Consultation, Education & Research
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Each program uses the best of current research in psychology, theology, and spirituality in an integrated approach. We also rely on encyclicals and other documents of the Church, as well as the lives of the Saints. To prepare, we send each possible participant a pre-workshop questionnaire. We then use that data in the workshop itself as feedback. Thus we can personalize both topic and workshop. The workshop structure allows for a question and answer period at the end of each presentation, and asks for an evaluation immediately, with the feedback given to the diocese, seminaries and organizations that use our services.
Breakfast Briefings
Workshops, In-Service Education and Retreats
Managing Stress: Strategies for Clergy/Religious/Seminarians.
This has been one of our most popular programs. The structure is in a one or two day workshop format covering the issues of stress with clergy/ seminarians/ religious. Time frames are determinant on the available or allocated schedules. The central questions addressed are the following:
What is stress: both the good forms (eustress) and bad form (distress)? What are the physical indices of this? How is stress related to good mental and spiritual health? What does this look like? What are the warning signs of a poor management style? What are the extreme warnings signs of poor management style?
What does stress do to clergy/ religious/ seminarians? Data input from surveys is given at this time. What is the relationship to one's vocation, sense of mission, and call? How do males and females manage stress differently? This workshop usually develops and concludes with the theme on the centrality of spirituality and its role in good mental, spiritual, and physical health.
Affective Maturity: Its Development, Definition, and Assessment for Pastoral Leadership or Development of Affective Maturity: The Dynamics and Implications for Formation Today.
This also has been one of our most popular programs. The structure is in a one or two day workshop format covering the issues of Affective Maturity.
Affective Maturity and Addictions
Definition of terms: Addiction, affectivity maturity, understanding both spiritual and psychological development. Definition of terms of normal versus abnormal: understanding the underpinnings of a culture of addiction, unhealthy sexuality, and disconnection. What is your pattern? What is your style?
What is the risk for addiction in clergy/ religious? What is the vision of Pope John Paul II for us as brothers in relationship to addictions? How does this relate to our culture and our formation? What is your experience of the "freedom and availability?" What does the research tell us about you? How is this rooted in the Church's history and saints?
What do we need to learn from our tradition of discernment? How do you use objects and things-what is your style? How is this to develop? What are common pitfalls to avoid and what are styles to enhance?
Graced Filled-Spirituality of Aging: Tapping the Wisdom of the Elders.
This workshop has had great success with both elderly and young audiences.
Definition of Terms: What is ageism, old, and elderly? What is the cultural view of the aging/elderly and what is the Gospel view? How do we need to model this evangelical view? What are the aspects of healthy/unhealthy aging? What can the diocese and religious do differently? What does it mean to be counter-cultural on this issue?
What does this do for us? What is the spiritual grace needed in this area? What does our tradition tell us about aging? What does the example and the documents of John Paul II tell us? What did your surveys tell us? How does loss and aging affect a diocese/ religious order/or community? How can we be told our story by these members of our communities?
The Spirituality of Desire: Hope and its Role in Daily Living.
Definition of terms: What do we need to know? What is role of affect? What are the desires of our heart? What is the role of discernment and prayer? How is this avoided in our daily living and why? What does Pope Benedict say to us of this? What does our tradition tell us? What do the saints tell us?
What do we commonly do to our desires? What do the extremes of this tell us about the issue? How do you manage this in a more spiritually-integrated manner? What do the surveys tell us of your experience of desire? How can we be rooted in the scripturally appropriate ways of desire? How do we avoid the pitfalls and manage the successes with this issue?
Click here to contact the Executive Director of Consultation, Education & Research.
Saint John Vianney Center