BY PRISCILLA GREEAR

Staff Writer

ATLANTA--While deepening their own faith, 1998 graduates of the pilot RUAH program have learned to give spiritual guidance by listening with love and helping others to hear and respond to the Holy Spirit within them.

A graduation Mass was celebrated June 16 by Archbishop John F. Donoghue at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church to recognize the work of nine participants in the two-year program.

The independent program, established in September 1996 and open to all Christians, is staffed by six people who have served as spiritual directors and completed formation programs in spiritual direction.

They are Cenacle Sister Barbara Young, director; co-coordinators of content and format, Carol Hamill and Sister Loretta McCarthy, SBS; Cenacle Sister Susan Arcaro, coordinator of mentoring and supervision; Jim Powers, accountant, and Joy Evans, Ph.D., psychologist.

During the Mass, two of the RUAH candidates, Deacon Don Nadeau and Patricia Thompson, RSM, read the Scriptures. The others are Katherine Barrick, Loretta Donnelly, Sheryl Holstein, Linda Mitchell, Leona Nucheck, LaDonna O’Bryon and Rose Robbins. JoAnn Dawson sang the responsorial psalm and Deacon James Stewart proclaimed the Gospel.

Archbishop Donoghue opened his homily describing the inevitable difficulties and changes in life that occur through events such as the death of a loved one, the betrayal by a friend or job changes.

To handle those situations he said, “Through the sacrament of baptism and through the life in the spirit to which baptism calls us--we have been given the gift of claiming for ourselves the peace of Christ--and it is the peace of Christ which will give us the self-control and the endurance to weather the difficult times that come our way.”

The archbishop said that one must love all persons, regardless of their needs and circumstances, and that one does this by seeking the peace of Christ oneself.

Referring to St. Paul’s letter to the Colossians, he said, “Our peace is found in the one body which is Christ’s church on earth. It is found in faithful attendance upon the sacraments--it is found in the dutiful understanding of Scripture as revealed and explained by the saints, the doctors and holy writers of our faith, and it is found in what the church teaches, what is made explicit in her catechism, the manual for understanding what the faith is, how it is to be explained and in what form and manner it is to be passed on. If we, as teachers of the faith, let ourselves be cut off from any of these vines--the sacraments, the traditions and the teachings of our church--then our peace will be lost, and soon, our spirits, too, will wither and die,” he continued.

“Let us pledge solemnly and with the intention never to renege on our promise, to follow always the guides of the church in determining what we are to teach and how we are to impart the peace of Christ...Let us always remember the richness of our inheritance, the grace of baptism, the love of the Lord in the Eucharist and the flawless knowledge that comes from the Holy Spirit who guides our beloved church--and let us rise to the occasion as the occasion demands, remembering always that if we give ourselves to the truth of God, God’s truth will endure in us.”

The scent of incense permeated the sanctuary as a burning bowl of it was set by the altar representing prayer. Program graduates were called to the altar to receive certificates of completion from Archbishop Donoghue and mission crosses from RUAH staff members.

The first year of the RUAH course students, meeting twice monthly, explore aspects of spiritual discernment, psychology and contemporary spirituality and learn principles of mentoring and supervision and communication skills. In the second year, participants give monthly spiritual direction and discuss with a supervisor and in group meetings their experiences of God and the related responses and problems which arise. Students are taught to search within themselves for divine and self-knowledge in order to experience God more deeply and comprehend how God works in others.

Graduate Laurie Donnelly, a parishioner at St. Michael the Archangel Church, Woodstock, learned that in directing another “sometimes you come with your own preconceived ideas and notions on different matters...You can’t let that get in the way.”

“We learned to listen to what the Holy Spirit is (saying),” she said. “...What you’re mainly doing is just journeying with the person, listening to them, offering suggestions to get them closer to God.”

Linda Gushing, a parishioner at Transfiguration Church in Marietta, began receiving spiritual direction from RUAH student Rose Robbins last September.

“I was at a point in my life where I was very much searching to understand what the Lord’s will was for me and I thought it would be a wonderful opportunity for growth and development.”

Gushing said that from “the insights that she picks up on, I feel like the Lord is using her to speak to me...She’s shared books that she might think that I’d like to read and that’s helped a lot too.”

“What they’re trying to listen to is not only to the words but to what the Spirit is saying within the heart of another,” Sister Young said.

Graduate Linda Mitchell has begun giving spiritual direction to parishioners at St. Pius X Church, Conyers, and plans to direct catechumens in the Rite of Christian Initiation program there. She said the most important needs are for the director to show love and be available.

At the graduation she felt “wonderful, absolutely overjoyed. I felt like the Holy Spirit was very present (and) alive with each one of us. I could see it. I could feel it, which is very appropriate since the name of the program is RUAH.”

RUAH applicants go through a screening process which includes recommendations and also evaluates their knowledge, their experience and their plans to utilize the course.

The next program will begin in September at St. Thomas More Church, Decatur. Tuition is $1,995 per year. For information call Sister Young at (706) 654-3460.