Course Overview
Course Overview
By now you have had a chance to do quite a number of things. You have said yes to this series based on your understanding of how this topic might relate to your life and hopes. You've met the presenters and, ideally, begun to appreciate how much they invest their hearts in this process. You’ve also heard from Peter about the first big ideas -- God's love and increasing freedom.
Benedictine & Ignatian Approaches to Learning
Now I'd like to offer an overview of the course as a whole, not so much to repeat the information you've seen in the description and the course outcomes, but to help you peek behind the curtain once more. I want to help you understand the structure of the time and the learnings so that you see how we are trying to reinforce the principles of Benedictine and Ignatian spiritualities even through the design of the learning experience.
8-Week Duration
The first point is duration over time. Benedict and Ignatius were both strong proponents of attending to the long, slow journey, because they believe training the heart to be a lifelong process. There are eight weeks because Peter and I have come to appreciate the impact of sustained time in prayer and reflection--personally and for those with whom we journey. We believe that formation happens best through sustained and supported practice and reflection, so we have been attentive to the way the segments unfold, how the ideas interconnect, and how all of it relates to real life. The structure and duration, ideally, provides a trellis upon which your learning might grow.
Format
The second point is format or processes, nearly as habitual or patterned as Benedict and Ignatius would recommend to their own community members. Each of the eight modules will begin and end with prayer, alternating between Benedict and Ignatian voices. This sets every exploration, fittingly, within the context of prayer in concert with these traditions. We will also begin each session with at least one big idea.
The Big Ideas
The big idea is probably significant enough to become point 2b. The big idea is some biblical notion about the good life writ large, theology, or sense of God’s presence that is so big and important that it transcends any particular school of spirituality. These big ideas are not private property for one tradition or the other. Instead, the big idea is the fertile soil in which Peter and I find some of the most beautiful roots of both the Benedictine and Ignatian traditions. Our task, then, becomes helping you see how the big idea becomes expressed uniquely through the Benedictine spirituality, through Ignatian spirituality, and, importantly, how that big idea then becomes lived out in our lives today.
More on Format
Now we continue with the recurring elements of our weekly process, perhaps making this point 2c. After the big idea and after demonstrating how that big idea is expressed uniquely in both traditions, we will also include opportunities each week to practice some kind of spiritual discipline or exercise that helps embody the ideal we've been exploring. That might be, for example, Lectio Divina (sacred reading) in the case of Benedictines praying Scripture, alongside the Ignatian discipline of Praying with the Imagination. In the latter, the reader imagines their way into the gospel narrative as if they were there themselves. All of these exercises are carefully guided, so you need not have extensive previous experience to benefit from the process. Instead, it's our hope instead that you are able to experiment, especially with some of the less familiar practices to you so that you come to understand the various ways the Spirit moves in your life. Perhaps some forms of prayer and meditation help you foster your relationship with God better than others..
Rhythm
Third is rhythm. Just as Benedict and Ignatius appreciated the duration of the long journey, they also described the values of daily practices within that long view. We understand that lives are complicated and full beyond measure. And to prescribe a forced march through the material would be counterproductive to contemplative learning. We intend to offer you a friendly invitation to stretch, without becoming overly rigid. The learning experience is broken up into eight weeks and you will gain access to one week’s worth of material at the beginning of each week. You could do it all in one sitting if you have the leisure, or you could break it out over the week. The choice is really yours and the choice might change depending on your week. We encourage you to look for ways that help you engage the material prayerfully and patiently. Let it work on you and foster your prayer life.
Learning Journal
Remember, all along the way it's important for you to maintain a learning journal, a prayer journal, or some record of your reflections and study. This resource will serve to mark the milestones and help you pay attention to the movements of the Spirit as they transpire over the course of what will be two whole months. It will be easy to forget at least some of what happens. Writing is not about capturing the data, but reminding yourself over and over again that God has been faithfully stirring in your life. Your learning journal will teach you something about what those movements look like and enable you to recognize them more and more over time.
A Look at the Content
Now for the flow of content. And I can’t help but imagine Benedict and Ignatius as they each ponder just the way to organize the Rule and the Spiritual Exercises. “How do we best share the gifts we have been given,” they must have said. Similarly, Peter and I have enjoyed the gifts of long friendship and rich conversations about the intersections of Benedictine and Ignatian spiritualities. This is the first time that we have taken up the discipline of trying to pull the thread of those discussions toward the heart of our convictions and an experience that shares the gifts with others. I’ll review the broad strokes so that you can see once more how the 8 weeks will flow.
Week 1 | Living Traditions
It seems important in the first week of Training the Heart that we set this exploration of Benedictine and Ignatian wisdom within the context of the larger tradition. These figures have become household names, at least in households that talk much about spirituality. Where did they come from? Into what context were they speaking? What makes their wisdom trustworthy for us today? That's the work of describing a living tradition, and living tradition is a phrase that cuts two ways. One is the sense in which these traditions, as schools of spirituality, are living in to the degree that they are still unfolding through people like you and me who continue to live them out. Living tradition also means being called to stand on the shoulders of giants, as they say, and “translate God’s holy teachings into action,” as Benedict himself writes in the Prologue to the Rule.
Week 2 | Setting an Intention
From the sense of living tradition we move into week 2 and the importance of setting an intention. This week helps us clarify our sense of calling and purpose for this time. We will offer some guided practice to help explain what that means and help you do it in a way that develops some traction for your journey.
Week 3 | Praying with Scripture
Week 3 takes up a cornerstone practice in both traditions -- praying with Scripture. As I mentioned above, we will practice ways to do that that reflect both the Benedictine and Ignatian spiritualities.
Week 4 | Finding God in All Things
Once we practiced praying with Scripture we can move more deeply into week 4 which is that sense of finding God in all things. With hearts and minds shaped by Scripture, we begin to expect and seek out the Holy Spirit in our daily lives.
Week 5 | Discerning through Life
But it's not just about noticing. The spiritual journey is also an ongoing, practical discipline of discernment and so in week 5 we take up Benedictine and Ignatian perspectives about how we enter into engage and trust the process of choosing who we will be and what we will do, inspired by the grace of God.
Week 6 | Beginning Again
By week 6, at least if you like us, it will have been hard to maintain your full intentions exactly as you had hoped so we take up a theme common to both Benedict and Ignatius, which is beginning again. This may be one of the most important practices of the spiritual life, so we're particularly glad to spend some time there.
Week 7 | Acting Prayerfully
Our Lives then are not just our own. We are called to live within and for and on behalf of our community. Our work and our labors and our gifts are used for the benefit of others, to preserve the dignity of all people, to contribute in some way to the well-being of our brothers and sisters. So in week 7 we're looking at acting prayerfully. How does our praying with Scripture and our finding God in ordinary circumstances, our ongoing discernment, and our beginning again all spill over into the lives of others? It takes nearly seven weeks to set the stage for questions like these.
Week 8 | Gathering Grace
By week 8 we're ready to gather The Graces. We want to look back over the series of discussions, explore the themes we found in our learning journal, and name some of the movements of the Spirit. What are the experiences of Grace that we most want to cherish and carry forward? Part of gathering the graces will be setting an intention for the way forward and being blessed into that transition. You will not be finished with your journey after eight weeks, but with a heart more deeply formed in the ways of Benedict and Ignatius, you will be ready to to begin again.
Blessings . . .
Samuel Rahberg & Peter Watkins