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 When a candidate is ready to make a more serious commitment to the application process, he is asked to participate in a 5-8 day discernment retreat. This silent, directed retreat is based on the Spiritual Exercises, and is usually done at one of the province retreat houses. The candidate spends 5-8 days in silent prayer guided by a retreat director with whom he meets each day. The retreat helps to confirm the candidate's decision to apply to the Society, and it gives him an opportunity to experience the type of prayer and spiritual direction that is integral to the first year of novitiate when each novice participates in the full 30 day Spiritual Exercises.
In addition to the discernment retreat, all candidates are asked to participate in regular, monthly spiritual direction sessions. Spiritual direction is an ongoing conversation between a director and a person wishing to have a deeper relationship with God. In the conversation the person tells the director of recent prayer experiences. A spiritual director might ask questions like: "What happens when you pray?" "What is God like for you?" "What do you want or desire from God when you pray?" Spiritual direction helps a candidate to become more aware of his relationship with God, more attentive to God's communications, and more articulate about his experience.
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