Spiritual Conversation | May – June, 24

Pursue the charism of listening with the heart in this introductory training course in Ignatian spiritual accompaniment, delivered by way of three 3-day modules in May & June 2024.

Spiritual Conversation is suitable for a wide range of people including those who work in pastoral settings (hospital & prison visitors, chaplains, clergy, Eucharistic ministers, catechists) and anyone who is simply interested in having deep life-giving conversations with others.

This course offers practical experiential training in listening and discernment through listening practice, observation and feedback. We work with a model of accompaniment which is rooted in the Exercises of St Ignatius of Loyola and which focuses on noticing how God is at work in an encounter between people. This is the core of formal Ignatian Spiritual Direction but is also a model which can be applied in a whole range of contexts.

Embarking on this course may also be part of a discernment as to how God is calling you to accompany others particularly. This will be unique for each person on the course. The hope is that during this course, you will discover how best to use it for your own context, and in response to your own gifts, which could include further training in offering spiritual direction in the Ignatian tradition.

Course Outline

The course has two main threads: Personal Formation and Skills Development.

The personal formation thread explores our relationship with our self and with God, and how we live out the consequences of these. There will be material for personal prayer and reflection.

The skills development thread aims to help us be more intentional in our encounters with others and discover how we might better accompany them. We will engage in the practical skills needed for one-to-one accompaniment and explore how these skills might be most helpfully used in a variety of contexts.

You will have a tutor who will accompany you through the course. Your tutor will explore how undertaking this course fits in to your life and work/ ministry and will help you to navigate this stage of your journey.

Requirements