Online Ignatian spirituality program to be offered locally

Friday, Aug. 14, 2020

SALT LAKE CITY— Many people are searching for peace amid the chaos of today’s world. Now, with the help of modern technology, the works of 16th-century St. Ignatius of Loyola are reaching across the years to help bring that peace to Utah Catholics during these troubled times.

“Retreat in Daily Life: Walking with St. Ignatius in the Footsteps of Christ,” a 30-week prayer journey in Ignatian contemplation will be offered via Zoom, a videoconferencing application, in the Diocese of Salt Lake City beginning Sept. 17. 

The spirituality exercises are based on the prayers, meditations, reflections and directions gathered by St. Ignatius. Traditionally, participants immerse themselves in a 30-day Spiritual Exercises retreat, but in the early 1980s, a 30-week form was developed. With this program, participants commit to daily private prayer, which includes Scripture, reflection and journaling, weekly small group meetings where they share their prayer journey and periodic individual spiritual companioning.

Catherine Morgan, Ph.D., certified Ignatian spiritual director, and Ralph Morgan, M.A., Ignatian spiritual companion, have been offering the exercises in Utah for the past two years. 

With Salt Lake City still under an Orange health status and varying pandemic restrictions across the state, the Morgans decided to offer the upcoming session via Zoom. This means that people from across the state can participate.

“That’s the blessing of Zoom,” Catherine Morgan said. “People can’t travel from St. George up here to Salt Lake City once a week for an hour and a half. Now there’s the ability for them to participate remotely from their own homes.”

Pam and Steve Bojack, parishioners at St. John the Baptist, did the exercises together this past session.

“It was wonderful; it’s hard to even put into words how much I learned about my relationship with God,” Pam Bojack said.

The program is a significant time investment, “but well worth the time invested,” Steve Bojack said. “It’s something you need to personally analyze within yourself if it is the right time and place for you to do that kind of investment, so that you get everything out of it that you can.” 

Kira Anderson, a St. Thomas More parishioner, completed the exercises two years ago. The benefits of the program have stayed with her, she said. 

“It deepened my connection to God, moved me closer to the Holy Spirit and it has changed my prayer life for the better,” she said.  “It led me to read the Bible more fully.”

The exercises are needed now more than ever, Catherine Morgan said.

“People are thirsty for spirituality,” she said. “What this program does is it brings them into a relationship with Christ and it provides the ‘how’ of the ‘what’ that we hear in Mass. So, we talk about ‘Love one another’ – what exactly does that mean, what does that look like and how do you do that? Ignatian spirituality teaches you how to do that.”

“Through the exercises, people discover the Christ within and in that process, they learn various ways to pray, to feel closer to Christ,” she said.  

The Morgans are offering two Thursday sessions, one in the morning and the other in the evening. There is a limit of nine participants per group.

“I thank the couple for their ministry,” Bishop Oscar A. Solis said of the Morgans in a letter of endorsement.  “Please welcome Cathie and Ralph to your parish life to bring the message and the methods of living spiritually found in the teachings of St. Ignatius.”

The $20 per session and onetime $60 suggested tuition charged by the Morgans covers the cost of books and materials, worker’s compensation and liability insurance required by the hosting parish, St. Thomas More. There is no cost to individuals to use Zoom, which can easily be set up on a computer, tablet or most cell phones. 

WHAT: 30-week Ignatian contemplation program

WHEN: Begins Thursday, Sept. 17

HOW: Via Zoom

COST: $20/session; onetime $60 tuition charge

For information, contact Catherine Morgan, cmorganphd@zingway.com or 405-255-9598 or 405-642-9595.