The Practice of Spiritual Direction
What is Spiritual Direction?
Defined by our teaching team in the Franciscan Spiritual Direction Program, "Spiritual Direction is an ancient practice of accompaniment that honors the divine light in each person, helping the seeker to further awaken to the mystery called God in his or her unique and sacred journey. The spiritual direction relationship is grounded in contemplative practice and includes deep and attentive listening for movements of the Holy Spirit in relationship with self, others, and creation."
Spiritual Direction is noticing the movements of the Divine in your life with another person who is listening to where they might hear the presence of the Divine.
Jocelyn believes that everyone is loved equally. God is always with you, and you are never alone. In the practice of Spiritual Direction, one can begin to notice where God might be in your life, and begin to listen to what God might be communicating with you.
Others notice Jocelyn's empathy, listening skills, creativity, and her ability to meet you where you are in life, without judgement.
- "...and the abundance of God (the One whom poet Robinson Jeffers described as being inclined to 'fling rainbows over the rain') reminds us to hold in lively creative tension the needs and desires that make us human. They remind us to recognize that even in deprivation, without being glib about the horrors humans may endure, we have access to what we need, if we ask, and that God's will for us does and will finally far exceed what we can imagine asking." ~ Marilyn McEntyre, Word by Word.
You Are Loved. You Are Not Alone. You Are Worthy.
LGBTQIA+ Inclusion
Jocelyn completed a Safe Space Training at Fairfield University in 2008. When she was a campus minister at Fairfield, Jocelyn was on the Safe Space Training Teaching Team. She is particularly drawn to accompanying those who identify as LGBTQIA+, and she continues to educate herself. She is always ready to learn more, and knows she has a long way to go. Recently, in her ministry, she has observed the struggles our Trans sisters and brothers face, and is starting conversations around creativing more welcoming and inclusive environments.
All are worthy of God's loving embrace.
Spiritual Direction Training Background
Jocelyn cultivated her skills as a Spiritual Director when she completed her Certificate in Spiritual Guidance & Formation at the Boston College School of Theology & Ministry in the Summer of 2016. She has regularly met with her Spiritual Director since 2005. Jocelyn served on a teaching team from 2018 to 2020, in the Franciscan Spiritual Direction Training Program at St. Anthony Shrine in Boston, Massachusetts.
