technology is all done by us) with your Retreat Guide and the handful of other people that person is guiding. This is an opportunity to arrange the times you will have your individual daily meeting with your Retreat Guide and to ask any questions you have.
Stepping Stones to Prayer -a resource to accompany the Opening Session and your first times of prayer in this retreat
The heart of the Retreat in Daily Life is the time you set aside each day for prayer. Your retreat guide will discuss this with you. It is important to do what you can, not what you can't.
The Retreat in Daily Life is exactly what it says - prayer in the midst of busy lives. So don't worry if you are distracted, or tired, or things come up that have to be dealt with. Again, do what you can, not what you can't.
What will I talk about?
During the daily one-to-one online meeting with your retreat guide, you may talk about what is happening in your prayer time and this may touch on aspects of your day-to-day life. This is, after all, a retreat in daily life.
The guide will listen and offer ideas for prayer as you journey through the days of the retreat. They may also offer help with ways of praying. Each person’s retreat will be different. Your guide will listen to how God seems to be at work in your life and accompany you as you explore this further. Your guide will be used to listening to many different types of people. Don’t worry if you don’t know where to start. Your retreat will unfold according to who you are and where you find yourself at the time of the retreat.
We encourage you to set aside up to 30-minutes for prayer each day during the week; and also to do a review of each 24-hour period before you next meet with your Retreat Guide.
You might split the prayer time into two 15-minute periods. You may choose to have some time in each day in silence or you may simply build the retreat into your daily routine. The important thing is that you pray as you can and not as you can’t. You will have the opportunity to discuss what is right for you with your Retreat Guide.
You may already have established ways of praying and we encourage you to take the opportunity to try some new ways during this retreat. We will provide ideas to get you started in the Opening Meeting. The Jesuit website Pathways to God has a wealth of ideas to help you as you begin your retreat.
The London Jesuit Centre will use the information you provided to us to keep in touch with you during the retreat. You may also have agreed to receiving emails from time to time about LJC retreats, courses and events. We will keep your details safe and not share them with any other organization. You can unsubscribe at any time by emailing ljc@jesuit.org.uk'
The team of retreat guides will be supervised during the retreat so that high standards are maintained and guides are helped through any difficulties they may have. Please be assured that your privacy and confidentiality is maintained at all times. The guides do not discuss their individual retreatants.
Ways of Praying 1: Lectio Divina
Lectio divina or 'holy reading' is a traditional practice of praying with Scripture which helps us to slow down and truly take in the Word of God to us for our life today. This workshop will introduce the four stages of this form of prayer: Lectio, Meditatio, Oratio, Contemplatio (Reading, Repeating, Responding and Resting) and offer an experience of Lectio through praying Psalm 26. There will be an optional time of sharing for those who wish, towards the end of the hour.
Lectio Divina - a resource for Workshop 2
Ways of Praying 2: The Examen of St Ignatius
This workshop introduces the examen of St Ignatius - a cornerstone of Ignatian spirituality and a key to recognising God’s presence and movement in your everyday life. Even if you are familiar with the examen, there are always new insights into the fruits of this prayer.
The Examen of St Ignatius - a resource for Workshop 1
Examen: A Way to Pray each Day - a simple guide to the examen
Ways of Praying 3: Praying with Art
Images, like music, can move us beyond words, engaging our feelings and emotions at deep levels that we sometimes cannot express in any other way. This workshop will explore art as a way into prayer and offer a selection of images that can help with existing ways of praying, or become a new way of praying. No prior knowledge of art is required.
Two Images for Prayer (Chagall and Qi)
Praying with Art -a resource for Workshop 4
Ways of Praying 4: Imaginative Contemplation
maginative contemplation is a way of praying long associated with St Ignatius. It is a method of prayer which leads to encounter and experience of the person of Jesus in a deeply intimate way. Engaging with the gospels using our senses and imagination brings Jesus into the ‘here and now’ of my story and I come to know myself within his story. Through imaginative contemplation I come to know him rather than just know about him. This workshop will offer a guided imaginative contemplation.
Imaginative Contemplation -a resource for Workshop 3
The closing session begins at 7.00pm and will last about an hour.
Next Steps: Continuing Your Spiritual Journey - a resource for the closing session
Knowing what has been more helpful or less helpful to you in this retreat enables us to shape and sharpen retreats for the future. We would very much appreciate it if you would complete an evaluation of your retreat. Your response is not shared verbatim with your retreat guide – we give guides a general sense of how people found the retreat.
Please complete your evaluation online here
If there is anything you want to say which you would be uncomfortable putting on the evaluation form, please email the LJC Director, David Birchall SJ, ljcdirector@jesuit.org.uk
You should not contact your Retreat Guide after the retreat. The arrangement we have with those who agree to guide retreatants is that this work is for the duration of the retreat only. If, for some particular reason, you wish to get in touch with your Retreat Guide, please do this through the LJC Administrator and we will pass on your request. For the same reason you are asked to delete your retreat guide’s email and phone number from your laptop or phone, as they will yours.
You may find some of these resources helpful as you take your experience of retreat this week into your daily life.
Pray-as-you-go is a daily prayer podcast.
The London Jesuit Centre runs Saturday Afternoon Retreats online and also a session of Guided Prayer (first Thursdays 7.00-8.00pm).
PREGO is an online prayer group from St Beuno’s Jesuit Spirituality Centre based on the Sunday readings.
Michael Hansen SJ has put together four self-guided Ignatian retreats in his book [The First Spiritual Exercises]27.
St Beuno’sJesuit Spirituality Centre in north Wales offers a full programme of online and in-person retreats.
The Retreat Association's website is a good place to search for other retreat centres in the UK and Europe.
If you want to read more about Ignatian spirituality, What is Ignatian Spirituality? by David Fleming sj is an excellent and accessible introduction.
If you enjoy praying with art, the Christian Art website has many resources.
Fr Geoff Wheaton SJ has produced a number of YouTube videos on praying with art.
