Patrice Winter, a professor at George Mason University in Fairfax, was looking to retire in a few years but wanted to continue serving her community. Then, a close friend encouraged her to become a spiritual director.
That was when Winter first learned that Divine Mercy University in Sterling has a spiritual direction certificate through her parish, Nativity Catholic Church in Burke. Winter applied and began the certificate program in May 2022.
“This certificate program at DMU is informative, academically rigorous, well researched and high quality. The curriculum is a nice mix of asynchronous and synchronous online programming. It was doable even with a full-time job,” she said.
Today, DMU contributes to a growing number of spiritual directors nationwide through the online program. DMU President Father Charles J. Sikorsky said that a spiritual director is similar to a personal trainer or a life coach. “Many people of faith are looking for guides and mentors in order to foster their relationship with God — the most important aspect of our being. The DMU program in spiritual direction is designed for those who feel the call to serve others in this vital area. … It combines the wisdom of the saints and perennial Catholic spirituality with insights about the human person, and develops the interpersonal skills needed to be an effective leader of souls,” he said.
The university formally launched the program in 2019. A year later, Maria Brackett came on board as the program’s retreat director. With nearly 15 years of spiritual direction experience, she helped grow the program during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Many do not realize that the lay faithful can act as spiritual directors, Brackett said. “It hasn’t always been priests and religious who have been spiritual directors, but sometimes we miss that nuance,” she said.
DMU currently has 150 students enrolled in the multi-year program and will have a total of 200 graduates by May. The program consists of six courses, and students may take up to three courses per year. During their studies, students must undergo their own spiritual direction.
“We let the students soak in the classical tradition that is so rich and then let them find their niche,” Brackett said.
Applicants require a letter of recommendation from a pastor or minister, demonstrating that the applicant readily serves his or her spiritual community, Brackett said. Applicants may include Christians of different denominations.
“What we’re looking for is someone who has experience in serving their faith community. The program is teaching people to be spiritual directors in the Catholic-Christian tradition, so we definitely have people who aren’t Catholic but are Christians,” Brackett said.
Course topics include the history and tradition of Catholic-Christian spiritual direction, ethical practices, human development, discernment and advanced prayer. Students take two courses on spiritual direction skills, which include two four-day, in-person residencies at DMU’s campus in Sterling. They must complete practicum hours, which involve mentoring a spiritual directee under an adviser’s supervision.
Iris Pollock, a parishioner of St. John the Apostle Church in Leesburg, began the program in 2019 but took a brief break before resuming courses in 2022. She said that the program’s emphasis on personal spiritual growth helped her strengthen her professional skills.
“I appreciated the opportunity to see spiritual direction in a more formal sense by learning tools and practices that can help a directee along the way, but by learning it all on myself first,” she said.
Students learn to distinguish between what they can provide as a spiritual director and what topics must be left to a mental health professional.
“What we teach our students is that spiritual direction is really helping the person to flourish in their relationship with God, whereas a mental health professional is really helping someone flourish in their relationships and in their human functioning — emotions and things like that,” Brackett said.
Mark Donofrio, a former parishioner of St. Francis de Sales Church in Purcellville, began the program several years after his family moved to North Carolina. “The assigned readings, reflective papers and online weekly class discussions have connected both my interior and exterior spiritual self more than I ever expected. The focus on learning how to journey alongside the directee, with the Holy Spirit doing the ‘directing’ part, has also been very reassuring,” he said.
Today, Winter is finishing her practicum hours. “I am glad I said ‘yes’ to this call. It is an honor and privilege to be with a directee as they contemplate and discern how God is working in their life, all at the good pleasure of the Holy Spirit.”
To Learn More
For the spiritual direction certificate, go to bit.ly/3ux4OFv
