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I see myself standing on the banks of a fast-flowing river. I know I must cross, but there is no bridge. Then a Christ-figure comes to me carrying a large boulder and places it in front of me, in the river, inviting me to step out onto it. Every day he brings another boulder, another stepping stone. Every day I move farther into the waters, balancing precariously on my fragile faith.
One day he is late. I turn around, mid-river, and only then do I see where the boulders are coming from. He is de-constructing my cozy little cottage on the shore in order to turn it into stepping stones for my onward journey.
He is using my past to create my future.
He is asking me to reach out with both hands – one to let go of all I thought I couldn’t live without, and one to reach toward everything I thought I could never attain.
| | ~ adapted from “Stepping Stones” in Compass Points by Margaret Silf | | |
The OIS Catalog of Spiritual Directors has held a pivotal place in our spiritual direction initiatives since it began in 2017. It was created to match those seeking a spiritual director along the East Coast with Ignatian spiritual directors in their area. Over the past nine years we’ve assisted over 3,500 seekers and welcomed hundreds of spiritual directors to our Catalog. We’ve noted the passing of spiritual directors whose names still grace our Catalog in memoriam. What began as a modest effort has grown into the trusted referral service we offer today that attracts a growing number of seekers. Indeed, referral requests have grown by 58% in the last year alone.
We offer our sincere gratitude to all of you registered in the OIS Catalog who make this referral service possible. If you aren’t familiar with the Catalog, click here to learn more.
This issue of our newsletter shines a light on some important Catalog features, including the OIS Catalog Covenant. Scroll down to read about the tremendous success we’ve seen in the Covenant’s first year and the enthusiasm it is generating.
In the coming months we’ll be giving our Catalog a much-needed upgrade which includes developing a more user-friendly platform while making some adaptations to our referral process. We’ll share more details as this project progresses, and we welcome your prayers. In the spirit of the Margaret Silf reflection above, may God use our past to create our future.
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Warm Regards,
Nancy
Nancy Small
Associate Director for Spiritual Direction Initiatives
Office of Ignatian Spirituality
USA East Province of the Society of Jesus
929-232-3056
nsmall@jesuits.org
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Being Contemplatives in Action in Troubled Times
A Two-Session Virtual Series for Spiritual Directors
Program Leaders: Joanna Arellano-Gonzalez and Laurie Cassidy, PhD
Dates Oct. 8 and Nov. 10, 2026, 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM ET
Program Fee: $75
The ISDI offers generous financial assistance for those in need of it. Click here to apply.
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What does it mean to be a contemplative in action during these troubled times? How do we notice God if we are chronically in a state of being overworked, frightened, or enraged? How do we turn toward these troubled times with a faith that does justice when we are tempted to turn away? To contemplate God and participate in God's "laboring and loving" today requires a level of presence to ourselves, to others and to the times in which we are living.
Click here for more information and to register.
| | Via Seeking Volunteer Companions | |
Via: The Ignatian Way is the newest program from the Office of Ignatian Spirituality — a rich, ten-month introduction to Jesuit tradition and Ignatian Spirituality open to people of all ages.
Volunteer Companions are needed to facilitate a thoughtfully-designed curriculum and help guide participants on their Ignatian journey with the support of Via program coordinator Marselys Lucero, a former CLA regional coordinator. We are currently searching for Companions to serve in NYC and Philadelphia. If you or someone you know might be interested in this role, we invite you to reach out to learn more. Whether you're a CLA alum or a spiritual director looking to accompany others in their Ignatian journey, this is a meaningful opportunity to gift your time and talents in an exciting new way.
Virtual and in-person cohorts will be forming in a number of locations. To learn more or sign up, visit the Via page on the OIS website or email Marselys Lucero at mlucero@jesuits.org.
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| For Spiritual Directors of Color | |
There are now over 100 BIPOC spiritual directors registered on the ISDI community list of BIPOC Spiritual Directors. Members of this group are seeking deeper immersion in Ignatian spirituality rooted in BIPOC contexts and experiences and to be in consistent community with one another through book clubs, peer supervision, and shared practice.
Our 2026-2027 calendar is forming, and we will be in touch as things take shape.
In the meantime, here are some ways to stay connected:
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| The ISDI Spiritual Directors of Color webpage. | | A living resource of spiritual direction and spirituality materials written by people of color. Please share a book or an article that has shaped you. We build this together. | | Add your name to the ISDI community list of BIPOC Spiritual Directors. | | Creighton University Offering Scholarships for Spiritual Directors of Color | |
Creighton University is awarding scholarships for two Spiritual Directors of Color to enroll in its Spiritual Direction and Directed Retreats Graduate Certificate program. Grounded in the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola, this program includes a nine-month, directed practicum experience with supervised spiritual direction and retreat formation. Prerequisites include a Bachelor’s degree or equivalent and a minimum of two years receiving spiritual direction.
Click here to learn more about this program.
Applications will be accepted beginning in January, 2027 for the program that officially begins in Fall, 2027. To apply for this scholarship, please email Program Director Tom Kelly at thomaskelly@creighton.edu and indicate that you are interested in the Spiritual Director of Color scholarship.
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| ISDI Spiritual Directors of Color Project Facilitator: Phase 2 | |
Brenda Bertrand has been serving as the ISDI Spiritual Directors of Color Project Facilitator since February, 2026. In her five months of leadership, we’ve experienced a growing sense of community among Spiritual Directors of Color and expanded networking initiatives with Ignatian partners. We have received invaluable input that will help us explore new program options and ensure ongoing cultivation of a sense of belonging. Our community of spiritual directors and formators is drawing from a robust repository of BIPOC-authored resources that is enriching the field of spiritual direction.
As Brenda now moves on to new endeavors, we are expanding the Spiritual Directors of Color Project Facilitator role to a 10-month (Sept.-June), 200-hour position. Would you or someone you know be interested in exploring this possibility?
If so, please click here for a position description and information about how to proceed.
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OIS Catalog of Spiritual Directors
DID YOU KNOW about our spiritual direction referral ministry that connects seekers in the Jesuits USA East Province to trained spiritual directors listed in the OIS Catalog of Spiritual Directors?
Click here to learn more.
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How Does the Catalog Referral Process Work? If you are a spiritual director registered in our Catalog (or if you’re curious to know more), please click here to review the recently-updated steps of our spiritual direction referral process.
Timely Responses Needed. We are grateful to those directors in our Catalog who respond to spiritual direction referral requests in a timely manner (within two weeks). However, there are times when we are awaiting a reply for more than two weeks or we receive no reply at all. We ask that you kindly respond in a timely fashion so that we’ll know whether or not you’re available to consider a request. The sooner you let us know, the sooner we can take the next step to complete the referral process without delay.
Seeking Male Spiritual Directors. We have significantly less male spiritual directors than female directors registered in our Catalog, and more of our Catalog seekers are expressing a preference for a male spiritual director.
- If you are a male spiritual director registered in our Catalog and are available for spiritual direction referrals, please contact Michelle Gomez at mgomez@jesuits.org.
- If you are a trained male spiritual director who meets our Catalog criteria and would like to register for our Catalog, please click here.
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OIS Catalog Covenant One Year Update
Nearly 200 spiritual directors have completed the OIS Catalog Covenant in its first year! Thanks and congratulations to all of you who took this important step!
Introduced in August, 2025, this Covenant is offering continued growth and ongoing formation to spiritual directors in our Catalog while promoting accountability in the ministry of spiritual direction. We’re connecting spiritual directors in need of supervision with trained supervisors and seasoned supervision groups. We’re helping spiritual directors who need a spiritual director to find one. We’re assisting those searching for a spiritual direction training program to find one that is a good fit.
Through the Catalog Covenant, spiritual directors are coming together to talk about ethics, power and boundaries in the spiritual direction relationship while articulating a framework for their spiritual direction practice. They’re also expressing gratitude for the OIS Catalog Covenant initiative. Here’s a sampling of the comments we’ve received.
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This is much needed in our ministry and am so very pleased that OIS is setting a bar for those of us who serve in this ministry.
I applaud OIS for initiating this new initiative of OIS Catalog Covenant for Spiritual Directors. It is important to promote accountability, growth and continuing education in our field of Spiritual Direction, as we do not have a licensing body to regulate our practice. I have to do 12 continuing education credits each year for three years to renew my license in Social Work. The OIS expectations for Spiritual Directors are fair and relatively consistent with most accountability practices in the helping professions. Bravo!
I’ve been practicing as a spiritual director for nearly 30 years. I think ethical accountability is so important and I am glad you are doing this. I think the Catalogue Covenant is excellent.
I’ve been crying out for years for someone to start setting some standards for how we operate as spiritual directors and the Catalog Covenant feels like an answer to prayer. Thank you.
What a well-organized and greatly informative seminar on ethics you offered! Thanks so much for putting this together for us, and for the accountability you have now established among all the spiritual directors in the OIS system.
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Spiritual Directors who have signed the Catalog Covenant will be given preference in our spiritual direction referral process.
Click here to learn more about the Covenant and how to complete the 5-step Covenant process.
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If you are registered in the OIS Catalog and have not completed the Covenant process, you will not be removed from the Catalog at this time. We invite you to complete the Catalog Covenant process during our 2026-27 program year. The process includes asynchronously viewing an Ethics in Spiritual Direction video and attending an ethics conversation in September, 2026 or March, 2027. Click here to learn more.
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If you do not meet the Catalog Covenant criteria at this time, we hope you will work toward meeting it and we want to support you. Click here to learn more.
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If you no longer wish to be listed in our Catalog of Spiritual Directors, please contact us at spiritualdirection@jesuitseastois.org and we will be happy to remove your record from our Catalog.
Some of you have expressed interest in sharing the OIS Ethics in Spiritual Direction training video with others. We are now accepting applications for using the video in certain settings that provide facilitated conversation about the video. A usage fee will be required. If you would like to view and complete the application, click here.
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| Ongoing Spiritual Director Formation | | World On Fire Spiritual Direction Formation Program | |
Tuesday, August 4, 2026, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Dreams in Spiritual Direction (Annual Summer Speaker Series)
Program Leader: Brother Don Bisson, FMS
Hybrid (in-person and virtual options)
St. Francis Springs Prayer Center, Stoneville, NC
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| An Introduction to Directing the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola | |
August 16-28, 2026
Program Fee: Regularly $2500, currently being offered for $1250
Ronald A. Mercier, SJ, Hung Pham SJ, Damian Zynda, ThD
Ignatian Spirituality Centre of Montreal
This two-week program is designed to provide further formation in directing the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola. Participants will engage in theory and practice in the Spiritual Exercises. Preparing spiritual directors to give the Spiritual Exercises is a priority of the Jesuit Conference of the US and Canada. Due to a generous donation, a one-time-only opportunity for half-price tuition is offered this year. The due date for registration is August 1, 2026.
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| Spiritual Director Enrichment Days (Mercy by the Sea) | |
Saturday, September 12, 2026, 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM
Vicarious Traumatization
Program Leader: Carol Hovey
In-person, Mercy by the Sea, Madison, CT
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Saturday, October 10, 2026, 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM
Exploring the Dynamics of the Directed Retreat: Directing the Prayer of Another
Program Leader: Karen Doyle, SSJ
In-person, Mercy by the Sea, Madison, CT
| | Spiritual Director Enrichment Session (Mercy by the Sea) | | |
Sunday, October 11, 2026, 1:00 PM to 4:30 PM
Listening to the Prayer of Another
Program Leader: Karen Doyle, SSJ
Virtual, Mercy by the Sea, Madison, CT
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Supervision
If you are in need of individual or group supervision, here are two good resources:
| | | Together in the Mystery offers group and individual supervision. | | The Ignatian Spiritual Direction Initiative | ISDI offers referrals for group/individual supervision - limited to spiritual directors living within the Jesuits USA East province – Maine to Georgia. | | |
Have You Completed a Supervision Training Program?
If you received a certificate of completion from your program and would like to be added to the OIS Supervisor List (a resource for individual and group supervision), please click here to enroll.
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What are they saying about
Spiritual Direction?
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"For me, decolonising spiritual direction means developing an approach to spiritual direction that is awake to the context in which the client or directee is living... We do so by being aware of history, of tradition, of the roots or origins of the methodology we are using… Faith, life, love—the very lifeblood of spirituality—are dynamic, progressive, evolving things, always leading us deeper and deeper into the arms and heart of God. Surely then, should spiritual direction be progressive, dynamic, evolving, and searching."
~ Chris Ahrends, excerpted from Opening to Love: Embodying Prophetic, Decolonizing Spiritual Direction (Presence Journal, November 2025)
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