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By Beth Lema “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.” Hebrews 13:2 During one Christmas when I was a little girl, I received my first set of play dishes and a beautiful tea set to go with them. I would invite my girlfriends over for tea and conversation. Some friends were imaginary, others were my playmates from the neighborhood. Little did I know that in later life, I would be entertaining strangers in a very similar way as a Spiritual Director, offering a place for them to rest and receive spiritual nourishment. Two years ago I joined sixty fellow strangers who came together at the Mount Carmel Spiritual Centre in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada, to begin an incredible journey. As fellow strangers we came from all parts of the United States and Canada. We all have different backgrounds and ways of serving the church but with one common goal: to serve others through spiritual direction. As Margaret Guenther states in her book Holy Listening, “Hospitality is an occasion for storytelling with both laughter and tears, and then the guest moves on, perhaps with some extra provisions or a roadmap for the next stage of the journey. “ In witnessing to my own story to others, and listening to fellow journeyers with an open heart, I found my calling to this vocation. In searching where I would go for training, God led me to the Mount Carmel Spiritual Center in Niagara Falls. This Spiritual Director Training Program is facilitated by the Carmelites of Niagara Falls, in association with the Haden Institute of Flat Rock, North Carolina. Together they offer a program for Christian clergy, religious men and women, lay ministers, directors of religious education, school chaplains, counselors and individuals discerning a call to the spiritual direction ministry. The forum is distance learning (online home study) plus two seven-day intensive residency sessions each year. A Certificate of Completion of training is awarded to those who successfully complete the two-year program. Continuing education credits are also given to those who completed the program. The program teaches spiritual directors in the Jungian, Mystical, Dream and Christian Traditions with an emphasis on Carmelite spirituality. Courses are designed to help the student acquire and develop contemplative and discernment skills. Together with my fellow classmates we have grown from strangers into spiritual friends who have embraced the hospitality of the program and of the Carmelite Spiritual Center. We have bonded, prayed, and shared our stories; meditated, laughed and cried with one another; all in the presence of God and the wonderful directors of our program, Reverend Bob Haden and Father Stan Makacinas, O.Carm. We have been blessed with a wonderful faculty and priests who continue to mentor us as we near the completion of our two-year journey. Along with my fellow classmates I have embraced the hospitality of God’s love and look forward to being sent out to embrace the strangers that will come to us for direction. May we be holy listeners who wait, watch and embrace the stranger. Interested in becoming a Spiritual Director? Feel the calling to help strangers in their journey? Want to fulfill this gift with Carmelite spirituality? If so, you may want to contact the Haden Institute at www.HadenInstitute.com or by phone at 828-693-9292 to find out more information on the programs available
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