Leadership Development • Specialized Certificate in Spirituality

Loyola University, New Orleans
The Loyola University (New Orleans) Center for Pastoral Life recently approved a new Specialized Certificate in Spirituality (SCS). The SCS program and process will be similar to the format of the Certificate of Advanced Studies in Parish Life and Administration (CAS) previously offered in the diocese.The target audience for the SCS is professional ministers. The SCS format features six two-day "sessions" presented over a two-year period. Each session at Shalom House Retreat Center will include 15 contact hours with a nationally known leader on six different aspects of spirituality.

Certificate Curriculum

Course 1: Christian Spirituality Through The Ages

This course will provide an overview of the major periods and key movements throughout the history of Christian spirituality, from its foundations in Hebrew and Christian Scriptures to modern, holistic spiritual themes and modern spiritual literature. The course will also identify the questions and concerns that have appeared time after time, through the ages, and that have shaped the human quest for the meaning of life and for relationship with its Creator.

Course 2: Spirituality, Prayer and Everyday Life

Participants will learn about the nature and purposes of prayer, and the dynamic relationship between prayer and spirituality. Attention will be paid to various forms of personal prayer and communal prayer, including liturgical prayer and liturgical spirituality. Reflection on the effects of traditional and non-traditional prayer forms on an individual's personal and spiritual wellness, as well as the overall spiritual health of the Christian community, will be included.

Course 3: Discernment Skills For Christian Life and Ministry

In this course, participants will examine the relationship between spirituality and the process of discernment. They will be introduced to discernment as a form of spiritual insight -- i.e., a conscious, interior experience of God's Spirit -- that leads individuals and communities to choices and decisions that are in harmony with Christian life, mission, and values. Guidelines for the discernment of spirits, based on the teachings of St. Ignatius Loyola, will then be considered as will the critical life skills of Christian conscience formation, spiritually prudent decision-making, and witness to gospel values in the world.

Course 4: Spiritual Companionship: Methods and Approaches

The practice of becoming a spiritual companion, or soul-friend, is ancient and valuable -- with roots that stretch to the monastic period of Christian history. The phrase 'spiritual companionship' implies mutuality and sharing, among peers, based on attentive listening, co-journeying on the paths of life and spiritual-growth, shared prayer, spiritual disciplines, active dialogue on moral and ethical issues, and personal presence during key life moments (e.g., experiences of loss/grief; changes in work or vocation; family changes; other key life transitions). In this course, contemporary models of spiritual companionship will be examined and discussed. Distinctions between companioning, spiritual direction, mentoring, and the counseling process will be explored.

Course 5: Spirituality, Discipleship, and Justice

This course will explore the challenges associated with linking Christian spirituality and discipleship with the gospel call to justice, action, and peace-making. Essential church teachings and church documents, on personal and social justice and Christian social responsibility -- particularly to the poor, the marginalized, and the oppressed, will be examined and discussed. Practical implications for daily spiritual life, plus models for individual and corporate social action, will be considered.

Course 6: Emerging Forms of Christian Spirituality

This course will present an overview of a variety of emerging forms of Christian spirituality, some traditional and some non-traditional -- and some of which are being actively reclaimed and re-interpreted today from church history. The course may touch directly upon a selection of the following types of spiritual expression, according to the particular needs and interests of learning group members: holistic (or integrational); biblical; incarnational; Trinitarian; liturgical; ascetical; monastic; medieval; mystical; feminist; male; contemplative; Marian devotional; celibate; ecological; marketplace (or workplace); 12-step approach; Celtic; Hispanic; African-American; Asian; and spiritual models from religious community traditions (e.g., Benedictine, Franciscan, Jesuit/Ignatian, and Carmelite). With each form that is examined, a discussion on the practical issues implications, for the individual believer and for the communal life of the church will be undertaken.

Contact: Rick Miech