Is Spiritual Direction available during private individual retreats? What role does it play?
Directed retreats may take a variety of formats. There are structured retreats such as the 8-day Ignation retreat which is centered around use of the Ignation Exercises. There are 5-day retreats which, while they also work with Scripture, are more adaptble to an individual’s particular prayer style. There are also private individual retreats of shorter duration during which a person sets her or his own rhythm of prayer. Spiritual Directors during these retreats work with the individual to companion them on their retreat. A retreatant may choose to meet with a director at the beginning and end of their retreat, or daily. In the case of structured retreats there are daily meetings during which the director helps guide the retreatant through the retreat exercises. In less structured retreats the director works with the retreatant to identify the goals they have for their retreat. Using a combination of listening skills and knowledge of retreat patterns and exercises, the director helps th
