Certificate in Desert Spirituality
Reflect on your own journey of faith, and learn how the wisdom of the spiritual traditions of the desert can be a guide for people in today’s world. Classes meet one Saturday per month starting Sept. 9, 2023. This year-long program is especially designed for people seeking to foster their own theological and spiritual formation.
Desert Spirituality, a one-year certificate program, explores the rich spiritual tradition that emerges from the desert mothers and fathers. This course will draw upon the image of the desert—long important to both Jewish and Christian religious identities and central to the Christian mystical tradition—to consider what it might mean for us to incorporate silence, stillness and solitude into our own spiritual practices. Students will be invited to read and reflect upon classic Christian spiritual texts focusing on the idea of “the desert within,” from the fourth century up to the present, and to ask how practices arising from this tradition can help them respond to the challenge of cultivating contemplative awareness in their lives.
Who Should Participate
The certificate program in Desert Spirituality is designed for those individuals seeking to foster their own theological and spiritual formation. It is specially designed for men and women who want to deepen their awareness of the presence of God in their own lives and who are open to the transformative power of this presence. The program is open for those who are actively involved in ministry and who desire to nourish their own spirituality, as well as for those individuals who want to pursue the course for their own personal enrichment.
Program Benefits
The Certificate Program in Christian Spirituality has a twofold goal: to learn about the great spiritual teachers in the desert tradition and, simultaneously, to invite students to engage the material intimately and personally, in order to integrate the content covered into their own questions, struggles and lived experiences.
This program will cover the major spiritual thinkers, writings, and practices of the Christian Monastic tradition through a balance of academic study, theological reflection, sharing, and personal re-appropriation. The central themes of desert spirituality will be explored including the call to prayer, detachment, life, death, trust, surrender, action, contemplation, and transformation.
General Information
Course and program requirements, schedules and tuition are subject to change; and additional fees may be incurred for books and materials. Click here to review all policies prior to enrollment. For additional information, contact the Center at (310) 338-2799 or crs@lmu.edu.
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Begins: September 9, 2023
Enroll: Registration is open online here or call 310-338-2799.
Course: DSXX 900.01
Tuition: $695
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The course meets the second Saturday of the month from 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM at the Loyola Marymount University campus on the following dates:
9/9/2023
10/14
11/11
12/9
1/13/2024
2/10
3/9
4/13
5/11
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Students must complete a total of 3.5 semester hours in coursework with a letter grade of 'B-' or higher in each course to receive a certificate of completion. Please refer to the course catalog for required text, class meeting location, and other general information.
Coursework: DSXX 800
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DSSX 900
Foundations of Desert Spirituality
4.0 Semester HoursDesert Spirituality, a certificate program, explores the rich spiritual tradition that emerges from the desert mothers and fathers. This course will draw upon the image of the desert—long important to both Jewish and Christian religious identities and central to the Christian mystical tradition—to consider what it might mean for us to incorporate silence, stillness and solitude into our own spiritual practices. Students will be invited to read and reflect upon classic Christian spiritual texts focusing on the idea of “the desert within,” from the fourth century up to the present, and to ask how practices arising from this tradition can help them respond to the challenge of cultivating contemplative awareness in their lives.
The Certificate Program in Christian Spirituality has a twofold goal: to expose students to the great spiritual teachers in the desert tradition and, simultaneously, to invite the students to engage the material intimately and personally, in order to integrate the content covered into their own questions, struggles and lived experiences.
Course Objectives:
By the end of the course students will have:- Gained a strong understanding of the origins and development of the Christian contemplative tradition, especially as it is represented in the ancient Christian monastic tradition
- Gained an understanding of the key spiritual practices that shaped the ancient desert tradition and how to adapt these practices for contemporary use
- Gained an understanding of what it means to develop a sense of deep spiritual interiority, as exemplified in the teachings of the early Christian monastics, but also as developed in the subsequent Christian contemplative tradition
- Gained an understanding of the relationship between contemplation and action (something the later Ignatian tradition refers to as being a “contemplative in action”), or the way serious contemplative practice leads to deeper ethical engagement with the world
- Gained an understanding of the potential pastoral implications of desert contemplative traditions, that is, how faith communities can be impacted and deepened through a retrieval of ancient Christian contemplative thought and practice