We begin with the sign of the cross, In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Examine your conscience and feel sorry for your sins. (Take a few minutes. In silence, remember and feel sorry for your sins, and think of ways you will amend your life.)

Pray the Act of Contrition.

Prayer is our relationship with God. To advance in our spiritual life, we need our prayers to be effective prayers. Imagine you’re praying for hours every day, reciting prayers that you have memorised or prayers from a book. However, your mind wanders away while you pray. You may want to hurry with your prayers so that you can feel you have accomplished praying for the day. Such prayer does not move the heart of God and is ineffective prayer. And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words (Mt 6:7)

St Teresa of Avila discovered the secret to prayer after struggling for years with it. According to St Teresa of Avila, to pray effectively is to pray with our mind, our heart, and give our entire attention to Jesus. Vocal prayer involves not just reciting the prayer but engaging our mind and heart to what we are saying. This is developed by practices, and more so when our heart, our mind, and soul is moved by the love of God. St Teresa instructs us not to address God when we are thinking of other things. When we are praying, God deserves our complete attention. Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart (Colossians 4:2).

To grow in prayer, repent of all your sins. Let your vocal pray include mental and affective prayer. This way you will advance from one prayer level to another, instantaneously. St Teresa also states that humility is a key virtue to advance in prayer. When we grow in virtues, we advance in prayer. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil (1 Peter 3:12)

To learn about the 9 stages of prayer, study the teachings of St Teresa of Avila.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end, Amen.

To receive abundance of graces during this retreat, you can choose to do any of the following daily:

Attend the Holy Mass daily.

Pray the Rosary.

Pray the Chaplet of the Divine Mercy.                                                

Pray and meditate on the Way of the Cross.                                      

Pray at least 15 minutes in front of the Blessed Sacrament.

Read the bible and mediate on scripture for at least 15 minutes.

Pray the Litany of Humility.                                                                 

Invite others to join this retreat, as a family or as a group.

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