Spiritual Direction on a Retreat: An Interview with Carol Ann Munro

For those new to the experience of speaking to a spiritual director in the context of an Ignatian retreat, Carol Ann Munro shares about her ministry of spiritual direction at Bellarmine Jesuit Retreat House in Barrington, IL.

Denise Gorss for Loyola Press: How long have you been a spiritual director?

Carol Ann Munro: I have been a spiritual director for six years.

DG: What should retreatants expect when talking to a spiritual director on a retreat?

CAM: Retreatants should expect that a spiritual director will be a listening presence, non-judging, open to questions, concerns, fears.

I liken a spiritual director to a guide who has some experience at climbing the mountain you wish to climb and is there for the purpose of joining you in your experience of climbing that mountain—someone with some experience who walks with you, climbs with you, sometimes guides you, but doesn’t do the climbing for you nor dictates how you’re to do it.

DG: Why talk to a spiritual director?

CAM: Relationships are hard, even relationships with God—at times, maybe especially relationships with God. It is helpful to talk with someone else anytime we begin to wonder about our relationship with God. It may be that something has happened in our life—tragedy, loss, disappointment, confusion—and we wonder where God has been. It could also be that we’re practicing our faith as we were taught, going to church regularly, praying consistently, reading devotional material, doing all the right things but not feeling anything, and we question our relationship with God. Nobody’s perfect, but sometimes we’ve done things we are sure that God must be angry about; we’re convinced that God can’t possibly love us anymore, and we wonder how to feel that love again.

Any time that we question whether God loves us, how to be more faithful, how to make a difficult decision in keeping with God’s will, or how to grow to be the person we feel God wants us to be, a spiritual director is a good person to see.

DG: What makes the experience of retreats at Bellarmine Jesuit Retreat House special?

CAM: Certainly, one of the primary gifts of a retreat at Bellarmine is the sacred silence. We have so few opportunities in our culture and our busy lives for silence, and it’s so essential to being able to hear God’s most intimate sharing with us.

The beauty of the grounds affords one the opportunity to experience God’s extensive love in creation: to see deer come out of the brush and bees and butterflies hovering over meadows of wildflowers, to have instruments of prayer—statues of Jesus and Mary, a crucifix, Stations of the Cross, labyrinth—all outdoors, a part of the beauty of the grounds.

The hospitality of the staff and the quality of programming both demonstrate the value that is placed on the retreatants and the importance of their spiritual growth.

DG: What do you wish people knew about going on retreat?

CAM: It amounts to taking your soul to a spa.

Interested in retreat opportunities at Bellarmine Jesuit Retreat House near Chicago? Browse the schedule of weekend retreats and days of reflection, including retreats with Loyola Press authors Vinita Hampton Wright and Becky Eldredge.