By Maria P. Meneses - Maria Meneses
Photographer: FILE PHOTO
Sacred Heart Sister Helen Rosenthal started the Spiritual Companionship program at St. Thomas University in 1986.
Photographer: MARIA MENESES | FC
Susan Loretta, one of the program's first graduates, has been its director for the past 18 years.
They are this year�s graduates of St. Thomas University�s Spiritual Companionship program, started in 1986 by Sacred Heart Sister Helen Rosenthal.
Now retired from fulltime ministry � although she still teaches an online course on Spanish mystics each fall � Sister Helen had just joined the staff of St. Thomas� Institute for Pastoral Ministries when she was asked to start a post master�s degree program in spirituality.
She began the Center for Wholistic Spirituality with the training program for spiritual directors because it was evident to her, she said, that there was a real need to train lay spiritual directors for South Florida. In 1989, she began offering the program in Spanish, the only one in the United States.
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St. Thomas University�s Spiritual Companionship program is part of the School of Theology and Ministry�s Center for Wholistic Spirituality. The center offers certificate programs in Spiritual Companionship, Catholic Biblical Studies and International On-Line Spirituality Studies.
The Spiritual Companionship program welcomes people of all denominations. The first year offers an introduction to the idea of spiritual direction through a mix of topics in spirituality, theology and psychology. The second year calls for participation in the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola over the course of nine months. The third year is a practicum where students learn and practice the tools and techniques of spiritual direction.
Anyone with a gift for listening, or a desire to grow in faith, is welcome to inquire about the program in spiritual direction. Those seeking spiritual direction also are free to call.
�So many people don�t know this,� said Susan Loretta, the program director. �It�s as easy as picking up the phone and calling someone and a director can be found and assigned.�
For information, call Loretta at 305-628-6548 or go to www.stu.edu, click on School of Theology and Ministry, then on �certificate programs� and �spiritual companionship.�
St. Thomas University�s Spiritual Companionship program is part of the School of Theology and Ministry�s Center for Wholistic Spirituality. The center offers certificate programs in Spiritual Companionship, Catholic Biblical Studies and International On-Line Spirituality Studies.
The Spiritual Companionship program welcomes people of all denominations. The first year offers an introduction to the idea of spiritual direction through a mix of topics in spirituality, theology and psychology. The second year calls for participation in the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola over the course of nine months. The third year is a practicum where students learn and practice the tools and techniques of spiritual direction.
Anyone with a gift for listening, or a desire to grow in faith, is welcome to inquire about the program in spiritual direction. Those seeking spiritual direction also are free to call.
�So many people don�t know this,� said Susan Loretta, the program director. �It�s as easy as picking up the phone and calling someone and a director can be found and assigned.�
For information, call Loretta at 305-628-6548 or go to www.stu.edu, click on School of Theology and Ministry, then on �certificate programs� and �spiritual companionship.�
Initially, the certificate in spiritual direction was a two-year program, but a third year �practicum� has since been added. It remains affordable, since it is aimed at those who want to grow in their faith or prepare for ministry without obtaining a university degree.
In fact, each graduate in the spiritual companionship program brings his or her own sacred story, which they share among themselves for three years. By the end of that time, they have acquired the skills to serve as spiritual directors to others in their journeys.
Luis Sanchez said he discovered a �new way of listening to someone�s call� as he recalled the third year of the program, which emphasizes listening and real life experiences. A retired physician, he has been called back to a different form of healing now as a chaplain�s assistant in hospital and hospice.
�Many of our diseases, pain, and aches are just ways of crying out for help; looking for someone to talk to and to listen to,� Sanchez said.
Cindy Vincentz, a holistic open heart nurse at Holy Cross Hospital in Fort Lauderdale, said she is involved in �healing folks spiritually, along with the mind and body, as they walk towards becoming whole with unconditional love.�
Karen Avila said she is happy the program afforded her the opportunity to combine her training and experience in psychology with spiritual direction � something she has wanted to do for a number of years.
Alba Bowen, a professional nurse assistant, said she has come to understand �there is a great need for people to be heard in this world,� given her personal encounters in listening to the elderly. She added that prayer is not just speaking to God in beautiful language, but allowing God to speak to her in the daily circumstances of her life.
Susan Loretta, who has served as director of the Spiritual Companionship program for the past 18 years, is also one of its first graduates. She said many people have misconceptions about spiritual direction, thinking it is a place where someone tells you what to believe or what to do.
That is entirely incorrect, she said. �It�s being able to articulate the presence and love of God with our directees and being present to the person.�
In fact, walking into Loretta�s office provides the perfect experience of spiritual direction. It is an environment with candles and flowers all whispering �welcome�.
Loretta explained that she learned early on that making a place inviting facilitates the encounter with God. �People are made in God�s image � and if they�re able to know that place inside themselves that radiates the love of God, then that could change the world.�
Her job is �beholding that holy place the directee comes with � (and) to help the directee see or find that in themselves, that they may go and do the same for someone else,� Loretta said. �It isn�t good for man to be alone. God didn�t design us alone. Everyone needs a spiritual companion. There�s definitely a need in the world.�
Meneses is one of the 2011 graduates of the Spiritual Companionship program.
Photographer: MARIA MENESES | FC
2011 Graduates of St. Thomas University's Spiritual Companionship certificate program, from left: Maria Meneses, Alba Bowen, Luis Sanchez, Cindy Vincentz, Karen Avila, Ed O'Brien, Mariana Lopez and David Bowen.
