ConnectionsFrom the Executive Director:Pop-Up Spiritual DirectionDuring the April Emerging Wisdom conference, Joe Grant beautifully guided rituals and encouraged participants to walk in Thomas Merton’s footsteps to the site of Merton’s deep insight about his life as a monk in the world. As each of us made a pilgrimage to the site, we listened for the future of spiritual direction and gave thanks for Merton’s centenary. Merton described in Conjecture of a Guilty Bystander his epiphany on 18 March 1958:

In Louisville, at the corner of Fourth and Walnut, in the center of the shopping district, I was suddenly overwhelmed with the realization that I loved all those people, that they were mine and I theirs, that we could not be alien to one another even though we were total strangers … There is no way of telling people that they are all walking around shining like the sun.

As I wandered back from making my pilgrimage to the Merton site, I discovered the bench art pictured here. The plaque that identifies the man in the sculpture has disappeared. He became for me every-spiritual-director. The bench scene became an icon for “pop-up spiritual direction.” Sitting on a bench, he waits for someone to join him spontaneously for meaningful conversation. His open posture communicates availability to Mystery and whomever may arrive.

In my imagination, every-spiritual-director seated on an inner city bench entered a contemplative dialogue with Merton’s epiphany. Perhaps there is no way of telling people they are shining like the sun. Perhaps the wisdom that every-spiritual-director offers is listening, not telling. Spiritual directors listen people into discovering for themselves how much light and love emanates through

them. A core tenet in spiritual direction is to encourage seekers to listen for the wisdom revealed in God’s direct encounter. The Ultimate Reality of ever-present loving guidance is as “close as your nose,” as SDI contemplative retreat facilitator Jonathan Montaldo reminded us. When we seek God’s guidance and surrender to Ultimate Reality,

we move toward wholeness, kindness, and compassion for all creation.

Thomas Merton’s eyes opened to see clearly that as a monk, he was not separate from every person walking around the city, but deeply engaged in the world—in kinship with all humanity and creation. The shift from monk in a monastery to human being in relationship with others shining like the sun changed him forever.

Spiritual directors who move beyond the monastic and marketplace understanding of spiritual direction creatively experiment with new ways of offering their gifts of spiritual companionship. For example, following the SDI conference, local spiritual directors participated in the Louisville mayor’s week of community service by offering pop-up spiritual companionship on city benches and in places where people were helping others.

Inside this issue of Connections, you will discover stories of spiritual companionship offered in unusual places. We hope these stories touch your heart, nourish your soul, and inspire an epiphany for you about where you might offer spiritual companionship in a world hungry for God’s healing, peace, wisdom, and compassion. Thank you for listening deeply for guidance. ❉

Peace be with you,

Liz Budd Ellmann, MDiv

The Newsletter of Spiritual Directors International

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3 nights in Brugge, Belgium 5 nights in Leuven, Belgium

Enjoy beautiful settings for retreat and day trips to nearby pilgrimage sites & beguinages

A Pilgrimage In the Spirit of the Beguines

Deepening Love, Courage & Community September 18-27, 2015 in Belgium

Facilitated by WholeHearted Retreats with leadership from Susan Coppage Evans, D.Min.

Stephanie Raffelock and guest teachers

Rev. Matthew Fox and Rob Faesen SJ

Registration is open for 28 participants For more information and to apply visit:

www.wholeheartedretreat.com or call 303-279-9288

The Beguines of the Middle Ages created new communities of spiritual companionship and service at a time when the only options for women were marriage or taking vows to the church. Their movement flourished for hundreds of years and inspired an intimate love for the Divine that was expressed in their relationships, writing and service. How can the Beguine movement inspire our own spiritual companionship and communities? What can we learn from their courage, innovation and commitment?

Live Purposefully Know Yourself and Go Deeper

See the video series “Experience Living Purposefully

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Series 1 & 2 (videos 1-20): Available now Series 3 (videos 21-30): Available August 2015

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Six-Day Guided Retreat Saturday, July 4th ~ Friday, July 10th, 2015

Growing Into the Cosmic Christ Michael Crosby, OFM (Cap)

Father Michael Crosby will offer a presentation each day. This becomes the basis for the day’s reflection and prayer. The retreat takes place in a contemplative setting with periods of silence and shared reflection.

CONTACT VILLA MADONNA RETREAT HOUSE TO REGISTER OR FOR MORE INFORMATION:

506-849-5125 or toll-free 1-866-783-3300 or email villamadonna@nb.aibn.com

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Art as PrayerDelores Montpetit [Alberta, Canada]

Our kitchen is often converted into an art studio. Spiritual directees come to our table that is loaded up with art supplies, and together we step into the contemplative practice of creating expressive art as prayer. They come to explore their inner most being, to express their emotions, hidden and seen. Trust and openness is required. Trust that God holds, heals, reveals, and guides us. This is a process of vulnerability, of dancing with Spirit and of letting go of the pressure to create a masterpiece. “Trust the process” is our mantra.

We typically begin an art session with a poem, scripture, or visio divina using some of my contemplative photographs. Recently we have started with ten-minute meditations.

This art piece above is, “Courage to Trust,” and I would like to share with you how it received its name.

The orange hues are colours that I don’t typically use, and yet the draw, no pun intended, to use them was strong. The medium is pan pastel. I picked up a brush; hit the orange and started to simply follow the lead. Flames started to develop, and I was enamored with the contrast of the white paper and the bright orange pastel. The base quickly revealed itself; I saw it as a pillar. At the time I wondered, “How would a fire burn sitting on top of a pillar? What would be its source of energy?” and worried that the painting made no sense.

When I went to use the black, I hesitated. It seemed too dark both in colour and in emotion, and I didn’t feel dark. I continued to trust and step. I came to realize the black was necessary as a base to build

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shadow. Without shadow, it would not have been as rich. Much like life.

I am a student in The Living School with Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, Cynthia Bourgeault, and James Finley. I felt invited to share this painting, without the prayer text, with my cohort of students, yet I hesitated. The piece didn’t quite feel complete, and I am not very brave in sharing my expressive art.

On 28 January 2015, James Finley opened a new section on the study of Thomas Merton, and on 31 January, Liz  Budd  Ellmann sent me this prayer of Merton’s. I instantly thought of this painting as I read the prayer and felt Merton’s words would complete it. I inserted the text onto the image; the words fit perfectly around the fire and the torch.

On 2 February, I was working on my course and James Finley spoke of the Pentecost fire in the transformed person. He said, “A self-sustaining fire catches hold in the heart of the student. It’s the torch that has passed on and now it is in us.”

I had to replay that section as awe and wonder moved through me. What struck me is that my painting was created before we started our study of Thomas Merton. When my husband saw the painting, he said it looked like a torch and like nothing I have ever created before. I saw it as a pillar before and now I can see both, pillar and torch.

I now understand what the source of energy is for the fire. It is God, simply, mystically, God.

I felt led for the first time to share the finished painting with my friend and fellow artist, Br. Mickey McGrath, OSFS. He replied, “Sometimes we find just the right words to help us understand better what we have already expressed in paint. You can’t go wrong with Thomas Merton!” That sits well within my soul.

In the words of St. Francis, “May we do what is ours to do.” I like to add, “May we all have the courage to do what is ours to do.” ❉

Delores Montpetit is a contemplative artist, photographer, spiritual director, and retreat coach.

Listening in Louisville: Coordinating Council MeetingsJohn Pollard [Ontario, Canada]

My Buddhist teacher says that we can listen not just with our ears, but with our entire body, mind, and heart. This is precisely what the SDI coordinating council was doing during our meetings in Louisville, Kentucky, USA this past November. In fact, we are embarking on a process of deep listening in 2015 as we undertake a multi-layered strategic planning process to guide Spiritual Directors International for years to come.

A centerpiece of our work in Louisville, the site of the 2015 Emerging Wisdom conference and other educational events, was a Listening for Wisdom reception coordinated by Linda Reynolds and Rita Senn, our local hosts for the conference, and facilitated by Karen Simms-Tolson. More than fifty spiritual

Stones with handwritten intentions were gathered at the Listening for Wisdom reception in Louisville, Kentucky, USA,

to create a cairn.

Campfire talks with Jim Finley, Ph.D

Transforming Trauma: Exploring the Depth Dimensions of Healing October 8 – 11, 2015

Flathead Lake, Montana This intimate retreat explores a spiritual contemplative approach to healing focusing specifically on the ways in which spirituality can be a resource in healing suffering, trauma, and the restless longings of our minds and hearts. Emphasis will be given to intimate and practical ways to be more compassionate, present, and skillful in action with others and ourselves. We will be exploring the rewarding and challenging process of forming new paradigms of healing that integrate sound clinical practice and empirical research with the ancient wisdom of the contemplative traditions. Jim Finley, PhD, is a modern day mystic and Merton scholar. He lived as a Trappist monk at the Gethsemane Monastery in Kentucky where the Christian monk and author Thomas Merton was his spiritual director. He has led silent retreats on contemplative living and the contemplative dimensions of healing throughout the United States, Canada, and in several countries in Europe. Currently, Dr. Finley is a Master Teacher for the Living School at the Center for Action and Contemplation in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He is the author of several books and audio sets on contemplative living and healing with an exquisite repertoire of all traditions. Please visit his website Contemplative Way. Registration deadline July 1, 2015 Please visit www.tworiversconsulting.org events page.

EXPERIENCEMERCYTHIS SUMMER

2015 PROGRAMS IN CONTINUING FORMATIONMERCY CENTER BURLINGAME, CALIFORNIA

Retreat Direction Practicum June 15-20Multicultural, multi-denominational program with an emphasis on Ignatian Spirituality

Contemplative Group Leadership July 23-263-day intensive training for those who are creating and facilitating Contemplative Prayer Groups

www.mercy-center.org650.340.7474

SPIRITUAL DIRECTION

TRAINING PROGRAM2015-2017

The Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph seek to prepare persons for the ministry of spiritual direction and to enhance the skills of experienced spiritual directors, in the spirit of Saint Angela Merici. Participants will attend eight week-long sessions from 2015-2017 beginning Oct. 26. Over 40 individuals from across the U.S. have completed the program. For more information, please contact us by Aug. 31.

To register or for more information, contact Sheila Blandford: 270-229-0269 sheila.blandford@maplemount.org

A brochure can be found at www.ursulinesmsj.org

Limited scholarships available. Contact Sister Ann McGrew: 270-229-0200

Each weekly session will be led by a team of trained spiritual directors. Presence at all sessions is required to receive a certificate.

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directors, spiritual care providers, and supporters gathered together to share their experiences of companioning others, their hopes for the ways in which our educational events can serve as a catalyst for deepening and extending their work, and their vision for spiritual direction in the twenty-first century.

Coordinating council members were quite moved to learn more about the spirituality of the region, including the city’s enthusiastic commitment to a multi-year Compassionate Louisville campaign. The roots of Thomas Merton’s life and work can be found at the Abbey of Gethsemani (to the south of the city) and at the Thomas Merton Center in Louisville; local groups include the Passionist Earth and Spirit Center, and the Center for Interfaith Relations, among many others. The spiritual community of Louisville also spoke of a deep honouring of the original Native American inhabitants of the area.

Of course, there were many other matters to consider during our meetings in Louisville. Financial statements and tax returns were reviewed, and a draft budget for 2015 was approved. The coordinating council reviewed preliminary data from the recent member survey, which will serve as one of the guiding tools going forward with the strategic planning process. Many thanks to all the members who completed the survey. We also considered various models of leadership governance and discussed revisions to our vision and mission statements.

It was a busy but very fruitful two days of deep listening in Louisville. The strategic planning work continues with many activities over the coming months. The visioning of the future of spiritual direction is a multi-dimensional process, and we look forward to hearing from as many interested individuals and groups as possible. We will certainly share the fruits of our combined labours as they become available. ❉

John Pollard, MA, spiritual director and psychotherapist, teaches at the Transformational Arts College of Spiritual and Holistic Training in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

The Spirituality of a Prison Labyrinth Lorraine Villemaire, MA,SSJ; Catherine Rigali, LPN; Donna Zucker, PhD, RN, FAAN; and Kathryn Callahan, MS, RN [Massachusetts, USA]

The popularity of labyrinths over the last few years goes beyond anyone’s expectation. The phenomenon reflects not only the spiritual hunger that exists in our world, but a hunger most prevalent in the chaotic atmosphere of a prison.

The United Sates has 2.4 million people behind bars. Over 50% return to correctional facilities within three years. To lessen these statistics, educational and treatment programs place an emphasis on helping inmates re-integrate themselves into a life without recidivism, gain dignity, and become productive members of society.

A labyrinth program is a creative way to help reach this goal. It allows inmates time to reflect on the past, be in the present moment, and ponder a better future. Many inmates realize that in order to succeed, they must learn to find and relate to the higher Spirit who dwells within. The labyrinth is the spiritual tool that enables the inner and outer worlds to come together. Walking a labyrinth changes the thought process that may impact actions and behaviors. The experience offers new skills to use as a lifeline.

An important goal of the labyrinth walk is to be aware of the message the body wishes to convey. The body often gives a message the mind cannot give. By taking deep breaths and relaxing the body, a message or feeling usually surfaces. Being with and sharing this feeling with Higher Spirit offers guidance in life situations.

The twelve-week labyrinth program in the Hampshire Jail and House of Correction in Northampton, Massachusetts, USA, consists of the following themes: Introduction to the labyrinth, relaxation, self- esteem, positive thinking, forgiveness, peace, moral development, problem solving, meditation, laughter, spirituality, and prayer. Each class begins with relaxation exercises, input on the theme, the walk, and processing the experience through journal writing or oral discussion. The program is now in its eighth year.

Three years after the program started, an anonymous donor gave funds to build an in-ground labyrinth within the high, razor fences; the first in-ground labyrinth in a

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correctional facility in the United States. The full story of the process can be seen on YouTube under the title, Pathway to Change: The Jail Labyrinth Project.

What better place to bring a labyrinth than a jail. There is no greater satisfaction than witnessing the effect of a labyrinth walk on inmates. Consider their words:

“I don’t feel like I’m in jail when I walk the labyrinth.”

“I am closer to God and my faith.”

“I learned how to direct my anger by breathing and to take a step back and look at a situation in another way.”

“I think I can look at a negative situation and use the tools I learned to be a positive role model.”

“I understand more peaceful ways to resolve my problems.”

“When I walk the labyrinth I can forgive myself.”

Prisons are stressful places to live. They are noisy and crowded. For those who desire to engage the labyrinth, it is a source of light, hope, and opportunity for rehabilitation and change.

Are you new to the labyrinth? Would you like to learn more?Spiritual Directors International members Rev. Dr. Melanie L. Harris and Rev. Dr. Naomi O. Harris describe how they incorporate the labyrinth in their contemplative practice and demonstrate ways to include the labyrinth and other forms of walking meditation in spiritual direction. As African American women, they speak to the value of spiritual direction and the labyrinth for people of color. Increasingly, the availability of the labyrinth in hospitals, hospice settings,

Prison inmates find spaciousness and contemplative pause in the labyrinth.

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prisons, city parks, community centers, neighborhood backyards as well as retreat centers, churches, and temples encourage every day encounters with the sacred. Are you called to offer spiritual direction including the labyrinth? Learn more on the SDI YouTube channel. ❉

Spiritual Companionship Happens in Many Surprising WaysColette Lafia [California, USA]

“We do not find the meaning of life by ourselves alone—we find it with another.”

—Thomas Merton

The call to surrender arrived in my life unexpectedly, and from an unexpected source. On a cool October night in 2002, I found myself standing at the entrance of the Abbey of Gethsemani in Kentucky, USA, with my husband at my side, not entirely sure why I was there or what I was even looking for.

I was in my forties, and the last decade had been ten long years of loss and disappointment, filled with infertility, insomnia, my sister’s death from cancer, and the ups and downs of my husband’s small business. I wanted to live, to love, to triumph, but I was only collapsing, and sinking lower than I ever could have imagined.

So when a good friend suggested we spend time at the monastery, a place where she had found solace and spiritual strength, something inside of me listened. At Gethsemani, my husband and I entered a place where strangers became guests and could find refuge in a monastic community that lives, works, prays, and eats in uninterrupted hours of silence. It was here in this unfamiliar setting that I first stumbled onto a path of trust and acceptance—feeling the first stirrings of surrender—after years of encountering darkness and doubt.

On the first day of our visit, I met Brother René, a gentle and kind elderly monk stationed at the hospitality desk. As he gave me maps and schedules, we chatted about where I was from and my work. He also shared with me he had lived at Gethsemani for over fifty years

and would be celebrating his jubilee anniversary over the weekend.

“Are you ever lonely?” I asked him.

He paused for a moment, and then simply said, “No, just as you and your husband have had a relationship all these years, I have had a relationship with God. He has been my constant companion.”

I simply received his words, and in that moment, I felt we were being held in grace.

During my visit, I found solace in the company of the monks and the other guests. Together, they created a net to hold all those who came seeking. I was in the right place. One afternoon, Brother René shared with me that my question had really touched him, and he would be mentioning it in his talk to his fellow monks as part of his anniversary celebration.

I was struck by this. I had come here full of my own need, yet I had also touched his life.

When I returned home, I decided to write to Brother René, and ask for his prayers as my husband and I faced one last treatment to conceive. He wrote back within a week, and thus began our spiritual companionship and dialogue in letters about surrender, hope, faith, mystery, loss, God, and the power of love.

For five years, Brother René and I exchanged letters, as I faced the truth that I wouldn’t have children. The correspondence we shared became a way for me to

Entrance to the monks’ quarters at the Abbey of Gethsemani.

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Publisher: Spiritual Directors InternationalExecutive Director: Liz Budd Ellmann, MDivEditor: Katherine HamptonProduction Supervisor: Tobias BeckerSubmissions: connections@sdiworld.orgAdvertising: www.sdiworld.orgConnections is published three times a year (May, August, November). The names Spiritual Directors International®, SDIWorld®, and SDI® and its logo are trademarks of Spiritual Directors International, Inc., all rights reserved. Opinions and programs represented in this publication are of the authors and advertisers and may not represent the opinions of Spiritual Directors International, the Coordinating Council, or the editors.C

onnections

uncover the power and presence of surrender in my life.  

In one his letters, Brother René wrote:

God will not fail you. He cannot fail you. He is Love. Because this is truth, then we must change our understanding of whatever happens in our life. It is this positive outlook which is the fruit of faith. Ask God for a deeper faith.

—Brother René, letter dated 26 March 2003.

Through Brother Rene’s faithful friendship and unwavering confidence in God’s love, I discovered the path of sweet surrender. I was not alone on my journey. ❉

Colette Lafia is a spiritual director and writer. She is the author of the forthcoming title: Seeking Surrender: How my Friendship with a Trappist Monk Taught me to Trust and Embrace Life (Ave Maria, April 2015).

THE FREEING OF GODRevisiting the Gospels

as the years go by

A four-volume PDF e-manuscript which contains over five hundred pages in total for $12 (Australian)

Australian spiritual director and writer Patrick Oliver visits every chapter and verse of the four gospels, and recasts them from the perspective of the “second half of life”. When the Gospel is read through merely a moral approach, we can end up believing we’re never performing well enough or believing fervently enough. This PDF manuscript of the four gospels rereads the gospels from a mystical approach, which lets mistakes and wounds be the way into deeper loving. We can let ourselves and others be mixtures of light and shadow, and we can learn that forgiving life for being imperfect is the only way through. To purchase a PDF e-version of “The Freeing of God”, contact Patrick by email requesting a copy. Once he receives your email, he’ll send you a paypal invoice, through which you can pay by credit card. The four PDF documents which comprise “The Freeing of God” will then be emailed to you. Patrick’s address is patrickoliver01@gmail.com. Website: http://www.patrickoliver.net.au.

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