Spiritual Direction Certificate Program

The Spiritual Direction Certificate Program prepares students with a transformational experience that will enable them to be spiritual directors with the heart and mind of Jesus Christ and in the tradition of the Church’s tried experience.

"As she has always done, today the Church continues to recommend the practice of spiritual direction not only to those who desire to follow the Lord closely but to every Christian who wishes to live responsibly his or her Baptism, that is, new life in Christ. Everyone, in fact, especially those who have heeded the divine call to follow Christ closely, needs to be accompanied personally by a guide reliable in doctrine and expert in the things of God, this guide can help people to watch out for facile forms of subjectivism, making available their own knowledge and experience lived in the following of Jesus."

Address of Pope Benedict XVI to the Pontifical Theological Faculty “Teresianum”, Rome, 19 May 2011

The Spiritual Direction Certificate (SDC) Program is designed to provide the knowledge, skills, and supervision for future spiritual directors. The Program seeks to respond to the ongoing need for the followers of Jesus Christ to assist one another on their path of becoming every day, more faithful disciples of the Lord.

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SPIRITUAL DIRECTION CERTIFICATE OVERVIEW

The SDC program is made up of six online classes which include two four-day onsite residences, and practicum. The online classes are offered three times a year, in eight-week segments. The pillars of the program include: integration of theological and human sciences as they relate to spiritual development; learning the art and skills of human interactions; and the fruitful experience of supervision.

THEOLOGICAL

CONTENT

INTERPERSONAL SKILLS

SUPERVISION

SPIRITUAL DIRECTION PROGRAM OUTCOMES

Experience a strong professional spiritual director identity with the foundational knowledge and skills of the ministry.

Demonstrate profound self-awareness, including one’s own internal movements and patterns of reacting to others and to circumstances.

Demonstrate adequate knowledge of human nature, including the findings of the human and behavioral sciences regarding attachment styles, personality differences, developmental stages, psychological obstacles to flourishing, and of the spiritual life and workings of supernatural grace in the human person.

Exhibit a pastoral approach to encouraging gradual moral and spiritual development, respecting both the truths of the moral and spiritual life and the unique dignity and goodness of each person.

ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS

Applicants must provide the following for admission to the certification in spiritual direction:

1. Completed application form submitted online.

2. Letter from one’s own spiritual director, using form provided

3. Two recommendations using a rubric form supplied by the program: one from the applicant’s pastor or minister, and one from a person who has known the applicant for at least 3 of the last 5 years.

After the review of these requirements, the admissions committee will contact the applicant to schedule a video-conference interview. Interviews generally take place during the term prior to the course start.

REQUIREMENTS FOR COMPLETION

1. Successful completion of the six courses and residencies with a course grade average of no less than 3.0 while in the program.

2. Successful completion of practicum (60 hours of supervised practicum over a minimum of 6 months)

3. Spiritual exercises of at least three full days in duration, or the equivalent subject to review and approval by the program director, before the completion of the third course.

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COURSES

SDC 100: Ongoing Conversion, Deepening Discipleship, and the Foundations of Spiritual Direction

SDC 200: Human Development for Spiritual Direction

SDC 300: Relating Skills for Spiritual Direction (with Residency in week 7)

SDC 400: Discernment and Spiritual Growth: Theory and Practice

SDC 500: Advanced Spiritual Direction Skills and Practicum: Putting Out into the Deep (with Residency in week 2)

SDC 600: Advanced Prayer and Situations