Welcome everybody to the, spiritual direction certificate webinar on, help others flourish in a relationship with the Lord.
My name is Greg Shapiro.
I am the admissions adviser here at Divine Mercy University, and, I've been in this role advising for the SDC program, not too long.
Well, I only started, back in late May or so.
But before that, I was enrolling for the, master's in psych program here at Divine Mercy, and, that began back in late twenty twenty.
And I've been actually enrolling within, different grad programs for social services for, almost seven years now.
So I have bit of experience with this, but, I'm the the, point of of of, contact for those that are looking to start their program.
With me today are Maria Brackett.
She's our program director for the SDC program.
And, also, we have Becky Kramer who is, just wrapping up her her SDC, studies.
So I will pause here and allow for each of them to introduce themselves.
Thanks so much, Greg.
It's great to be able to be here, Becky.
And, Greg, thanks for being with us.
We're really excited to have Becky with us to have a student to hear a little bit about their perspective and of the program and what it's been like for them.
As Greg said, I'm the program director here at the university of the spiritual direction certificate, and I've been in this role now for a good two and a half years and as well as being part of the development team of the certificate.
So, Becky, why don't you introduce yourself and just tell us a little bit about you, like where you're from, what you do, what you spend your time doing.
Sure.
Okay.
My name is Becky Kramer, and I live in Texas.
And, I'm married for twenty eight years.
I have two children, called children, but they're young adults now.
One's married, one's in college.
And, I'm the American Christie women's section director here in our in our area.
And, I've, enjoyed getting to, you know, step back into the study world and being part of the spiritual direction, certificate program, and just, finding that niche to where I can serve others in the church, by helping, you know, walk along a spiritual path with them.
So this is really kind of a fill a a need that I didn't realize that I had.
But something that's been very fruitful for me and, obviously, for others as well.
So it's it's been something that's been it's been really good, for me for the past couple of years, and I'm looking forward to to growing into this role and to helping others along the way.
Thanks so much.
So you're a mom and a wife, a layperson we've had in these different, interviews that we've been doing here about the program and with students.
We've had a deacon and a permanent deacon and a priest, and and now it's great to have a woman and a lay woman here.
So, what you what drew you to this program or what drew you to wanna, you know, start learning more about spiritual direction?
Well, I noticed well, several years ago, just interactions with friends and people and acquaintances, you know, with coffee or at lunch.
It started to dawn on me that people would say, how do you they would open up and tell me their stories and and, like, reveal things that they were unaware that they were getting ready to reveal and say, wow.
I I didn't realize that I was gonna tell you that.
And then I said, I didn't realize that you would tell me something like that either.
And I brought it up to my spiritual director, and she said, you know, some people just have a really good gift for listening.
So I really thought about that, and I said, you know, I I wonder what there is to this, you know, this gift of listening.
I didn't know that I had that within myself.
And then my own spiritual director said, you know, maybe you should check into spiritual direction.
And not feeling qualified for that myself, she said, there's a new program beginning with Divine Mercy University.
You should look into it.
And so I started to investigate it and said, you know, this is something that I really would like to think about.
I was drawn to it not only because of the spiritual aspect but because of the human sciences.
I have a science degree myself, and so, it was compelling that it looked at the whole person, not just the spiritual aspect, but the, psychological aspect as well, that, I don't think they're separated, you know, the person, and that was really important to me.
So while I stepped into the program, you know, and started started learning more, I still didn't feel very qualified, which I think is probably a good thing.
It kept me humble all through all throughout, which I think was very important, to the learning process.
Wow.
Thanks for sharing that, Becky.
Yeah.
So it's kind of like you felt, you know, people were coming to you and kind of opening up and sharing about their their their experience in life or, you know, it's almost naturally you started to feel kind of drawn to this, I guess.
Now feeling that things were aligning, but the Lord was sending you people.
And so you started so the program had started in January 2019.
So I'm imagining you started then.
I did.
I started with that first group, which was really great.
It was it was a neat program to start.
It was a a step out in faith having been out of the learning community for quite a number of years, and then to step into something that was completely new in distance learning.
My my own kids, one of them was in college, and so it was nothing new for her.
And I'd say, this is this is completely different for me.
You know?
I'm used to attending class with people around me.
And so doing something that's on the computer and, it was totally new.
So I I had to learn a new way of of learning.
But it was good.
It was good.
It was it allowed me to be able to fill you know, fit that in around, my schedule.
And, you know, I didn't it was challenging, but it introspective for me, as well.
It helped me to grow as a learner, as a person, and also, made me a lot more empathetic to, to those around me, especially my kids in college.
Right.
So as we think about our directees, but it kind of people often say, right, that this that just learning all these things helps all their relationships.
Well, I guess if it helps us in our relationship with the Lord, it can it overflows and all those other relationships too.
So while you're finishing up the SCC program right now, so I guess in general I mean, I'll get down to some details, but what has your experience been like in the SCC program just in general?
You've spoken a little bit about it, like learning and the online and Sure.
Yeah.
Well, I think the the best thing about it has been, the connections that I've made, with different, participants in the program.
You know, being able to, interact with them even remotely, and just glean the perspectives and information and insight into not only spiritual direction, but, you know, into their own relationships and, you know, to learn from them, that's been that's been a huge asset for me.
You know, interactions that I might not have with the with the directee on my own, I might know that they're experiencing a certain situation, but somebody else in in our in the class that I've, you know, been in, somebody else might have to be able to listen to their experience with that and to be able to, for me, to be able to learn from that has been just huge for me.
And so I would say that's probably been the greatest asset is to be able to learn from others, throughout the process.
And then to have just, you know, very close connections with the instructors, and the others, you know, the, the others that are involved in providing support along the way, whether it's through the practicums.
And, you know, that's been so beneficial.
We've been re you know, reaching out at any time, really, with a question, you know, outside of class, offline, whatever that might be, And and to be able to to have that support returned, that's been that's been very beneficial as well.
Wow.
That sounds great, those connections.
Because sometimes people think when you study online that they're maybe you could you won't have that experience of connection or really building relationships, but it sounds like you did.
Yeah.
It I mean, it does feel that way at first, you know, when you're in the, when you're in the trenches of a class and you you really desire to be able to bounce something off of the person next to you or have a small group, with a person, you know, direct face to face, it it does kinda feel that way initially.
But when you realize that, you know, you you can take the time to collect your thoughts and to write it out and send that out and have that returned to you in a meaningful way, that that connection is actually there.
It's just it's virtual.
And so it's a little different.
But you there are opportunities within the program to have that face to face meeting.
I know that that will come up in a little bit.
And and that's that's worth it, you know, to be able to look forward to those times where you can meet the people face to face.
And Mhmm.
And know that and this is the person I always see on the computer.
This is really neat to be able to talk to them and and chat with them one on one, and interact with them in other settings outside of the spiritual directions, has been very beneficial as well.
Oh, yeah.
So those relationships grow over time.
So I was thinking about, you you talked about so was the online experience as difficult as you thought it was gonna be?
Or after the initial, growth to learn about, you know, the program, the form the platform that's used and, getting the the structure of the class down, you know, learning that things are you know, class runs from Wednesday to a Tuesday.
You know, that's a little bit different format than we're used to, you know, in a traditional learning environment.
Once you get the the hang of it, so to speak, no.
It's not that difficult.
There's, you know, scheduling the time to to do the readings and that are required for classes, watch the videos and, you know, post your responses and answer to other people.
Just keeping your time frames in mind and working the schedules or, you know, it's like any other class when there's due dates, just, you know, the framework is slightly different because it's online.
That's all.
Yeah.
Exactly.
So what did you find the most difficult about the program and studying it through these years?
Probably some of the I would say some of the texts.
Some of the texts, and and it had nothing to do with, the context of it.
It was just, you know, some of it was just difficult for me, I think.
You know, there are some church fathers who were just inherently more difficult to read than others.
For me, that was true.
I'm just, you know, drawn to some, you know, some authors more than others, and, you know, that's just that's just a personal personal thing, I think.
Yeah.
You know, overall, I don't think that the program was, you know, too difficult for for someone called to be a spiritual director, someone with that, you know, that gift and that charisma and that call in their heart.
I don't think it's too difficult to follow.
In fact, I think even if there's someone who feels like maybe I don't want their certificate, maybe I just want to learn more, I wanna audit the class, whatever it might be, the information itself is so valuable and so useful to everyday life and interact just with other people.
You know, it's just it it's it's very important, you know, in our in our own day to day interactions.
Yeah.
That's true.
So what did you find most helpful about the program?
I mean, I talk I know that you talked about the relationships and everything.
Sure.
Yeah.
It's made me, it's it's really instilled in me a desire to have such empathy for others.
You know?
We don't we never know where someone else is coming from, what's what's happening, where their story is.
And so just giving them the benefit, you know, benefit of the doubt and just having that sympathetic heart for others is just so important.
You know, that, you know, I I don't know what's going on over there, and I don't know what the holy spirit is doing, you know, in their life.
And and just knowing that, you know, that I don't know.
That that's just been the over that's been the overarching thing for me is, you know, exhibiting that empathy for others, and that's been something that's been huge.
Not that I didn't necessarily have that skill to begin with, but but it definitely has been honed, to to listen, to listen well, to listen with an empathetic ear, and that listening to others is is, can be healing for them and being it's a very important, a very important skill.
Yeah.
That deep listening, it sounds like kind of like not not judging, just kinda try or trying to interpret it, just trying to listen in order to understand.
Sounds like you, you know, to kinda be with them where they are.
So you we you talked a little bit about the residencies.
You mentioned them as, you know, sort of that in person experience.
So what what were they like, for you?
Yeah.
Sure.
So the, well, the first one, for my group that I was in, was during COVID.
And so it was it was virtual.
But it was still, it was still a really good, experience to be able to spend an extended period of time with that group of people.
Even though we were still virtual, it was still an immersive experience.
The second residency, was in person for me, and that was that was incredible to be able to be face to face with people.
I I remember, one priest that was in one of my classes.
I saw him for the first time in person, and I said, oh, you're much taller than you look like on the computer.
So that was that was a neat interaction, you know, to be able to to see someone, face to face and to you know, there's just a there's a different dimension, right, than than being on this computer screen.
But then to be able to practice, you know, have these practical sessions with them, that was it.
That was very valuable, because we practice, you know, quite a bit in sessions online, I'm like, you know, with on the computer.
But being able to have that in person, it's it's you can't replace that either, because so many spiritual direction sessions are in person, not not virtual.
And so that was a that was a great, great value, to the experience is to have that one on one or, you know, small group session, and have that feedback then too from a staff member in person, you know, real time right then on what was happening in that in those sessions as well.
So it was good to be able to kind of touch base in person, so to speak.
So just to give the people that are on the comp, the webinar a little bit of context, you know, and Greg did the great job of putting the slide up here about this.
But we have two residencies here in Sterling, Virginia that are part of the program.
And they're basically, like, one a year if you go through the program at at the regular pace, you know, from a Wednesday evening to a Sunday, lunch.
And like Becky was saying, there's just a lot of learning with, with, presentations by the faculty and then those, scenarios, those triads where you sit with a faculty member and fellow students as in a small group and and run through some vignettes of spiritual direction and, or mock sessions and then where you get feedback.
And the first residency really focuses on those basic listening skills as Becky was mentioning.
And then the second one goes deeper into the spiritual direction relationship and some of those, deeper listening or situations that could arise as far as boundaries or relationship building as the as the spiritual direction relationship goes on.
So just working through all those, they're intense moments, Becky.
Right?
Everyone says that at the end, they're like, oh, this was great, but everyone's a little bit tired, even though their hearts are filled, seeing the others.
But, yeah, there it's, one student said something like you learn in a residency, you know, all that you learned in a whole course or something, just as as far as how much learning goes on as well as well as all the other aspects of seeing tell students and that retreat that we try to have on Saturday morning to give you time just to kind of go over the things in your heart with the lord.
And so a good packed, packed filled time, but, definitely, I think it's just, it's different than the online learning even though it's it's very similar as far as the content and the practices.
And but, just, I guess, to be able to have the opportunity to see each other and be in person is just hones things a little bit better.
What surprised you, Becky, about the experience of the program?
Was there anything that you say, gosh.
I didn't realize that this would be something that I would learn or that this would be something kind of a fruit that I would get from the program?
I suppose for me, like I mentioned earlier, I went in kind of feeling insecure.
Like, I don't know if I have what it takes to do this.
I, you know, I was feeling, you know, outwardly validation, yeah, you should really do this, you have these gifts, but inwardly I was thinking, yeah, I'm not really sure, you know, and knowing that, you know, God equips the called, he doesn't necessarily call the equipped, I kept kept that in my mind, like, just stick with it.
You know?
He's brought you to this.
There's probably something to this.
You know?
He's gonna he's gonna give you what you need to get through.
And so I I just kept kinda repeating that to myself.
And, you know, I over and over again, there there were lights presented, you know, like, okay.
This is I'm I can see the growth here in myself.
I can see some confidence building here, there, and, I liked what I was learning.
I I liked what I was hearing.
I liked the classes.
I liked that there was a good a good blend of spirituality and human sciences, like I mentioned earlier.
I liked that there were, that we were offered the and and I was gonna say with the residencies, especially the safe spaces to practice the difficult, you know, the difficult what what could be difficult in a spiritual direction session so that we would have those experiences kind of to to reflect back on if we had to face those, in a in a real life session.
And so, you know, those were, I guess, maybe those were a bit of a surprise that I didn't I didn't expect those graces to come my way, because I felt, you know, a little out of sorts in starting the program, but at the end, I felt, okay.
You know, all the tools are in my tool bag here.
I feel, you know, I feel kind of equipped.
Do I feel like I know it all?
No.
Absolutely not.
I'm still learning.
But I feel like, you know, the tools have been given to me to to head out and and be, you know, begin to be successful.
That's so interesting.
Yeah.
Definitely something that I hear often students saying that they feel confident.
They don't feel like overconfident because they know it's sacred ground and the Lord is so, you know, it's so much of the place of the Lord at work with the person.
Right?
But they do feel kind of like you were expressing that they they do have what they need.
It's a matter of, using those skills and growing and learn continuing to learn, but there, yeah, there is a certain confidence, by the end of the program, which is beautiful to see.
Right.
And also I think it's a confidence that comes because just like you, many people start the program thinking, well, I think this is the direction I should be going in, but I guess in time I'll understand or I'll know.
Right?
So I think there's also maybe a confidence that comes that the Lord kind of confirms it in your heart as you go along.
Right?
And you're doing it.
Yeah.
And even when there's, you know, when you're actually, you know, working with real direct fees, not just classmates and triad sessions, and and you take the time to reflect and do case studies with those and present them back, you know, and you can see the fruits in those sessions then and think, okay.
He is he is working.
The holy spirit is working through this and revealing to me, you know, helping to to boost my confidence in it.
Okay.
This is this is working.
This is fruitful, and this is or this is an area I need to grow in, which has been beneficial too.
Mhmm.
Yes.
Exactly.
So you're talking about those, like, supervision sessions that you have when you start going through those practicum hours and start seeing people in spiritual direction.
And then I imagine the experience that you are having now that you've finished the program, you know, just seeing people in spiritual direction and seeing, that they are growing, that the Lord does, make himself present there.
Sure.
That's all very confirming, like you said.
What would you say to a lay person?
She's to amaze me with the voice shows up.
I right.
Exactly.
You know, it's funny because, I guess it's just it's a great I think it's it's it's comforting when he shows up and we understand that he's there.
Right?
Yeah.
What would you say to a layperson that's looking into our program?
Because, you know, there are priests in the program, permanent deacons, some sisters lay consecrated, men and women.
But what would you say to a layperson that's like a husband or wife or that just but feeling kind of this tug to want to be a part of this ministry?
I would say that, it is for everyone.
You know, I felt a little intimidated, actually, at first being a lay person in class with priests and consecrated women and sisters and religious.
And, but, you know, it was very comforting, to be, you know, in in class with them, in session, triad sessions with them, and realized that we were all journeying together.
It was that was something that I had to particularly get over, that we're on a journey together, and we're all headed the direction, that the holy spirit wants us to move.
And so there's really there's there's not a lot of difference.
Maybe some people have had more formation in the past than others.
But if there's a call to spiritual direction and there's a call to this particular program, then the Lord has a purpose for having you here.
Whether you're a layperson, a priest, a religious, a consecrated, you know, the lord's purpose is is larger than, than your vocation.
So, you know, if if that tag is there, answer the call.
Because the Okay.
You know, he has a point.
Becky, I have a question about that, by the way.
I appreciate you sharing that.
Mhmm.
What has been the most beneficial part for you as a student in having your fellow classmates coming from different vocations and different, different sorts of walks of life or or places where they've come from and have now, just like you, found the calling to serve as a spiritual direction.
What has benefited you in in having this sort of cohort of a of a mixture?
So well, like I mentioned, you know, it's something that I had to get over a little bit.
You know, my first assignment in a triad was I was the spiritual director to, the directee who was a priest, and I thought, how on earth are we supposed to do this?
But it was a, you know, in a vignette where there were scenarios that we had to play.
And so it really wasn't him as a priest.
It was him playing the role of someone else.
You know?
And so you have to kind of move out of the mindset of the the person as in their vocation to the person that they're portraying in the moment.
And and that was I think that was kind of eye opening, because that put me, in a different perspective.
And, you know, they're a learner too.
I'm a learner, and they're a learner too.
And we're all in that same boat together as learners, and we all come from different vocations.
And as I have something to learn from that priest as a learner, he has something to learn from me as a layperson.
You know, I'm a woman who's married.
He's not a woman who's married.
You know?
So there's something to learn, you know, in that relationship for each of us.
And that was really beneficial once once I got over that little hump of, you know, that little terror of this is a priest, and I have to offer him spiritual direction.
So, it's it's that was you know, some people may not have a problem with that.
I didn't after that time.
So, Becky, let's, talk a little bit about, like, what are you how are you thinking to use this ministry or put in practice, being a spiritual director?
You know, who are you hoping to serve?
Or Yeah.
So one of the things we really talked about, I think it was in the last SDC 600 class and somewhat in the 500 class too.
Maybe it was presented there first, was about our boundaries and kind of, you know, taking care of ourselves as spiritual directors.
And that really got me to thinking about, you know, who I wanted to serve and how often.
And, you know, I I really feel called to serving women, you know, in our in the area here.
Like I mentioned at the beginning, I'm the section director here for random Christie women.
And so I see primarily random Christie women, but then I have some young adult women who I see also.
I'm in a college town.
So there are a few, young women recently graduated from college who I see, as directees as well.
And so I think, you know, that for me is, where I've established my boundaries as, you know, young women who graduated from college up through, you know, adulthood, and women.
And, you know, I I'm really gonna hold firm to that because I feel that that's where, my comfort is.
You know, that that's came through a lot of prayer, and discernment.
Well, you know what?
Naturally, we we want to help people, you know, and there are times where I think, oh gosh.
That that man could really use a spiritual director, but that's outside of my comfort.
You know?
That's outside of where I've established my boundaries.
So I you know what?
That maybe he needs a spiritual director, but it's not gonna be me.
I will gladly, you know, turn him over to someone else.
But it's very important to to stick with that, to know what my lane is and and drive in that lane.
Yeah.
Okay.
Thanks for sharing that.
Yeah.
Just how because sometimes it can be difficult for people to imagine.
Well, if when I am a spiritual director, you know, who will I be serving or in what ways?
Right?
Even though here at the university, we are always getting calls of people saying, how could I find a spiritual director?
So there are a lot of people out there looking for spiritual directors too.
Yeah.
Well, let's, hand it over to you, Greg.
Is there anything that you wanted to ask or anything you wanted to say at this point in time?
Or if we open up to questions or there we go.
So I'm I'm gonna cover a little bit more of the details.
But one question I do have for you, Becky, because you had mentioned a little bit earlier how, in this program, you found the, the the psychological aspect being beneficial.
So in your words, how would you describe it as being how did it make it so much more beneficial?
Because that is something that makes this program so unique from other spiritual direction programs out there.
So how has it benefited you, and how do you see it benefiting you moving forward as a spiritual director?
Sure.
Well, I think I always keep, one of, I think it was doctor Kathy sayings from SDC 500 in the back of my mind.
When an when a directee presents with something and it it's not about what it's about.
Right?
And I think there's always something deeper, in for the directee, and sometimes that's spiritual and sometimes it's not.
Sometimes it's psychological.
And so being able, as a spiritual direct director, to understand that there's a difference between the two, that there could be something else that's going on with that particular person that's maybe not a spiritual issue at all, but maybe something that might be they might be attempting to over spiritualize, but it might be a psychological issue.
Being able to you know, having that, understanding and that little bit that background knowledge, not that not that, you know, being a spiritual director, having gone through this particular program makes me any kind of professional at all.
I'm not.
That's why, you know, it it allows me to say, you know, there's there's something outside of the spiritual aspect here that may be a different, problem that might might necessitate a referral to someone who is a professional.
The the the training that we've received, at least the instruction and and psychological development and, the a few of the, issues that could prop up in spiritual direction sessions have, alerted us that, you know, these are possible situations that could arise that that could necessitate referrals and to be aware of those things.
So I I think that's very beneficial because sometimes in some training programs, I'm I'm guessing that that probably is not necessarily at the forefront.
And so there could be some confusion maybe that comes in.
Maybe there's some help that's needed that's quite possibly not sought or, you know, looked into for the directee.
And, you know, I personally have a couple of directees that do have a psychologist and me as a spiritual director, and, you know, we talk about that openly.
And there are a few times where I've said, you know, this is probably something you might want to talk to your psychologist about and because it's not in the spiritual realm, and and they're okay with that.
You know?
And and that's a perfectly healthy relationship.
Yeah.
I I appreciate you sharing that.
I think you put it so well.
Many times when I speak with folks that are looking into this program and will become, potential students with us, it's very often that they'll ask, why would this be beneficial having this sort of, psychological component?
And I share with them the same thing that you just shared that it really can be helpful to have a better sense of maybe where the directly is, psychologically.
And, of course, as you mentioned, this does not qualify someone to become a licensed professional counselor or a clinician, but they still have a little bit more of a sense of maybe where they are currently as far as their mental health.
They can tap into a little bit more of a clarity of of where they are at that moment.
And if necessary, the director can perhaps even effectively, refer them to a licensed professional if that's needed, especially if that's going to be helpful for them to better receive spiritual direction, as that can happen many times.
Maybe there's something blocking them, psychologically from hearing what the director is, trying to guide them into or helping them to find their way to the light.
So, anyway, the I I think you shared it so perfectly, and that's exactly what I like to share with our our, potential students as well.
Thank you.
Yeah.
So, you know, what what I'll do for now is just share with our guests a little bit about the ins and outs of the program.
And, again, I'm just gonna remind everyone, if you have any questions, whether it's for me or for Maria or Becky, feel free to drop them in the chat section or the q and a section.
We'll be sure to get to those, very shortly.
But for a lot of you, you're here to also just learn a little bit more about the, the the details and what to expect in the program.
So, just to share with you, we have six courses, and, all of the courses are offered online.
And, Becky had mentioned that she made connections with with, her with her fellow students.
So even though they're done online and they're also done asynchronously so for instance, that means you're not logging into Zoom so much as you're logging into your discussion boards and you're communicating that way, that camaraderie is still there.
Every time I speak with students about it, they all say that they they make those connections.
But one of the other benefits of having it done online and asynchronously is that this gives you flexibility.
It gives you the ability to log in to your classes at whatever point works within your schedule.
So if you're a student that maybe you best, learn early in the morning before, the world has woken up, but you're sort of at that peaceful time of the early hours, you can log in and participate at that point.
Or if you prefer to maybe do it midday or if it makes more sense for you to do it as the day is winding down into the late evenings, again, you can you can log in at those hours too.
So you'll still have your assignments and your deadlines, but as far as your classroom participation, that's completely up to you as a student.
And then, of course, also, as we mentioned, while all the courses are online, there are a couple of residencies, and there's also practicum hours.
And so just jumping back to the residencies, as Maria had mentioned, there are two of these.
And one happens during your third course, so your third term.
The second one would happen during your fifth term.
And the first one, as we shared, it's it's really a way for the students to, put into practice the skills and knowledge and and the, the listening skills that they're learning.
Whereas the second residency is designed for students to, to prepare for their their practicum hours.
These would be when you're actually active as a spiritual director and logging in your hours as you're, completing your program.
The residencies are done on campus.
They're done here in Sterling, Virginia.
And we're about a five minute drive from the, Dulles Airport.
So if you're flying in, we're just around the corner.
And, also, students are lodged right next door at the Marriott Hotel, so everything is in very close proximity.
So with that, I just to cover the time commitment as well.
So students are taking one course per eight week term.
So you're doing one at a time.
And, usually, this is not set in stone, but more of just a pattern we've seen with students.
Usually, they're committing somewhere between six to nine hours per week.
It could range depending on the course that you're in, the familiarity you have with the content, that sort of thing.
But, again, this is just more of a pattern.
So if you're one that's a fast reader, it might take you less time.
If you're one that likes to take your time absorbing the information, then, you know, expect to put in maybe nine, ten hours a week.
Now with that, there are breaks between the courses that you're taking, so you're not taking a course back to back, but rather, there's a lot of breathing room between your courses.
So for instance, once you complete one of your courses for eight weeks, you'll go into a eight, nine, ten week break, depending on where we are in the academic calendar.
So this gives students time to if they wanted to reread the material, they could do that.
If they wanted to just take a full step back, and take that break, of course, that's something they can do as well.
But it's also a good time for students to replenish their funds or maybe to schedule their their travel time or other major events around those breaks.
And also just to highlight, the the the major holidays do fall during these downtimes as well.
So Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, these happen during these, these breaks in the program.
And then, of course, it's also a two year program of completion in total.
So right there, I'm going to pause, and I know that we have some questions coming in.
So why don't we break into those, so we might have questions for, Maria or Becky or myself.
So I'll start with the first one.
And one question is, I live in South Africa and wish to know about fees and how I would do practicals.
So the practical hours.
So that's a great question.
So let's talk about the cost for just a moment.
And, on on the screen, we have the the, tuition.
So the the cost per course is 778, And there may be room to reduce it, by the way, if you work in ministry, if you are a volunteer at your parish, or with your diocese or maybe even any other, church affiliated organizations, then there's room to bring the cost down by 10%.
So, hopefully, we'll be able to speak one on one about this, and we can see if this is something that you're eligible for.
But at a baseline, it's $7.78 per course.
And then the cost per residency is 1,000, and that's gonna cover your lodging.
It's gonna cover your, most of your meals.
It'll cover your materials.
So the only thing that you're responsible for would be your travel and three of your dinners.
But everything else will be covered under that thousand.
So another question came from Dante.
And, Maria, this might be a good question for you.
So Dante asked, what would be the percentage of laypeople serving as a spiritual director in The US?
I know that might be a little bit tricky to quantify, but if you could just share your experience anyway as a, faculty and spiritual director.
Yeah.
Dante, so there's not really a organization that collects all this data, so I think it's a really a little bit hard to be able to know that.
I can tell you that in our program, I think it's 60% of the students are laypeople.
I just pulled the numbers recently.
So that's what I can tell you about our program.
But I don't know really in The US because there's not an organization that brings together that data just yet.
Let's see if in the future there would be.
And so that's how what our kind of, like, our profile of our program looks like.
So Great.
Good question.
Good question, Dante.
Michelle has a couple of questions.
And her first question, Michelle, Maria, this would be another good one for you.
So she included a link, and I I I can't open that right now.
And I think it's a link to another spiritual direction program.
But she wrote, what's the different what are the differences between secular spiritual direction, and then, she included the link, versus Catholic, Divine Mercy University spiritual direction?
Yeah.
So I see that link that Michelle's referring to, which is called, Spiritual Direction International, which is kind of like a conglomerate of all different faith traditions and different people that just are coming together as spiritual directors or spiritual companions.
Right?
What we teach here at the university is really spiritual direction within the Catholic Christian tradition, spiritual direction.
So following the the that theology and the tradition, it's, you know, it's one of the earliest traditions of spiritual direction.
And a lot of the other faith traditions It's really kind of branch off of the Catholic tradition, for a spiritual direction.
But since spiritual direction really is about, walking with a person in their relationship with the Lord, it's, it always has that transcendent dimension to it.
You know, our relationships with other people, also have a transcendent dimension.
But our relationship with the Lord is a supernatural dimension.
And that's really, you know, what we're trying to help a person to understand and perceive sometimes that that which is, invisible to the human eye, but very visible to the human heart.
So, that's really, where we try to focus.
I hope that answers that question for Michelle.
Good.
And she has another question.
I can answer this next one.
So Michelle asked, is there flexibility on campus campus hybrid, classes?
I'm retired military residing in Germany.
So great great great question, Michelle.
So just as a as a reminder about the way that the courses are are formatted.
So all of the six courses all six courses are done online, but along with that, there are some face to face components.
So the the residencies are something that, you would be traveling to campus for.
Your practicum hours would be done in your local area, so you don't have to travel for that.
That could be done in your parish or within your postulate or, whatever is local to you.
But when it comes to the residencies, because I think it's worth putting a little bit more information on that and the flexibility.
So each residency, is built into their corresponding courses.
So the third course that you're taking has a residency built into it.
So it is required that once you're in that third course that you do participate in that residency.
But for many students, they do find themselves, maybe once they're approaching that third course I'm just using the third course as an example.
But for those that maybe they they're approaching their third course, but they know they won't be able to make a travel for that time.
So if that's the case, then what I would suggest doing is maybe taking a leave of absence for that one.
And then when you're ready to make that travel for that residency, that's when it would be a great time for you to jump back to the program and get reinstated, back into your classes.
So, I don't always suggest taking a leave of absence, but if it's for a good reason, if it's because, you know, there's a wedding coming up or whatever it may be, I think these are great reasons.
And that might be a good reason to take that leave of absence, and then you can jump back into the program when you're ready.
Yeah.
And, Becky, you know about that.
Right?
Because you're Absolutely.
Leaves of absences.
Right?
My daughter got married.
Exactly.
Life happens.
So the program in the program, you're allowed to do up to three leaves of absence to take off three terms in different times.
They could be consecutive, or they can be, you know, just at different moments just because life does happen at different moments.
And and, maybe even though you'd love to stay with your cohort, you might have to take off a a term for one reason or another.
But as Greg was saying, the residencies are part of the an essential part of the program, so they are obligatory.
At this point in time, we don't have, we did run virtual residencies during the pandemic, but we don't do, like, mixed learning now.
We don't do, like, an in person residency and also have it be virtual at the same time just because it's not very useful for either peep either students.
So ones that are virtual and the ones that are here.
So we've just opted really for the best experience, that we want the students to have, which we think is an in person.
And there are students, Michelle, that live in Europe, and they, they kinda, you know, a few people have they're Americans, and so they organize their coming back to The United States with a visit to their family around a residency so they can do, you know, cross over the Atlantic just one time.
And so it, we do have the dates planned out.
So, you can plan it out.
It's pretty it's, you know, it's pretty mathematical, the academic calendar.
So you could, plan it out if you if you wanted to to start the program.
Can I say some even during the classes where there are group participations with the triads, I had people in my triads who someone was in The Philippines, someone was in Jamaica, someone might have been in Spain, and we still found a common time to have, you know, our our assignment for that week where we all met together at that common time?
So we were very international in within the class itself.
It works.
Thanks.
Yeah.
So true, Becky.
That's, the try it's helping that way because you're not trying to organize a group of 10 people.
You're just trying to organize between three, you know, a time that works.
And the, yeah, the students come from all different time zones, so time differences.
So Yeah.
Very good.
So I'll I'll, say very quickly because I know that we're coming to the top of the hour.
But, right now, we're approaching the, spring term.
That's gonna start on January 11.
That's what we are now enrolling for.
We do have different start dates throughout the academic year, but, right now, we're focusing on the spring.
And so if you're considering starting at the, the the earliest start date coming up, for January, then I would suggest starting your application process.
It's it's very, it's not very daunting.
I think for many people, they think it is they think of you know, with the university, application process, there's usually a lot more.
But for this program, it's, much shorter.
The application form, which is on our website for SDC, very short.
I think that you could probably get through that that step in about five, ten minutes.
But then afterwards, the other steps would be getting recommendations, and then the third step is, participating in the group interview, which is done over Zoom.
So you don't have to travel for campus for that.
But I would suggest if you're really looking to start, in January, I would just start with the application form for now.
And, that way, it'll reserve a seat for you for the next cohort.
And, I also included a code here.
Usually, there's a $25 application fee, but if you submit the form, using this code, then we can waive it for you.
So there's a code.
It's in that red box below where it says SDCREGFREE.
Again, we'll make it a free application.
But, again, what I'd like to do is speak with each of you one on one if this is something that got us calling you to so we can talk more about this, and we can just go from there.
So, I don't think there are any more questions.
Oh, you know what?
There's one more question.
So Dante asked, how many days are the residencies per module?
Great question, Dante.
So there are you know, we say that there there it's a four day residency, but, officially, it's more of a four and a half day residency.
So it goes from Wednesday evening as sort of a meet and greet.
So this is where all the students and the faculty will gather together on campus.
And then officially, Thursday morning is when, the nitty gritty of it starts.
So it goes from Thursday morning until lunchtime on Sunday.
So it covers over the weekend as well.
So it looks like that is the end of our questions.
I know that for many of you, you're still trying to wrap your heads around, more questions, and that's fine.
My contact information is, on the screen.
So when those questions come up, feel free to reach out to me.
You're welcome to email me.
You're welcome to call or text me.
I'm happy to answer any questions that you have, and we'll just go from there.
So from that point, Becky, thank you so much for sitting in with us.
It I always just enjoy hearing from the students, their experience in the program because it I always hear different things and and different benefits that each have, but it's really been a blessing having you sit in with us.
It's been my pleasure.
Thanks for the invitation.
Appreciate it.
Sure.
Good to see you, Becky.
God bless you.
You.
God bless you all too.
Alright.
Take care, everyone.
Thanks for being here.
Thank you.
Bye.