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Religion/Christian Living

In Encounter Grace, bestselling author and Ignatian spiritual director Becky Eldredge invites you to discover the sacred in the everyday. Drawing on more than two decades of ministry and her own personal experiences, Becky offers heartfelt reflections grounded in Ignatian spirituality, each one a reminder that God longs to be in relationship with you.

Whether you are sipping your morning coffee, winding down before bed, or finding a quiet moment in your busy day, this book is here to support you as you embrace the gift of your inner chapel. Let this be your invitation to step away from the noise, enter sacred stillness, and encounter the grace that is waiting for you.

ENCOU NTER GR ACE

With warmth and clarity, Becky guides you into your own “inner chapel,” that quiet, interior space where God is always present. Through short readings, simple prayer practices, and reflection prompts, Encounter Grace becomes a trusted companion for anyone navigating life’s transitions, looking for a gentle aid for daily prayer, or experiencing feelings of spiritual restlessness.

ELDREDGE

Where is God in your busy life? Right here—waiting to encounter you.

Encounter Grace MOMENTS of HOPE, JOY, and PEACE

BECKY ELDREDGE is an Ignatian-trained spiritual director, retreat facilitator, and founder of Ignatian Ministries. She helps others create space to connect faith and daily life and is passionate about teaching people how to pray. Becky lives in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where she shares life with her husband and three children. ISBN: 978-0-8294-6060-5 $15.99 U.S.

BECKY ELDREDGE

Author of Busy Lives & Restless Souls and The Inner Chapel

Encounter Grace MOMENTS of HOPE, JOY, and PEACE

BECKY ELDREDGE

Author of Busy Lives & Restless Souls and The Inner Chapel

Copyright © 2026 Becky Eldredge All rights reserved. Text in this book comes from The Inner Chapel: Embracing the Promises of God published by Loyola Press, Chicago, IL, 2020. All rights reserved. The Scripture quotations contained herein cited are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1993 and 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Cover art credit: polygraphus/iStock/Getty Images, Lilett/iStock/Getty Images, Shutterstock/GoodStudio Author photo: Camille Delaune ISBN: 978-0-8294-6060-5 Library of Congress Control Number: 2025942835 Published in Chicago, IL Printed in the United States of America 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 31 32 33 Versa 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age. —Matthew 28:20

A Note to Readers Dear Friend, I invite you to join me in exploring the beautiful gift of the inner chapel, where God resides within each of us. This sacred space is where we come to understand our longing for God and recognize God’s deep longing to be in relationship with us. In this small book, you’ll find brief passages and questions for reflection, prayer, and journaling, each designed to help you connect with God in your everyday life. Whether you’re sipping your morning coffee, winding down before bed, or finding a quiet moment amid your busy day, this book is here to support you in embracing the gift of your inner chapel. When we can embrace the gift of our inner chapel, we discover an ever-present source of hope, joy, and peace that comes from a profound connection with God. Peace, Becky

An Invitation to Deeper Waters I can imagine Jesus standing with us on the beach, pointing into the ocean of endless possibilities of our relationship with God and asking us, “Are you ready to go into the waters? Do you want to go deeper?” Even though Jesus is right there with us, pointing the way, it is also as if the ocean of spiritual possibility beckons us to enter, awakening in us that same desire to put out into the deep as the ocean does my kids when they swim. It reminds me of the line in the Psalms, “Deep calls to deep” (Psalm 42:7). This beckoning and searching we feel is the Holy Spirit inviting us and drawing us ever deeper into our relationship with God. This deep-down desire is just one of many indications that God longs for us. What does it mean to put out into the deep when it comes to your spiritual life? What might it mean for you personally to accept this invitation?

Encounter Grace

Always Accompanied There are two important things for us to remember about this invitation from Jesus to enter the waters of faith. First, he never leaves our side. We are always accompanied by him. Second, he is always inviting us to go deeper, eventually drawing us into water where we can no longer touch the bottom, and we are invited to even go under and swim in the quiet waters below the surface. No matter where we are in our faith journey, there is more to learn and explore in our relationship with God. When are you most aware of Jesus being at your side? How might Jesus be drawing you into the deeper waters of faith?

Becky Eldredge

The Unending Hunger During college, I would attend a retreat or event that filled my tank and fueled my hunger for God even more. I would return home, and days later the crash would hit, and I found myself lost, aimless, and searching again. There was a hunger in me that felt as if it could never be satisfied, despite my efforts to grow my relationship with God through continued attendance at various programs. Maybe you feel like this now or have felt it in the past. Reflect on a time when you felt fired up because of a spiritual event, only to lose your enthusiasm soon afterward. What hunger did you feel then, and are you experiencing a similar hunger now? How might God be speaking to you in this?

Encounter Grace

Finding Strength Within The greatest comfort and hope of my life is this gift of the inner chapel. Without it, I would be lost and still searching like crazy for the next thing to bring me a spiritual high or the next thing to satisfy my longing. My strength is within. It’s not my willpower or my personal drive or gumption, but someone: God within me, who is readily available at any given moment. Here, in my inner chapel, I meet God and experience the promises that come with this ever-deepening relationship. Why is our inner chapel such a comfort and source of hope? What does it mean to you to know that your inner strength comes not from a personal attribute or an aspect of your personality but rather from God?

Becky Eldredge

The Inner Chapel The gift of the inner chapel is within each one of us. It is a place where we can come to understand not only our longing for God but also God’s longing to be in relationship with us. We each have an inner chapel, a space within us where God resides. This means that at any point in our day we have a sacred space where we can pause for prayer. It is a space to which only you and God have access. This means we can call on God at any moment, no matter what we are doing. It is where we meet God, get to know Jesus, and learn the ways the Holy Spirit works in our lives. When, where, and how do you typically enter, or access, your inner chapel? When have you sensed God’s longing to be in relationship with you?

Encounter Grace

The Legacy of Faith The legacy of men and women leaning on the strength of their inner chapels to grow in relationship with God continues from Jesus to the apostles and the early church, to the long array of saints who went before us. They leave us glimpses of their wisdom about how to access and draw on the resources of the inner chapel. We learn from St. Catherine of Siena’s image of the inner cell, St. Teresa of Ávila’s wisdom in the interior castle, and St. Thérèse of Lisieux sharing how “Jesus teaches me in secret” and how “the Kingdom of God is within me at each moment.” Can you name someone you either know about or know personally who consistently draws strength from their inner chapel? What might you learn from them about tapping into your inner chapel?

Becky Eldredge

Hope in God’s Promises I believe there is a need more than ever to invite people to embrace the inner chapel and encourage people to grow an intimate relationship with God. Rather than forget the promises of God, our world needs to cling to them as never before. The good news is not only that the promises of God exist but also that we can go to our inner chapels every day, despite our own busyness and the world’s chaos, and meet God within us. In what ways do you cling to the promises of God? What experiences are most likely to draw you into your inner chapel? What changes can you make in your daily life that will facilitate a close relationship with God?

Encounter Grace

A Recipe for Prayer Learning how to pray can feel much like learning how to make crawfish étouffée. There is not one secret recipe. You learn a few foundational basics, and then you learn to taste, tweak, and season based on where God has you on your faith journey. How has your recipe for prayer changed over the course of your life? What has remained constant?

Becky Eldredge

The Trinity of Prayer In Louisiana cooking, many dishes, such as crawfish étouffée, begin with the “trinity”—onion, celery, and bell pepper. From these three ingredients, a wide array of Cajun dishes is made: gumbo, jambalaya, crawfish étouffée, red beans and rice, and shrimp creole, among many others. In our prayer lives, there is a “trinity” that is essential as well: our time of prayer, our place of prayer, and our space of prayer. If we want to access the resources of the inner chapel, we need to lean into an intentional prayer time. Do you lean into an intentional prayer time? Reflect on your trinity of prayer essentials. What is your time for prayer? Where is your place of prayer? How do you create a personal space for prayer?

Encounter Grace

Different Paths There is an expansive list of prayer methods that we can bring into our foundational prayer time. Each is distinctive and offers a special way of relating to God. Part of our work of going to our inner chapel every day is discerning which prayer method God is inviting us to use. What have been your favorite prayer methods over the course of your life of prayer? How do these methods help you relate to God? Do they still work well for you now?

Becky Eldredge

Awareness Once in your prayer place, intentionally place yourself in the presence of God. Take a few deep breaths. As you breathe in and out slowly, remind yourself that you are never alone, and that God is with you right now. What do you do to transition into your prayer experience? What helps you become more aware of God’s presence? What interferes with your ability to connect with God?

Encounter Grace

Seeking Grace St. Ignatius invites us to name the grace we seek at the start of every prayer period. After placing yourself in the presence of God, simply go to God with the question, What is the grace I seek? Notice what word arises in your mind and heart. Are you seeking rest? Peace? Clarity? Courage? Hope? Light? Love? Mercy? And on and on the list might go. When a word arises in your thoughts, turn this into a prayer: “God, as I begin, I seek the grace of __________.” Then begin your prayer time using the prayer method God is inviting you to use at the moment. Ask yourself: What is the grace I am seeking at this moment? How can I turn a desire for a grace into a prayer?

About the Author Becky Eldredge is an Ignatian-trained spiritual director, retreat facilitator, and writer who is passionate about helping people live and lead with Christ. She is the founder of Ignatian Ministries, a nonprofit ministry that supports people seeking a deeper relationship with Christ by offering retreats, prayer and discernment resources, and community. Becky accompanies clergy, religious, and lay leaders through the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, retreats, spiritual direction, and various professional development programs focused on the interior life. She is part of the teaching staff at the Archdiocese of New Orleans Spirituality Center, where she trains spiritual directors in the Ignatian tradition. Becky is the author of two award-winning books, The Inner Chapel and Busy Lives & Restless Souls. She lives in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, with her husband Chris and their three children, Brady, Abby, and Mary.

Religion/Christian Living

ENCOU NTER GR ACE

ELDREDGE

Where is God in your busy life? Right here—waiting to encounter you.

Encounter Grace MOMENTS of HOPE, JOY, and PEACE

BECKY ELDREDGE

Author of Busy Lives & Restless Souls and The Inner Chapel

Encounter Grace: Moments of Hope, Joy, and Peace