5-Week Course
Overview
Spirituality is a common concern, one that has significance throughout the details of a person’s life. But what is spirituality, really? Why is it important? And how does one live a spiritual life? Join us in discussing these important questions, as we seek to understand how it’s less about having spiritual experiences and more about experiencing life as a whole person (intellect, will, and emotion) in a spiritual way. Examine how practices of prayer and community, as well as the experience of suffering, can help to liberate our imaginations, and show us reality in a new way.
This course has a required text: Dolores R. Leckey, 7 Essentials for the Spiritual Journey (Crossroad Publishing, 1999) (Crossroad Publishing) (Amazon)
Topics:
Week 1: Introduction to the Course
Week 2: What is Spirituality?
Week 3: What is Prayer?
Week 4: What Can Suffering Teach Us?
Week 5: Do I Need Community?
Special Features
This course includes:
- Weekly introductions to each new topics;
- 4 videos featuring Fr. Michael J. Himes for each week of the course: spirituality, prayer, suffering, community;
- Text transcripts of each featured video;
- A bonus video featuring Father Michael J. Himes;
- Weekly questions for reflection and discussion; and
- A regularly updated Resources page for further study about topics discussed in this course.
All CSTM: Crossroads online courses include these features
- Participants have access 24 hours/7 days a week to the course's password-protected web site.
- Each participant belongs to a small Community for Conversation and faith sharing guided by a facilitator.
- The course site is usually available to participants at least three months after the course has ended.
- An orientation in how to navigate the web site is always available.
- Technical assistance is easy to contact and prompt in returning a message.
- A Certificate of Active Participation is awarded to those who post at least three messages of substance for each week of content.
Time Commitment
A participant can expect to spend an average of approximately 3-4 hours each week. This commitment includes both the assigned reading and interaction online.
This course doesn't have any live sessions. You can participate according to your own schedule.
Certificate Requirement Categories
- Spirituality and Prayer
- Themes from Our Christian Tradition
Content Scholars
- Rev. Michael J. Himes, (video) priest of the Diocese of Brooklyn, New York, and professor of theology, Boston College Theology Department.
- Dolores Leckey, (text) senior fellow emerita at the Woodstock Theological Center, Georgetown University, and former executive director of the Secretariat for Family, Laity, Women, and Youth at the National Conference of Catholic Bishops.
