Faith Formation
Faculty Formation
Faculty Formation Programs
Programs
New Ignatian Educators Retreat: The New Ignatian Educators Retreat, sponsored by the USA Central & Southern Province of the Society of Jesus, provides a time for reflection and renewal for first-year faculty of every Jesuit secondary school in the Province, inviting them to be attentive to the work of the Holy Spirit and to consider how God is calling them both in their personal lives and in our Jesuit schools. The retreat is centered around “The First Principle & Foundation” from the Spiritual Exercises, and asks retreatants, “What does God want to gift me with?” and “How will God labor with us?”
The Spiritual Exercises: In partnership with the Ignatian Spirituality Center of Kansas City, Rockhurst High School offers the opportunity for faculty and staff to make the “Spiritual Exercises in Everyday Life.” According to IgnatianSpirituality.com, The Spiritual Exercises are a compilation of meditations, prayers, and contemplative practices developed by St. Ignatius of Loyola to help people deepen their relationship with God. For centuries the Exercises were most commonly given as a “long retreat” of about 30 days in solitude and silence. In recent years, there has been a renewed emphasis on the Spiritual Exercises as a retreat accessible for laypeople. The most common way of going through the Exercises now is a “retreat in daily life,” which involves a months-long program of daily prayer and regular meetings with a spiritual director. The Exercises have also been adapted in many other ways to meet the needs of people in our times.
Faculty and Staff Retreat: The Faculty and Staff Retreat is a yearly, full-day retreat for all faculty and staff that coincides with our school theme which is selected by our President. The theme for the 2019-2020 school year is Reconciliation.
Christian Life Community: CLC groups are small groups that meet regularly in order to develop friendships with each other and with Jesus Christ as well as a community spirit among ourselves by praying, sharing some of our life experiences together, helping and supporting each other in our Christian faith and our daily lives. Our CLC is based on the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius which opens and disposes us to whatever God wishes for us in our daily lives. We meet monthly during the school year.
Ignatian Breakfasts/Lunches: These opportunities are for veteran faculty and staff to delve further into Ignatian Spirituality. Topics and discussions connected to the official theme of the school year (e.g., Reconciliation) will be explored. Like the CLC groups, we will meet to pray, share, and help each other in our professional and personal lives.
Spiritual Direction: In partnership with the Ignatian Spirituality Center of Kansas City (one of four officially sponsored Jesuit “works” in Kansas City besides our high school, Rockhurst University, and St. Francis Xavier Parish), Rockhurst offers opportunities for spiritual direction and spiritual conversation. Spiritual direction is “help given by one Christian to another which enables that person to pay attention to God’s personal communication to him or her, to respond to this personally communicating God, to grow in intimacy with this God, and to live out the consequences of the relationship” (William A. Barry and William J. Connolly, The Practice of Spiritual Direction).
The Spiritual Exercises: In partnership with the Ignatian Spirituality Center of Kansas City, Rockhurst High School offers the opportunity for faculty and staff to make the “Spiritual Exercises in Everyday Life.” According to IgnatianSpirituality.com, The Spiritual Exercises are a compilation of meditations, prayers, and contemplative practices developed by St. Ignatius of Loyola to help people deepen their relationship with God. For centuries the Exercises were most commonly given as a “long retreat” of about 30 days in solitude and silence. In recent years, there has been a renewed emphasis on the Spiritual Exercises as a retreat accessible for laypeople. The most common way of going through the Exercises now is a “retreat in daily life,” which involves a months-long program of daily prayer and regular meetings with a spiritual director. The Exercises have also been adapted in many other ways to meet the needs of people in our times.
