Free Online Course on Carmelite Spirituality Offered by SHMS

Developing a closer relationship with Jesus Christ means actively seeking to grow in union with Him and to discern God’s will.  This “actively seeking” can be summed up in the word spirituality.

Various saints and religious orders provide us with a variety of exercises that can help us grow spiritually, and Catholic Stand has run articles over the years that have touched on Ignatian Spirituality, Benedictine Spirituality, and Carmelite Spirituality.  Now, however, Catholics who want to learn more about Carmelite Spirituality are being given that opportunity by Sacred Heart Major Seminary (SHMS).

A free, online course that SHMS is calling “an Advent study or retreat experience, done at your own pace” on Carmelite Spirituality is being offered from Sunday, November 28, 2021 to Friday, December 24, 2021.

As the course registration webpage says:

“This short online course aims to introduce students to the history of the Carmelite Order and its unique features, including its eremitic and monastic roots, attentiveness to the human soul, the virtue of humility, the spousal meaning of the body, the role of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the art of silent contemplative prayer.

“The course is based on the book Shoeless: Carmelite Spirituality in a Disquieted World by Dr. Donald Wallenfang and Megan Wallenfang. Dr. Wallenfang is a Sacred Heart professor who specializes in Catholic theology and philosophy, Carmelite spirituality, phenomenology, and metaphysics.”

Easy Sign Up

Signing up for the course is easy.  Simply go the course registration webpage, click on the “Register Today” button, and complete and submit the form.  Registrants will receive a username and password for accessing the online class.  The class is conducted using “Canvas,” SHMS’s learning management system.

Because the non-credit course is conducted entirely online, students can complete the course working within their own schedule.  The course is also structured to provide students with the freedom to engage with the material at their own pace.

Structure

Each of the four weekly modules will be hosted by Dr. Donald Wallenfang, SHMS Professor of Theology and Philosophy.  The four modules are:

• Module 1: The History and Charism of Carmelite Spirituality
• Module 2: The Interior Castle of the Human Soul
• Module 3: Carmelite Contemplative Prayer and the Blessed Virgin Mary
• Module 4: Ascending Mount Carmel through Personal Testimony

Each module will include:

• Lecture Video (~20 minutes)
• Lectio Divina Exercise (~10 minutes)
• Personal Assessment Quiz (~5 minutes)
• Online Discussion Forum
• Supplemental Reading Material

And as the course webpage states, “The goal of the course is not to deliver a high level of rigor or stress, but instead expose Catholics who want to learn more about Carmelite Spirituality.”

SHMS Courses

Carmelite Spirituality is one of seven free, online courses offered by SHMS.  (The seven courses are listed HERE.)  Having taken most of them myself I can vouch for the fact that they are non-stressful, yet very interesting and instructive.

If you or someone you know is looking to deepen their relationship with Jesus, this course could be just the ticket.  As CS Editor Melanie Juneau wrote recently, “The goal of the spiritual life is to thoroughly prepare ourselves by cooperating with Grace, to be finally united with our Beloved.”

And as CS writer Mark Belanger has pointed out, religion and spirituality go hand in hand.  “[W]e cannot develop our spiritual selves in a vacuum. We need the structure, the guidance, and especially the institutional experience that religion provides.”