Chris Chatteris SJ's blog

As advertised in the recent educational supplement in the Archdiocesan News, the Jesuit Institute, offers a wide range of training courses - in spirituality, theology and personal growth. These exciting possibilities are summarised below with attachments to access further information and application forms. For the full supplement  click the attachment:.

1 evening a week for 19 weeks. Verues: Benoni and Pretoria North. Starting date is 10 March 2011.

This 1-year course introduces students to several ways of praying, traditional and contemporary.  It trains students to share these methods of prayer during supervised work with groups and individuals with whom they will be praying.  Students begin to recognise their own image of God and to help people to refine their image of God.  Sensitive ethical aspects of the ministry of prayer guiding are also covered. For an application form, click the attachments:

From 12.00 to 5.00 pm every Saturday for 13 weeks.

This is a prayer guide training course (see above) offered in a township context. It qualifies students to give the Tsoseletsa retreat, which is a week-long parish retreat. For more information click the attachments:

8 long-weekend modules over 2 years. Starts March 27th 2011. Apply soon - deadline, end of September.

This 2-year part-time course helps mature Christians to develop the essential skills necessary for good spiritual direction, especially listening to the deep movements of the Spirit of God in the lives of the people they are accompanying.  The course provides a framework for understanding the many ways that God comes to us and how to identify signs of spiritual growth and development.  While there is a certain amount of basic theory, the course is very practical.

This course will be held in 2012 and consist of 4 modules

For spiritual directors who have successfully completed the 2 year course and have made the full Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius either as a 30 day retreat or as a 19th Annotation retreat in daily life. For more information click the attachment

 This course is by invitation only.

It is offered to experienced spiritual directors with the potential for supervising other directors. For more information click the attachment:

Held at the Catholic Bible College, La Rochelle; 1 evening a week over 32 weeks.

In this course all the Christian Scriptures are covered, locating them in their context of First-Century Judaism, and against the background of the Old Testament.For more information click the attachment:

1 evening a week over 36 weeks

This course covers liturgy, Christology, theology of salvation, a survey of Church history, moral theology, the Church in the Modern World, missiology, African theology and other disciplines in theology.  The course is a helpful foundation for people who are preparing to work in a formal or ordained ministry in their churches.  For more information click the attachment:

The 2 above courses can be combined into a 3-year part-time certificate.

Candidates for the Permanent Diaconate are obliged to take this course. For more information click the attachment:

Requiring evening and weekend attendance.

People who do this course should already have a basic background in theology, such as that provided by the 3-year course, above.  This course takes in many areas of ministry that prepare students to work in a pastoral setting in a Christian community.  The course covers important skills such as counselling, preaching, parish administration, family visiting, leading prayer and worship, pastoral care, public reading and speaking, working with people on the margins of society, preparing people to receive the sacraments and others.  For more information click the attachment:

2-day development course for leaders in business and education

A 2-day intensive course that helps participants to bring their personal sense of meaning and purpose to bear in their business leadership roles.  The course is targeted at those who are already leaders (Officer Level) and those who are likely to be the next generation of leaders.  The course is delivered by a 2-person team using inputs, facilitated discussions and individual exercises. For a prospectus click the attachment:

weekly evening lectures offered during Lent and repeated afterwards

In these lectures we attempt to reflect theologically on contemporary challenges and issues, trying to bridge the divide between faith and our complex modern life.  For more information click theattachment:

A theology programme offered around the country in July and August: For more information click the attachment below:

Our lecturer next year will be Fr Jim Corkery SJ, an Irish Jesuit and an expert on the theology of Joseph Ratzinger/ Benedict XVI. As this year there will be both a formal 3-day course and 3 informal evening lectures. The proposed dates for WLT 2011, which should be covering 5 locations, are as follows:

Tues 19 Jul - Thurs 21 JulJhb/Pta: Mazenod Centre, Germiston

Tues 26 - Thurs 28 JulB­loemfontein: Donovan Hall (Cathedral)

Tues 2 - Thurs 4 Aug Durban: Glenmore Pastoral Centre

Tues 9 - Thurs 11 Aug P­ort Elizabeth: tbd

Tues 16 - Thurs 18 Aug C­ape Town: Schoenstatt, Constantia

Chanda has done a great job in tabling the feedback from the Ignatian Day and WLT.  We are still waiting for the Cape Town WLT forms before we can have a complete picture of that, but in the meantime here are some headlines from the Ignatian Day.  This is helpful both in reflecting on the day and who came but also in thinking about how we use this event (or a version of it) in the future. 

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‘It’s the only way a Jewish boy can become an archbishop!’ quipped Rabbi Rosen, referring to his time as Chief Rabbi of Ireland and the post’s special status in the Irish constitution.

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As advertised in the recent educational supplement in the Archdiocesan News, the Jesuit Institute, offers a number of possibilities for training in spirituality, theology and personal growth. These exciting possibilities are summarised below with links for further information and application forms. The full supplement can be read by clicking the attachment at the end of this post.

Prayer Guide Training(1 evening a week for 19 weeks):

This 1-year course introduces students to several ways of praying, traditional and contemporary.  It trains students to share these methods of prayer during supervised work with groups and individuals with whom they will be praying.  Students begin to recognise their own image of God and to help people to refine their image of God.  Sensitive ethical aspects of the ministry of prayer guiding are also covered. For more information click the links: http://www.jesuitinstitute.org.za/en/node/255 http://www.jesuitinstitute.org.za/en/node/257

Ngihamba neNkosi (From 12.00 to 5.00 pm every Saturday for 13 weeks):

This is a prayer guide training course (see above) offered in a township context. It qualifies students to give the Tsoseletsa retreat, which is a week-long parish retreat. For more information click the links: http://www.jesuitinstitute.org.za/en/node/254 http://www.jesuitinstitute.org.za/en/node/257

Spiritual Directors’ Training(8 long-weekend modules over 2 years):

This 2-year part-time course helps mature Christians to develop the essential skills necessary for good spiritual direction, especially listening to the deep movements of the Spirit of God in the lives of the people they are accompanying.  The course provides a framework for understanding the many ways that God comes to us and how to identify signs of spiritual growth and development.  While there is a certain amount of basic theory, the course is very practical and involves group work plus individual work with a personal spiritual director. For more information click the links: http://www.jesuitinstitute.org.za/en/node/256 http://www.jesuitinstitute.org.za/en/node/257

A 1-year Training Course for Directing the Full Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius (in 2012 over 4 modules):

For spiritual directors who have successfully completed the 2 year course and have made the full Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius either as a 30 day retreat or as a 19th Annotation retreat in daily life. For more information click the link: http://www.jesuitinstitute.org.za/en/node/257

A 1-year Training Course in the Supervision of Spiritual Directors (by invitation only):

Offered to experienced spiritual directors with the potential for supervising other directors. For more information click the link: http://www.jesuitinstitute.org.za/en/node/257

A 1-year Part-time Foundation in Biblical Studies (at the Catholic Bible College, La Rochelle; 1 evening a week over 32 weeks):

In this course all the Christian Scriptures are covered, locating them in their context of First-Century Judaism, and against the background of the Old Testament. For more information click the link: http://www.jesuitinstitute.org.za/en/node/259

A 2-year Part-time Foundation in Theology (1 evening a week over 36 weeks):

This course covers liturgy, Christology, theology of salvation, a survey of Church history, moral theology, the Church in the Modern World, missiology, African theology and other disciplines in theology.  The course is a helpful foundation for people who are preparing to work in a formal or ordained ministry in their churches. For more information click the link: http://www.jesuitinstitute.org.za/en/node/259

A 3-year Theology Course (The 2 above courses can be combined into a 3-year part-time certificate):

Candidates for the Permanent Diaconate are obliged to take this course. For more information click the link: http://www.jesuitinstitute.org.za/en/node/259

A 2-year Part-time Certificate in Pastoral Theology (requiring evening and weekend attendance):

People who do this course should already have a basic background in theology, such as that provided by the 3-year course, above.  This course takes in many areas of ministry that prepare students to work in a pastoral setting in a Christian community.  The course covers important skills such as counselling, preaching, parish administration, family visiting, leading prayer and worship, pastoral care, public reading and speaking, working with people on the margins of society, preparing people to receive the sacraments and others.  For more information click the link: http://www.jesuitinstitute.org.za/en/node/259

Spirited Leadership(2-day development course for leaders in business and education):

A 2-day intensive course that helps participants to bring their personal sense of meaning and purpose to bear in their business leadership roles.  The course is targeted at those who are already leaders (Officer Level) and those who are likely to be the next generation of leaders.  The course is delivered by a 2-person team using inputs, facilitated discussions and individual exercises. For more information click the link: http://www.jesuitinstitute.org.za/en/node/258

Lenten Lectures (weekly evening lectures offered during Lent and repeated afterwards):

In these lectures we attempt to reflect theologically on contemporary challenges and issues, trying to bridge the divide between faith and our complex modern life.  For more information click the link: http://www.jesuitinstitute.org.za/en/node/253

Winter Living Theology(a theology programme offered around the country in July and August): For more information click the link: http://www.jesuitinstitute.org.za/en/node/260

To read the full educational supplement of the Archdiocesan News click the attachment below.

‘Work saves us from three great evils: boredom, vice and need’, preaches Voltaire in a rather high-minded moment. Less solemnly, Mark Twain said that, ‘Work is a necessary evil to be avoided’. And Edgar Bergen quipped that, ‘Hard work never killed anybody, but why take a chance?’ The humour reveals the truth – that most work isn’t all that funny.

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Nelson Mandela suggested that the long walk to freedom is not yet over. The question for every concerned South African today (and our friends abroad) should be whether the government’s proposed Protection of Information Bill and Media Appeals Tribunal will create a sharp detour from that walk. Could they lead us ultimately towards George Orwell’s totalitarian nightmare depicted in his novels 1984 and Animal Farm?

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