TOB and Spiritual Direction

July 30 - August 04, 2023

Taught by Fr. Boniface Hicks, OSB

Course Description:

This course explores various aspects of the theory and practice of spiritual direction. Spiritual direction is an art that allows many approaches. What is unique about spiritual direction is that it is a relationship that focuses on the one-on-one relationship of the directee with God. Our one-on-one relationship with God began and is seen in original man, in his original solitude with God and is the foundation of every other relationship. Through the wounds inflicted by sin, historical man struggles to live fully from that relationship. The relationship of vulnerability with a spiritual director or a deeply trusted friend can help us move towards our destiny as eschatological man, when that relationship is fully healed and brought to its ultimate spousal consummation with Christ. The spiritual director supports the directee in traveling a way of prayer, purification and illumination until arriving finally at transforming union with God.

All our week-long retreats include:

Five days of learning & interactive lecture (30 hours of master’s level instruction)
Fantastic workbook so you can focus on receiving vs. note-taking
Daily Mass, adoration, and confession
Accommodations & delicious meals
Time for relaxation and networking
Gorgeous grounds to soak in God’s natural beauty
Optional round trip shuttle from Philadelphia International Airport

Meet Your Instructor

Fr. Boniface Hicks, OSB

Fr. Boniface Hicks, OSB, is a Benedictine monk of St. Vincent Archabbey in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. He has provided spiritual direction for many men and women, including married couples, seminarians, consecrated religious, and priests, even while completing his Ph.D in computer science at Penn State University. He became the programming manager and an on-air contributor for We Are One Body Catholic Radio in 2010 and has recorded thousands of radio programs on theology and the spiritual life. He has extensive experience as a retreat master for laity, consecrated religious, and priests. He became the Director for Spiritual Formation for Saint Vincent Seminary in 2016 and Director of the Institute for Ministry Formation at Saint Vincent Seminary in 2019 and has offered many courses on spiritual direction and the spiritual life. He completed the STL program at Sacred Heart Seminary on the New Evangelization in April 2023. He is author of The Fruit of Her Womb, published by Sophia Institute Press, as well as Through the Heart of St. Joseph and together with Fr. Thomas Acklin, OSB he is author of the book Spiritual Direction: A Guide for Sharing the Father’s Love and Personal Prayer: A Guide for Receiving the Father’s Love, all published by Emmaus Road Publishing.

Registration has closed.

*We understand that some people would like to have their place of work or some other entity pay part or all of their registration fees. If this is you, please use the "Pay Later" button to register for the course. Included in the email with information about the course (see ** below), you will find a payment link and instructions that you can share with the person making the payment for you.

**If you do not receive the email with information about the course (different from the receipt) on the day you register, please reach out to Hannah Tavani at hannah@tobinstitute.org.

***Please register with an email address that is unique to you, and please make sure to use that email address for any future registrations with us. This will help us to maintain accuracy of your course completion information.

Travel Information

This information is provided to help you research your travel options to and from the course. Please do not book your flights until you have registered AND paid your registration fee to secure your spot in the course.

If you are flying and would like to utilize the optional shuttle, please book your flights according to these guidelines:

Please book your flights to arrive at Philadelphia International Airport (PHL)
Please book your incoming flight to arrive no later than 1:30 PM on Sunday, July 30th, 2023
Please book your outgoing flight to leave no earlier than 4:30 PM on Friday, August 4th, 2023

There is only one shuttle from the airport on Sunday, July 30th and one shuttle back to the airport on Friday, August 4th. If you are unable to secure flights according to the above parameters, you will be responsible for getting yourself to the retreat center (either via Uber, Lyft, renting a car, or by some other means).

More information is provided in the email which you will receive upon registering, but the above should be sufficient for the purposes of looking at flight options.

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