Spiritual Direction
Spiritual Direction
The Spiritual Direction Programme which has been held at the Franciscan International Study Centre for the last eleven years during the Lent term is now to be held during the Summer months beginning 2010.
We invite applications for this life-enhancing experience which has drawn both lay and religious from all over the world to take part in it.
It is an opportunity to live and work in beautiful surrounding and to live the Franciscan spiritual life to the full. A committed and experienced team, with support from the wider Franciscan family, will accompany you throughout the Programme.
The Programme is open to all. ( Due to high demand, the Summer 2010 programme is now full – applications are welcome for Summer 2011 )
The Programme is based on the St Bonaventure’s Major Life of St Francis which is a theology of the spiritual life based on the life of Francis of Assisi. The guiding principles we discover in the Major Life of St Francis can be followed in our own living out of the Gospel Way of life for our own direction and for the direction of others.
The Programme runs for some ten weeks and is divided into different parts:
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Introduction
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Personal Retreat
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Core weeks which take the participants through the Purgative, Illumanitive and Unitive ways as seen in the life of St Francis
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Supervised Directed Retreat
In addition to the above there are the following elements in the Programme:
Francis: the Dynamic Source of our Principles: Franciscan Principles of Spiritual Direction
-The Principles of Spiritual Direction consists of ten hours per week and are devoted to an examination of the Franciscan principles underlying the art of spiritual direction as seen in the Legenda Maior. They occupy four session per week. Each session has different components:
Franciscan Orientation: a religious experience in Francis’ life, preferably experiential
Franciscan Principles: theological principles for spiritual direction found in the experiences from Francis’ life
Pastoral Application: a method for applying the principles to the lives of others. Among other things, this involves appropriate selections from other Franciscan sources illustrating the principles in Francis’ life. These have bean complied in a Franciscan Resource Book
Journal time: the participants are encouraged to make use of journaling in their prayer experiences
Personal Reflection: a practicum on personal experiences embodying the principles to help participants internalise the principles and share their experiences
The Prayers of St Francis
Triads – the practise in spiritual direction under supervision among the participants: five hours per week
Personal spiritual direction: participants meet privately with one of the team Directors to look at their own spiritual progress
It is expected that the Programme will end with the Participants giving a Directed Retreat which will be supervised by the Team. At all times confidentiality is maintained between the new Directors and their Directees.
Your Spirtual Direction Directors for Summer 2010 are : Br. Damian Novello OSF | Sr. Mary Celestine Giertych CSSF
Spritual Direction Programmes dates can be found here.
