Taught by Dr. Bill Rullo
Tuesday evenings 6:30PM-9PM EST • 3 credits
Healing begins with presence. This course introduces essential counseling skills—deep listening, empathy, and healthy boundaries—within a Catholic pastoral framework. Students are formed to accompany others with clarity, humility, and reverence for human dignity, participating in Christ’s healing mission.
Taught by Fr. Nathanael Polinski, O.S.B.
Thursday evenings 6:30PM-8:15PM EST • 3 credits
This course addresses the ancient practice of praying with Sacred Scripture, traditionally known as Lectio Divina or “Sacred Reading.” To properly set the stage, the topics of divine revelation, literary and historical context of sacred texts, and the arc of salvation history are covered.
Rev. Thomas Acklin, O.S.B. and Rev. Boniface Hicks, O.S.B.
ON CAMPUS IN PERSON
Join Benedictine Fathers Thomas Acklin and Boniface Hicks, authors of Spiritual Direction: A Guide for Sharing the Father’s Love, and Personal Prayer: A Guide to Receiving the Father’s Love, in person for “Spiritual Direction I: Art of Accompaniment” at Saint Vincent Seminary’s Institute for Ministry Formation. Learn how to help others pray better, grow in their relationships with God, and help accompany others on their spiritual journeys to become better Christians. This course is for everyone who wants to develop a deeper understanding of the interior life, an understanding of the dynamics of growth in the spiritual life, and a listening heart to help others on that journey.
Spiritual Direction 1: Art of Accompaniment is a prerequisite to Spiritual Direction 2: Directing Prayer
Spiritual Direction 1: Art of Accompaniment on May 18-22 is in person Monday - Thursday 9AM-11:15AM EST, 1:30PM-4:30PM EST and Friday 9AM-12:30PM EST.
The Institute for Ministry Formation (IMF) at Saint Vincent College and Seminary is offering a wide range of courses in the 2026 spring semester. Classes begin the week of January 12.
For current students, registration opened on October 28. Current students should have received an email from Emily McAllister with registration instructions.
New students who may be interested in taking a course should contact IMF Admissions, [email protected] or apply here!
The deadline to receive financial aid for the Spring 2026 semester is November 10, 2025.
Taught by Father Boniface Hicks, O.S.B.
Thursday evenings • 2 credits
This course explores dynamics of spiritual direction that will guide beginners and expand the understanding of experienced spiritual directors. Through reading, lectures, and discussions, participants will learn advanced dynamics of spiritual direction including: the interior life and deeper psychological insights into the human person; exploration of the dynamics of prayer as it advances towards stages of union; psychological foundations for woundedness and human/spiritual approaches to healing; and assisting others with tools to enhance their prayer and helping them through difficult times in prayer.One section taught by Dr. Helene Paharik
One section taught by Father Cassian Edwards, O.S.B.
Tuesday evenings • 2 credits
The Church perpetuates Christ’s saving mission in the world. Like the seven liturgical sacraments, the Church is both a sign and an instrument of God’s grace. As sign, the Church points the faithful, by her very constitution, toward communion with God and neighbor in this life and eternal union forever in the next. Students will receive an overview of sacramental theology and ecclesiology necessary for spiritual directors.
Taught by Dr. Michel Therrien
Tuesday evenings • 2 credits
Spiritual directors are called to help Christians grow in holiness. In this course, students will learn principles and applications of moral theology, with a special focus on the teaching of the Catechism of the Catholic Church Part III, that will assist them as spiritual directors to help others grow in the Christian life.
One section taught by Dr. Courtney Minerd
One section taught by Dr. Paul Niemiec
Monday evenings• 2 credits
In this course, students learn to recognize some basic psychopathology and to know when and how to refer directees to psychotherapy professionals. This course also covers some aspects of psychology that will be helpful for spiritual directors.
Taught by Father Boniface Hicks, O.S.B.
Tuesday evenings • 3 credits
This course provides a broad understanding of the spiritual tradition of the Catholic Church by tracing the historical development of Christian spirituality from ancient times to the present. Topics addressed include stages of spiritual development; vocal prayer, meditation, contemplation; personal relationship with three Persons of Trinity; identifying misdirection in prayer and false mysticism. Course requirements for Master of Arts degree program students includes writing a paper that demonstrates knowledge of a broad understanding of the spiritual tradition of the Catholic Church along precise insights gained into one (or more) of the topics addressed based on course content and independent research.
Taught by Father Matthew Lambert, O.S.B.
Monday evenings • 2 credits
This course demonstrates how these texts taken together as a corpus display the mutual development of orthodoxy and orthopraxis. The course will study how the Pauline and apostolic teachings lead to and are rooted in the prayers and worship of the early Church, and how these beliefs and practices lead to later moral, pastoral, and ecclesial developments.
Taught by Father Francis Jin, O.S.B.
Thursday evenings • 2 credits
Building on the Church’s understanding of nature and grace, this course treats the Church’s development of a moral tradition that identifies the proper character of human actions, the virtuous character of the human person, and the opposite of these in sin and vice. The context for this moral profile is a proper understanding of the weight of law in moral discourse and an acknowledgment of the mystery of suffering and evil. Finally, the course presents the object of Catholic Christian morality as becoming a holy person, shaped by the spiritual practices derived from the faith Tradition. In this course, students will learn principles and applications of moral theology, with a special focus on the teaching of the Catechism of the Catholic Church Part III, that will assist them as catechists to grow with pastoral sensitivity, alongside those in their care, in the Christian life.
Taught by Father Dan Carr
Thursday evenings • 2 credits
This course presents a systematic study of the person and mission of Jesus Christ as found in Scripture and Tradition. It traces the historical developments of how the person of Christ came to be understood within the various theological traditions of the past and present. The course also examines the human person in the light of Christology, and focuses upon such themes as the fall and redemption, grace and freedom, and sin and conversion.
Taught by Dr. John Gresham
Thursday evenings • 2 credits
The course will address the ancient practice of praying with Sacred Scripture, traditionally known as Lectio Divina or “Sacred Reading.” It will provide an overview of the canon of Sacred Scripture and some important considerations for understanding Biblical texts such as the literary genre, literary and historical contexts, and the benefit of accessing the meaning of particular terms in the original languages, drawing from Dei Verbum and other magisterial documents.
Taught by Father Francis Jin, O.S.B.
Thursday evenings • 2 credits
Building on the Church’s understanding of nature and grace, this course treats the Church’s development of a moral tradition that identifies the proper character of human actions, the virtuous character of the human person, and the opposite of these in sin and vice. The context for this moral profile is a proper understanding of the weight of law in moral discourse and an acknowledgment of the mystery of suffering and evil. In this course, students will learn principles and applications of moral theology, with a special focus on the teaching of the Catechism of the Catholic Church Part III, that will assist them as catechists to grow with pastoral sensitivity, alongside those in their care, in the Christian life.
Taught by Father Cassian Edwards, O.S.B.
Thursday evenings • 2 credits
When presented in a missionary key, catechesis focuses renewed attention on the formation of adults by working with processes of conversion and growth for the development of an intentional discipleship and committed path of faith. This course present catechesis from the documentary tradition by focusing particular attention on the 2020 Directory for Catechesis, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Evangelii Gaudium, and other relevant magisterial documents.