A growing number of people are being formed to become spiritual directors, with Australian Catholic University now offering their courses online, making them even more widely available.
Fr Michael Smith SJ, a lecturer in Ignatian spirituality at ACU, said spiritual directors helped people pay attention to the experience of God in their lives.
“The role of a spiritual director is to help others attend to God’s self-communication — that is, any experience of the mysterious Other whom we call God,” Fr Smith said.
“Spiritual directors tend to be mature believers who have a deep intimacy with Jesus Christ and whom others seek out for their spiritual insight and discernment,” Fr Smith said.
There is also a growing number of people being formed to become spiritual directors. ACU’s newly revised Master of Spiritual Direction and Graduate Diploma in Spiritual Direction, which are being offered online on Zoom, help aspiring spiritual directors around the world become ethical, self-aware and skilled practitioners in the Ignatian tradition.
Fr Smith said spiritual direction was more than a qualification, and should be seen as a charism, or a gift of the Holy Spirit.
Course convenor Associate Professor Robyn Horner said ACU’s spiritual direction courses were being offered online after positive learning experiences teaching the courses using Zoom during the COVID lockdowns. It means the courses were now available almost anywhere.
Associate Professor Horner said ACU was also committed to the formation of spiritual directors in ethical practice.
“There is a developing attentiveness within the wider Christian community of the need for holistic models of formation for all those involved in leadership,” Associate Professor Horner said.
Find out more about ACU’s Spirituality courses here.
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