School of Spirituality

MISSION

Our mission is to provide a place for Catholic Christians to grow in their spiritual life by receiving spiritual direction, instruction,and formation about going deeper in prayer, the spiritual journey, spiritual warfare, and healing.

VISION

Our hope is that Catholics will come to a deeper understanding of their vocation and mission in Christ, in the Church, and in the world. As a result, they will also come to find themselves in a deep and personal relationship with Jesus Christ. 

Awakening Love: School of Spirituality Retreat

January 31st through April 17th, 2024 | Wednesday mornings or Wednesday Evenings

Join us for a transformative 12-week Lent and Easter retreat, focusing on the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola and the Song of Songs. Cultivate a deeper connection with God, nurture your spirit, and ignite a fresh awareness of God's love in your heart. Don't miss this enriching opportunity for spiritual growth and renewal.

Barbara became a Catholic at the age of 18 after doing research on how different Christian churches began. She was convinced that the Catholic church was the original one founded by Christ and the Apostles.

She married Rex in 1970 and they have 4 children, 20 grandchildren. At the age of 30 she experienced a second conversion and came into a personal relationship with Jesus. She was fascinated with Catholic spirituality and the lives of the saints.  She volunteered and studied at the Carmelite monastery in Dallas for 10 years, beginning a program there called “Ecumenical Program in Christian Spirituality.” Eventually she began teaching Catholic spirituality at St Ann parish 30 years ago starting with Interior Castle by St. Teresa of Avila. 

A small group of Catholics began meeting and bringing conferences to Ann’s for about 10 years. Barbara eventually realized that she needed additional training in the discernment of spirits and so she attended Our Lady of Divine Providence School of Spiritual Direction in Florida and became a Marian Servant.

Eventually the School of Spirituality was formed at St. Ann’s and we now have 5 directors trained at the Ignatian school in Florida. We continue to offer classes in Carmelite and Ignatian Spirituality as well as sponsoring conferences. 

Barbara has been a member at St. Ann’s for 30 years. In addition to the School of Spirituality she has been involved in ALPHA and other church activities for many years.  She is a Marian Servant of Our Lady of Divine Providence, a trustee emeritus of Franciscan University, and she and Rex are members of the Knights of the Holy Sepulcher.

A lifelong Catholic, Roberta has served in various parish ministries. Over twenty years ago she had a conversion experience on retreat which led to a desire to experience the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola where she discerned a call to serve in spiritual direction. She completed the spiritual direction formation program at Our Lady of Divine Providence in Clearwater, FL and regularly attends retreats and workshops. Roberta meets with individuals in ongoing spiritual direction, co-facilitates Ignatian retreats at St Ann, accompanies others through the Spiritual Exercises in Everyday Life, and has served as spiritual director for one-on-one directed retreats at Montserrat Jesuit Retreat House. She also serves on the Board of Managers of the Ignatian Spirituality Institute. She and her husband are the parents of two adult children and enjoy the gift of time spent with their four young grandsons.

Born into a Catholic family, Joy attended both Catholic and public schools, through university. She raised two daughters as a single mom and worked 35 years in the mortgage and banking industry. She was drawn to the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius at St. Ann, which led her to training at the Ignatian Spirituality Institute and then at The Cenacle of Our Lady of Divine Providence School of Spiritual Direction. She graduated in June of 2018.

Sue is a cradle Catholic and grew up going to Catholic school in Pennsylvania. She graduated from the university of Pittsburgh and had a career in Dental hygiene for over 40 years and seven states.

She has been happily married for 42 years to Terry, and they have two sons, a “daughter in love” and two beautiful grandchildren. Sue has been involved in religious education for fifteen years while her sons were growing up. She has also been involved in numerous ministries at the parish. She was drawn spiritually to St. Ignatius and the exercises discerning God’s call and graduated from Monserrat ISI program. She then went on to the Cenacle Our Lady of Divine Providence and is now a Spiritual Director. She has a deep love for the Eucharist and her mission is to walk with others helping them to grow in love and relationship with Jesus.

Edna is a cradle Catholic and was born in San Juan, PR. She studied a bachelor’s in labor relations at the University of Puerto Rico and worked in human resources for several years. She moved to Texas in 1998 with her husband where they have seen their two sons be born and grow. They joined St. Ann in 2008.

Edna worked as a volunteer sharing her love of Jesus with children in two parishes for 14 years while taking adult/catechist formation classes. Once a Certified Master Catechist by the Diocese of Dallas, she was introduced to the School of Spirituality where she started taking spirituality classes and participating of the Ignatian prayer retreats while continuing to get involved in various ministries at St. Ann. It was through the School of Spirituality, a ministry at St. Ann, that Edna encountered Jesus in a personal way and then felt a call to minister to adults in spiritual direction. She loves to bring people into a deeper and personal relationship with God. She is a 2021 graduate of The Cenacle of Our Lady of Divine Providence School of Spiritual Direction in Clearwater, Florida.

She is bilingual (English and Spanish).

Online

• Marian Servants of Divine Providence https://divineprovidence.org

• Ignatian Spirituality Institute https://ignatianinstitute.org

• Dan Burke: www.spiritualdirection.com

• Avila Institute for Spiritual Formation https://avila-institute.org

• Discernment Hearts https://discernmenthearts.com

Recommended Book List

1. Into the Deep by Dan Burke (Available in Spanish Under the title: Mar Adentro)

2. Journey to God by Daniel Burke

3. Seeking Spiritual Direction by Thomas Dubay

4. How to Listen When God Is Speaking: A Guide for Modern-Day Catholics by Fr. Mitch Pacwa

5. healing the hidden self by Barbara Shlemon Ryan

6. Making Choices in Christ: The Foundations of Ignatian Spirituality by Fr. Joseph Tetlow, S.J.

7. A friendship like no other by Fr. William A. Barry, S.J.

8. Finding God in All Things by Fr. William A. Barry, S.J.

9. Personal Prayer, A Guide for Receiving the Father’s Love by Fr. Thomas Acklin, OSB & Fr. Boniface Hicks, OSB

10. Interior Castle by St. Teresa of Avila (Available in Spanish)

11. Call to Life by Fr. Jacques Philippe (Available in Spanish)

12. Fire Within, St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, and the Gospel On Prayer, by Thomas Dubay, Ignatius Press

13. The Fulfillment of all Desire, A Guidebook for the Journey to God Based on the Wisdom of the Saints, by Ralph Martin, Emmaus Road, 2006

14. Seeking Spiritual Direction, by Thomas Dubay

15. Spiritual Combat by Dom Lorenzo Scupoli (Available in Spanish)

16. The Imitation of Christ, by Thomas Kempis

17. The Imitation of Mary, by Fr. Quan Tran, Sophia Press

18. To Know Christ, by Frank Sheed, Ignatius Press