Pecos Benedictine
School for Spiritual Direction

The Pecos Benedictine Monastery under the direction of Abbot David Geraets, OSB, founded our School for Spiritual Direction in 1978 to help meet the growing need for the availability of spiritual directors as well as to offer the opportunity to learn about and experience spiritual direction in a monastic setting.

Since many of those who find themselves being called upon to offer spiritual direction are unable to spare the years it would take to study in a university setting, our course is designed to fit their busy schedules. We do not consider our course a substitute for a more extended program, but we view it as a solid foundation which must be expanded upon with further study, experience, reflection, and supervision.

Our School may also serve as a refresher course for those who have already studied or have practiced spiritual direction. Its first phase may also benefit those who wish to develop the spiritual life for their own personal development and growth in the Spirit.

Time-tested teachings from various schools of spiritual direction are taught as well as their Scriptural foundations. Since its inception the School has emphasized the role of the Holy Spirit and spiritual direction as a charismatic ministry of discernment of spirits. In addition the School emphasizes points of convergence in classical spirituality and contemporary psychology. The School is ecumenical in both participants and faculty which comprises members of the monastic community as well as experts in the fields of spirituality, psychology, and the practice of spiritual direction.
Although we highly value the importance of the intellectual component of our School, we believe that even more important is the experience of personal transformation in the context of living Christian community. To this end, we bring School participants into the life of our Benedictine community. They join with daily for morning praise, Eucharist, and evening prayer as well as share meals with us. And there are other opportunities for shared recreation and outings to nearby attractions.
Students take part in small support/discussion groups and will have their own spiritual director during the program. Also, each participant is required to receive personal spiritual direction prior to attending the first session. We have a directory of prior students, if assistance is needed in finding a director.

The School is a residential program completed in three 2-week modules at the conclusion of which students will receive a Certificate of Completion. Students reside at the Abbey Guesthouse adjacent to the monastery just outside the Village of Pecos, New Mexico, 25 miles East of Santa Fe. The scenic thousand acre property is located on the beautiful Pecos River as it wends its way from the high mountains above.

Phase I of the School, the Spiritual Formation component, will be offered three times in 2009: January 18-30, May 10-22 and June 28-July 10. Phase II, the Art of Spiritual Direction, will be offered September 13-25. Phase III, the Practice of Spiritual Direction will be offered November 8-20. The three phases may be completed within one, two, or three calendar years. Those students completing Phase III in November 2009 will comprise the 50th School for Spiritual Direction at Pecos.

In 1986 Pope John Paul II issued an encyclical entitled On the Holy Spirit in the Life of the Church, in which he underscored the importance of Christians being attentive to the Holy Spirit as the third millennium approached. Since its inception in 1978, the Pecos School for Spiritual Direction has been a vibrant expression of the Abbey community’s desire to live in faithful obedience to the call of the Spirit to invest in the spiritual renewal of the Church. Furthermore the constitutions of our Olivetan Benedictine monastic congregation urge monks “to undertake apostolic works in accordance with our traditions: hospitality, spiritual retreats, schools, religious formation, and pastoral ministry.”

The creatively designed holistic program of the School has traditionally featured instruction on various subjects of contemporary relevance to the ministry of spiritual direction interwoven with the Benedictine commitment to daily prayer and hospitality giving it an attractive appeal to participants from a broad spectrum of Christian backgrounds. The School seeks to respond to the expanding number of North American Christians from all traditions, who are on a search to discover and recover the fullness of the spiritual heritage embodied in the Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Protestant traditions. In offering such a convergent educational experience in an atmosphere enriched by ecumenical hospitality, the Abbey remains true to its Benedictine roots which go down deep into the soil of the pre-schismatic Church. The promotion of spiritual renewal and Christian unity integrated with ancient monastic values has been the Pecos community’s hallmark over several decades. The courageous journey which spawned the Abbey’s unique character enters into a new phase as we begin to make the School offerings available on a more frequent basis.

The Pecos Benedictine School for Spiritual Direction is not just for those planning to practice spiritual direction, but also for those who simply have an interest in it. We will give you many tools necessary for practicing spiritual direction. All three phases of the School are required for those wishing to practice the ministry of spiritual direction; phases I and II are appropriate for those with an interest. The first phase grounds the ministry of direction in a holistic spiritual formation. Only those attending all three phases will receive a Certificate of Completion, which is not intended to be a certification of the person as a spiritual director or a validation of one’s call. The discernment to undertake spiritual direction as a ministry is made only in phase III.

Our Lady of Guadalupe Abbey is a double community of Benedictine monks and sisters situated in the beautiful Sangre de Cristo Mountains just east of Santa Fe, New Mexico. The school will have 2 “teaching sessions” a day, and an evening “practicum” with Sunday free for rest, touring the very rich Santa Fe cultural sites, hiking and exercise, or reading and studying .

The cost of the School in 2009 is $1750 per phase which includes tuition and on-site room and board. Participants arrive between 3:00 and 5:00 pm on the opening Sunday and depart after lunch on the closing Friday. Classes are limited to 25 participants who feel called to deepen their spiritual growth and explore their call to the ministry of spiritual direction

For additional information please call, e-mail, or write:

THE PECOS BENEDICTINE SCHOOL
FOR SPIRITUAL DIRECTION
P. O. Box 1080
Pecos, NM 87552
Phone: 505.757.6415 ext. 234

School Application

School Recommendation Form

Email: spiritdir@pecosmonastery.org