A Church Ministry

The ministry of the Spiritual Exercises has evolved enormously these last decades. What was originally considered to be an outreach to priests and religious women and men, and given by priests mainly, has developed into a Church ministry provided also by religious men and women as well as laity. Now more people are able to avail of spiritual retreats in times of rapid changes that need constant discernment.

What is spiritual guidance

It is a practical art that aims at helping the person who seeks guidance become an integrated human being, able to discern God’s will in her/his life and follow it wholeheartedly.

Who can benefit from this programme?

The course is addressed to committed Christian men and women, who live and work in East Africa:

Women and men religious involved in the formation of their candidates

Priests who work as formators or spiritual guides in major seminaries or formation houses.

Priests engaged in pastoral work in parishes, pastoral centres and chaplaincies.

Lay women and men who understand the retreat guidance as a ministry in their local Christian communities

Application procedures

Those interested are invited to submit the application form together with a 1-page reflection on their faith journey.

The applicant must have done at least once a personally guided 8-day Ignatian retreat

2 letters of recommendation of people able to comment on the applicant’s potential as retreat guide. These should be forwarded to the Director of Mwangaza Jesuit Centre.

Finally, applicants will be asked to attend an interview with the Centre’s director.

Modality

The course is residential and is divided into four 4-day blocks. It will be offered at Mwangaza Jesuit Centre.

Required Level of commitment includes:

• Attend all eight training sessions over the course of two years
• Share in peer groups on the experience of the past months

• engage in discussions, role plays, case studies
• Help organize and participate in Eucharistic liturgies and community prayers
• Between training sessions, prepare and submit four written assignments for supervision
• Participant of the Ignatian Retreat Guides Courses, engage in 2 guided retreats supervised by a Mwangaza staff member

Programme

The course explores the areas of psychology, Ignatian spirituality, theology and Scripture, in reference to retreat guidance.

The First Block:

• Reflectiveness, awareness examen and prayer with Scripture
• One’s faith story in relation to spiritual guidance
• Images of God
• Practical work with case studies

Second Block:

• Spiritual guidance and the qualities of the guide
• Aim of supervision and writing a verbatim. Supervised spiritual guidance will begin at this stage

Third Block:

• It explores the areas of human and spiritual growth
• Sin and disorder
• Self-transcendence

Fourth block:

• It concentrates on Ignatian discernment of God’s will
• Discernment of spirits, interior movements and emotions
• Case study

Fifth block:

• It articulates on areas of unfreedom: compulsions, addiction, resistances, defence mechanisms
• Dreams and journaling

Sixth Block:

• covers the area of psychosexual development: developmental phases, growing in intimacy;
• listening with the “third ear” in spiritual guidance.

Seventh Block:

• It turns mainly to the theme of wholistic spirituality and spiritual guidance
• The paschal mystery and Christian discipleship

Eighth Block:

• It focuses on Creation Theology
• Inter-connectedness
• Calls to integration, justice, peace and reconciliation, and transformation
• Course’s appropriation exercises.

Assessment

Each participant will be required to produce 4 assignments, corresponding to the topics given in each block.

The participant’s performance in the practice of guided retreats will be assessed by her/his supervisor together with the Centre’s residential core staff.

Participants will be evaluated by the staff at the end of the four blocks. Continuation in the course will not be automatic.

Residential Core Staff

• Sr. Beth Mugo, S.E, MAcs
• Fr. Terry Charlton, S.J., PhD
• Rt. Rev. Dr. Rodrigo Mejía, S.J., STD
• Fr. Nathanael Miti, S.J., Psy.D
• Fr. Graham Pugin, S.J., MTh
• Fr. Patrick Ng'ang'a, S.J., STL
• Fr. Kifle Wansamo. S.J., PhD

Other qualified resource personnel will be invited to facilitate specific sessions.

Cost

Ksh 140,000 per year for a year, fee payable in four instalments at the beginning of each block. A non-refundable registration fee of Ksh 10,000 should be sent on acceptance to the course, deductible from the first instalment. Payment includes handouts and some stationery. Limited bursaries available.

Certification

At the end of the course, the student who meets all requirements will be awarded a Spiritual Guidance Certificate, issued by Hekima University College and Mwangaza Jesuit Spirituality Centre

For further information contact

• mwangazajesuits@gmail.com