How it works...
The Structure of the Programme:
Each week, you will enjoy a 2-hr session of lecture and discussion. The lectures are once per week for year one and once per week for year two. Each session runs in the morning and the evening. The evening is a repeat of the morning session so you can choose each week which time suits you best. Come in morning or evening, or if it helps your learning experience come to both! (at no extra cost)
You will receive reading assignments and activities to reinforce what you are learning in the virtual classroom.
- Enjoy the Interactive Lectures & Discussions from your own home
- Interactive Real-time Participation
Course fees – £998 per year – onetime payment. Or £120 per month for nine months. This includes registration fee, notes, and your final certificate.
Claritas Spiritual Theology also welcomes students to attend this course for personal enrichment, but without the pressure of assignments and assessments for a diploma. Once you have registered for the course, you can decide during the first month of the programme, if your experience leads you to choose to do the assignments and assessments for a diploma.
Once you have registered and made your payment you will receive an email on the evening before each lecture/discussion session, with the link for the next day’s session.
On the first day of a course, there will be an optional test meeting 15 minutes before the start of the session – for anyone who wishes to practice clicking the link and making sure they can see and hear without any problems. At the time of the session, to “enter the meeting room”, you simply click the link in your email, follow the directions, and you are in! There is no need for any advanced computer or technical skill.
Real-time Interactive Participation
Once you are in the “meeting room”, you can see and hear everything. To ask questions, or participate in the discussion, you simply un-mute your microphone (or you can opt to just listen). We prefer everyone’s web-cam to be turned on, so that we’re all visible to each other, but you can opt to turn off your web-cam if necessary. You can ask questions, contribute to the discussion, and participate just as you would if you were onsite – all from the comfort of your own home.
- Following each session, notes will be emailed to you.
- 24-hour email, and access to your tutor by phone or Zoom by appointment.
In Case You Miss a Lecture on one of our long courses
As with any discipline, a certain time commitment is necessary in order to learn effectively. Nevertheless, we understand that there will be times when you might be unable to attend a lecture. When this happens, you can contact your course lecturer as soon as possible so that arrangements can be made for you to learn the material covered in the lecture you missed. You will be provided with the resources necessary, so that you do not have major gaps in your learning.
Year 1:
SF1 The Supernatural Organism, Grace, and the Virtues
“Advancing toward union with God is a beautiful adventure, and certainly never boring. Our whole life is a journey that can be so much greater if we invite the living God into our hearts; for there is no better travel than advancing towards God with a heart inflamed with love. This journey is full of beauty, and the treasure that waits for us at the end is beyond compare … for ‘the gift of grace surpasses every capability of created nature, since it is nothing short of a partaking of the Divine Nature, which exceeds every other nature.’ God gives us a wonderful gift when He gives us the gift of life; however, He gives us an even greater gift when He bestows on us the supernatural life …” [D.C. Oliver, Discerning your Spiritual Journey, 2013]
The fullness of human life is revealed in Christ; therefore, by following Christ’s example, the desire for happiness which is present within each human heart can be fulfilled. It is growth in sanctifying grace and the virtues that is at the heart of our life of Christian discipleship. This module highlights the reality that grace builds on nature and explains the inward transformation which takes place through the gift of sanctifying grace and the infused virtues. It is through grace and the virtues that we advance in the spiritual life and have a deeper union with God.
In this module you will learn the importance of authentic Christian anthropology and the theological principles by which to understand how the whole supernatural organism operates and helps us to grow in holiness.
Year 1 Course/Module:
SF2 The Mystical Life and the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit
“The Most Holy Trinity gives the baptized sanctifying grace, the grace of justification: enabling them to believe in God, to hope in Him, and to love Him through the theological virtues; giving them power to live and act under the prompting of the Holy Spirit through the gifts of the Holy Spirit.” [D.C. Oliver, Discerning your Spiritual Journey, 2013.]
The action of God working in a person’s life through grace and the gifts of the Holy Spirit is what truly constitutes the mystical life. The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit are necessary for salvation; they help the soul to reach the heights of holiness.
There is a great difference between the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit and the charisms. This module examines the nature of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, how they operate, what role they play in our life of prayer, and how they help to lead us to the heights of Christian perfection.
Throughout this module attention will be given to the practical implications of the effects of the seven gifts, how to identify the action of these gifts – the action of the Holy Spirit in one’s life, how to navigate the interior life, and how to be better disposed to cooperate with the action of the Holy Spirit.
Year 2:
SF3 The Stages of Prayer according to St Teresa of Avila, and Spiritual Direction
“Sometimes a soul hinders the blessing that God wants to give through this gift of infused contemplation because it does not understand what is happening. When God wants to bless a soul with this type of prayer, He is giving a great gift. Unfortunately many souls who arrive at this stage do not advance any further in the spiritual life. The experience of infused contemplation is very different from the more discursive form of prayer to which the soul has been accustomed. It is not always easy for us to recognise that God is blessing us with this type of prayer. Consequently, we may try to continue with our usual more active forms of prayer…” [D. C. Oliver, Discerning your Spiritual Journey, 2013.]
In this module you will learn about the various stages of prayer (nine stages) and the great blessings God gives to the soul through the gift of infused contemplation. Our primary text will be St Teresa of Avila’s Interior Castle.
We will consider the distinction between ascetical and mystical prayer and the transition from one to the other. You will also learn how to recognise the signs of true growth in prayer and holiness.
Throughout this module advice will be given which can be helpful for your own spiritual journey or for souls you may be accompanying through spiritual direction.
SF4 The Three Stages of the Spiritual Life, Discernment and Spiritual Direction
“God is like a wise physician. He knows exactly what a soul needs at each moment. Sometimes He gives favours, lights, and consolations; at other times, He hides Himself. When God hides His face, it seems to the soul that He is nowhere to be found. In Catholic Tradition, this has been called by different names—St John of the Cross refers to it as ‘the dark night’… The soul who experiences this kind of darkness has not been abandoned by God; He is very close …” [D. C. Oliver, Discerning your Spiritual Journey, 2013.]
In this module we shall examine the three stages of the spiritual life – the purgative, the illuminative, and the unitive way. You will learn how to recognise when a soul is in each of these stages. We shall examine the progression from one stage to the next, when a soul is entering into the dark nights of the soul, and the nature of the various purifications which take place in order for the soul to arrive at perfect union with Jesus, the Beloved.
We will also examine discernment of spirits according to St Ignatius of Loyola and how to recognise the various movements of the spirits. We shall consider whether desolation and consolation are the same as the dark nights of the soul, and the causes and effects of each of these realities.
Throughout this module we shall highlight the practical implications of each of the above topics and give practical advice which can be helpful for your own spiritual journey or for souls that you may be accompanying through spiritual direction.
(Step 2) Please choose:
One time purchase by debit/credit or BACS:
Monthly payments:
