Spiritual Director Training

Description:
The Institute of the Transfiguration is an initiative of the Archdiocese of Dubuque Adult Formation Office dedicated to providing an opportunity for deepening the spiritual lives of Catholics in the Archdiocese, and also training men and women to serve as Spiritual Directors. The Institute seeks to meet a need for more trained Spiritual Directors to be available to offer spiritual direction in the Archdiocese. 

Overview:
The first two-year program began in September of 2022. Sessions take place monthly on Saturdays from 8:30 AM - 2:30 PM, with assigned reading and writing to be done in-between. The program also includes multiple retreats. The dates and topics for both years of the program are listed below.

The program will be offered every two years, with the next cohort beginning in the Fall of 2024.

Location:
Mt. Mercy University, Cedar Rapids.

Cost:
The cost for the program is $800 per person, per year ($1,600 total for both years). This program fee does not include the costs of books, travel, or the Summer 2023 mid-program personal retreat. Payment for each year is due by the beginning of the program year.

Those who are pursuing this training on behalf of their parish, in order to serve their parish through the ministry of Spiritual Direction, may apply for financial assistance from Archdiocesan Grants, and/or may talk with their pastor to see if parish funds may be available to help offset the program costs. To inquire about Archdiocesan grants, please contact Matt Selby.

Participant Qualifications:
This spiritual formation and Spiritual Director training is most especially for priests, deacons and their wives, faith formation leaders, pastoral associates, and alumni of our Lay Formation and IMPACT Programs. To qualify, individuals must have had some previous formal formation in the Catholic faith (for example, seminary formation, diaconate formation, lay formation, IMPACT, a degree in theology, 5 years+ of ministry experience, or other formation that is comparable). It is preferable that you have a Spiritual Director whom you have been meeting with regularly prior to applying for the program.

Expectations of those Accepted into the Program:

• A commitment to a daily Personal Prayer Life (a minimum of 30 minutes for daily personal prayer time).
• A commitment to regular reception of the Sacraments of the Holy Eucharist and Confession, along with regular attendance at Mass.
• A commitment to participating in all retreats and all monthly sessions (exceptions can be made for some circumstances, like illness, the death of a loved one, or pre-planned travel, in which case you must watch the recordings of the session content).
• A commitment to completing the required reading, reflection papers, practicum activities, and other assigned work.
• A commitment to receiving monthly Spiritual Direction.
• A commitment to paying the full costs for the program ($800 per year, plus costs of books, travel, and the mid-point personal retreat). You may seek to obtain Financial Assistance through your parish, an Archdiocesan grant, or other means.
• A commitment to being open and receptive to the formation provided in the program.

Application:
The program will be offered every two years, with the next cohort beginning in the Fall of 2024. The application process for that cohort will open in early 2024 and includes completion of an online application form, obtaining a letter of recommendation from your Pastor (or PLC), the Superior of your Religious Order, or your Spiritual Director. Please review the Participant Qualifications above before considering applying for the program. To express interest in the next cohort prior to the application period opening, please contact Matt Selby.


Descriptions and Dates for Year 1 Content and Sessions:

Year 1 - To be Transfigured: Knowing the Lord and His Love
In Year 1, participants are given an in-depth introduction to the Christian Spiritual Tradition.

Program Details:

• Eight monthly, Saturday sessions offer a systematic and in-depth introduction to the Christian Spiritual Tradition. Each session includes pre-reading from assigned texts, presentations by a speaker, discussion, and reflective writing to process the content after the session.
• The year begins with a weekend-long opening retreat.
• Participants are expected to go on a silent retreat during the summer after Year 1.

Opening Retreat: September 16-18, 2022

• "The Transfigured Jesus: An Invitation to His Holiness"
• Location: New Melleray Abbey, Peosta
• The opening retreat is a preached retreat reflecting on the central Scripture passage of inspiration for the Institute of the Transfiguration. The weekend retreat begins on Friday evening and ends on Sunday afternoon. 

Session 3: October 15, 2022

• Topic: "Christian Spirituality: The Sources and Contours of Living the Life of Discipleship"
• Description: This introductory session will ground the participants in the sources of Christian Spirituality in the Catholic Church. The main question addressed in this session will be: What is Christian Spirituality, and is there one Christian Spirituality or many Christian Spiritualities in the life of the Church? The role of Scripture, Sacraments, and Devotion will be explored. This foundational session will ground the rest of what will be explored in the year-long program.

Session 2: November 19, 2022

• Topic: "Biblical Spirituality: What does the Bible say about Christian Spirituality?"
• Description: This session will delve into what the Bible teaches about the way of prayer and spirituality. We will explore and ponder how the great people of the Bible prayed, we will delve into the Spirituality of the Psalms, and lastly we will look at the distinctive way of Prayer that Jesus taught in the Our Father. Without the grounding of Scripture, the rest of Christian Spirituality will not make sense. We will also look at the celebrated way of prayer with Scripture, Lectio Divina, and the roots and beginnings of this holy practice with the Word of God.

Session 3: December 17, 2022

• Topic: "Christian Spirituality and Christian Moral Life"
• This session will explore the intimate connection between Christian Spirituality and the Moral Life. We will look at the role of grace and virtue in the spiritual life. We will also look at the role of sin and woundedness in the spiritual life. We will explore how growth in grace is directly connected to growth in the moral life. 

• Topic: "Christian Spirituality Through the Ages I: Benedictine Monasticism"
• Description: This session will explore the far-reaching influence of St. Benedict and the Western Monasticism that he inspired in the life of the Church. We will investigate what St. Benedict taught in his rule and how succeeding generations have interpreted it. We will also apply some Benedictine Treasures into our own walk with the Lord.  

Session 5: February 18, 2023

• Topic: "Christian Spirituality Through the Ages II: The Mendicant Movement: Franciscans and Dominicans"
• Description: This session will explore the mendicant movement founded by St. Francis and St. Dominic. We will explore both saints’ lives and how the orders they founded renewed the Church in gospel simplicity and also eagerness to share the Gospel of Christ with others. We will explore the enduring influence of St. Francis and St. Dominic. St. Catherine of Siena will make an appearance as well. We will glean from their orders aspects of Christian Spirituality that can help us, with an emphasis on poverty.

Session 6: March 18, 2023

• Topic: Christian Spirituality Through the Ages III: The Spanish Mystics: St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, and St. John of Avila
• Description: This session will explore the renewal movement in the Carmelite order that was begun by St. Teresa of Avila who partnered with St. John of the Cross. We will look at the key themes and understanding of prayer in the teaching of St. Teresa and St. John of the Cross. We will look at the Interior Castle and the Poetry of St. John to see how Teresa and John through their experience deepened and solidified our understanding of following the way of holiness and deeper love for Christ. Specifically, we will look at the purgative, illuminative, and unitive ways in the spiritual life and how that path is essential in understanding St. Teresa and St. John of the Cross. At the same time, we will introduce the figure of St. John of Avila, the most recent doctor of the Church.

Session 7: April 15, 2023

• Topic: "Christian Spirituality through the Ages IV: Contemplatives in Action: St. Ignatius of Loyola and Way of Discernment"
• Description: This session will explore the great contribution to Christian Spirituality made by St. Ignatius of Loyola and his Spiritual Exercises. We will delve into his life, his mission, and the order he founded. We will also have introductions to the Spiritual Exercises, Rules of Discernment, and the lasting effect of Ignatius on Christian Spirituality in the Catholic Church. 

Session 8: May 20, 2023

• Topic: "Christian Spirituality through the Ages V: The French School of Spirituality: St. Francis de Sales, St. Vincent de Paul, St. Jane de Chantal, St. Louise de Marillac, and St. Therese of Lisieux"
• Description: This session will explore the great contribution to Christian Spirituality made by St. Francis de Sales and St. Therese of Lisieux, who are both Doctors of the Church, and will explore the impact of St. Vincent de Paul, St. Jane de Chantel, and St. Louise de Marillac. We will especially focus on St. Francis de Sales’ masterpiece The Introduction to the Devout Life, as an essential text for delving deeper into the spiritual life.

Concluding Retreat: Summer 2023

• Each participant is expected to go on a silent, directed retreat for 3 to 5 days during the summer after the first year of the program is complete. Participants are responsible for covering the costs. Guidance is provided by the leadership of the Institute to assist with arranging for the retreat and direction.

Year 2 - To Be A Servant of Transfiguring Love: Helping Others Know the Lord and His Love
After the To Be Transfigured year, participants who are accepted into Year 2, To Be a Servant of Transfiguring Love, begin a one-year program of Spiritual Director training, which consists of the following components:

• Eight monthly, Saturday sessions. Each session includes pre-reading from assigned texts, presentations by a speaker, discussion, and reflective writing to process the content after the session.
• Continuation of regular Spiritual Direction received from a trained/certified Spiritual Director during the year.
• Offer Spiritual Direction to at least one person.
• Participation in a concluding retreat.
• Practice prayer processing exercises.

• Topic: What is Spiritual Direction
• Description: This introductory session of Year 2 will be an overview of the different aspects of Spiritual Direction. We will ponder the sources of Spiritual Direction in the Scriptures, a brief history of Spiritual Direction in the life of the Church, the needed qualities and virtues of a Spiritual Director, and the different expressions of Spiritual Direction in the Life of the Church. This session will also delve into the dynamics of personal prayer and begin the aspects of listening for those dynamics in personal prayer and the prayer of others.

• Topic: How to do Spiritual Direction
• Description: In this session, we will look at the purpose and goal of spiritual direction. As Fr. Acklin and Fr. Hicks say, “Spiritual Direction is a participation in the work of the Holy Spirit that allows directees to receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit in a personal way.” In this session we will look at the dynamics of the spiritual direction relationship and trace out what a typical spiritual direction session can look like to help others grow in their relationship with God. The Spiritual Director is the servant of the Holy Spirit and of the directee. In this session we will look at those essential elements. Also we will look at the vital difference between spiritual direction and spiritual counseling which are two distinct activities. 

• Topic: Counseling vs. Spiritual Direction
• Description: This session will explore the relationship of psychology with spiritual direction. This session will go over the nature of psychological illness and how it can manifest itself in spiritual direction. We will also delve into ways to distinguish between psychological disturbance and spiritual disturbance in a directee. We will have a licensed counselor join us to understand some basic psychological awareness.

• Topic: The Wisdom of St. Ignatius for Spiritual Direction
• Description: This session will look at the wisdom of the Annotations of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius as a guide to understanding the role of spiritual direction. The annotations give specific guidance that helps students of spiritual direction. The annotation also puts the rules of discernment in proper context for proper understanding.

• Topic: Rules of Discernment of St. Ignatius of Loyola - First Set, Part 1
• Description: This session is the first of two sessions on the First Set of Rules of Discernment of St. Ignatius of Loyola. We will investigate and become familiar with the text of the rules, the meaning of the rules, and applying them to spiritual direction case studies so that participants can gain greater ability to help others discern the presence of the Holy Spirit and the action of the Enemy. This session will give context and focus primarily on the first four rules of discernment.

• Topic: Rules of Discernment of St. Ignatius of Loyola - First Set, Part II
• This session is the second session on the rules of discernment. This session will primarily focus on Rules 5-14 that help the faithful soul when the soul is experiencing spiritual desolation. 

• Topic: Rules of Discernment of St. Ignatius of Loyola - Second Set 
• Description: This session will present the teaching of St. Ignatius on the greater precision of discernment in more advanced souls. The 8 Rules of further discernment help souls who have progressed to the illuminative way of the spiritual life. The discernment is more subtle and these rules of Ignatius are to help directors guide those souls. The session will investigate the text of the rules, the context, and the meaning of the rules. There will also be pastoral application of these rules in spiritual direction. 

• Topic: Spiritual Direction and the Reality of Woundedness
• Description: This session will investigate how woundedness manifests itself in spiritual direction and how to understand the dynamics of spiritual healing from a psychological and spiritual perspective. We will investigate how woundedness leads to patterns of sin, and how patterns of sins are rooted many times in the lies that we believe or false notions of the image of God in our minds and hearts. We will also cover the ways that we offer healing to people in their Christian journey. 

• Topic: TBD
• Location: New Melleray Abbey
• A Commissioning Mass will be included in the retreat.

Those who complete all the requirements of the two-year program will receive a Certificate of Completion for the Institute of the Transfiguration Spiritual Director Training program from the Archdiocese of Dubuque, and will be listed on the Archdiocesan Spiritual Directors list.