| We regret to inform applicants who are interested in taking the Hesychia School of Spiritual Direction (HSSD) that due to the small number of candidates, we decided to suspend the 2025 HSSD. However, we are now accepting applications for 2026 HSSD. Please submit the application at your earliest convenience. HSSD 2026 Dates: Weeks 1 and 2: Feb. 1-13, 2026; Weeks 3 and 4: April 19-May 1, 2026 We are also happy to announce the upcoming Hesychia Renewal (Reunion Retreat) for HSSD Graduates. We have some GOOD NEWS for you! We have decided to host a week long session here at Hesychia next March 31-April 7, 2025. We are in the planning stages and want to get your ideas and desires as to what this week would comprise. A reunion? A continuing education? A retreat? We are currently naming it “Hesychia Renewal.” It could be a week for you to tell us your experiences after graduation and moving forward. What have been some highs and lows in your ministries? This could be a time to refresh your skills as a Spiritual Director. There could be a day of retreat with prayer and reflection. It would be a week of encouragement and support. It would be a week not only to see your old cohorts, but also a week of learning and sharing of your spiritual direction ministry. We have a limited number of rooms (30 rooms). If you are interested, please submit your application and send it to office@desertrenewal.org to register for the HSSD Renewal (Registration Form). |
Please contact Fr. Stephen T. Rehrauer at HSSD Director for more information.
Application for 2026 is now open.
The Hesychia School of Spiritual Direction
The Hesychia School of Spiritual Direction focuses on the ancient art of Christian spiritual direction in a multi-faith context. Hesychia means “watchful, inner stillness, silence” and offers contemplative study and practice designed to prepare lay professionals, clergy, and the vowed religious for a ministry of spiritual guidance within the diverse context of contemporary life.
The art of Christian spiritual direction traces its roots to the Desert Fathers and Mothers of Egypt, Palestine, Arabia, and Persia. Having left the noise of the cities to live in solitude, and seeking community with like-hearted others, the Desert Elders recognized the need for on-going guidance of the Spirit. Like many people today, they desired to be attentive to God’s movement in their lives and to the inner motivations which lead one closer to or further from Truth.
We seek to recover the freedom and peace of the Desert Elders, providing respite from the demands of modern culture and restoration of the life of prayer. Thomas Merton considered that the desert paradise is a liberation, a kind of permanent “vacation” in its original sense of emptying. In spiritual direction, we discard the useless and tedious baggage of vain concerns and devote ourselves to the one thing really necessary: the quest for meaning, for love, and for our own Divine identity.
Statement of Purpose
Our vision is to prepare spiritual directors through in-depth study, peer learning, practicums, and spiritual mentoring to serve a growing community of spiritual leaders from all walks of life and religious traditions, who seek the guidance of the Spirit.
Program Overview
The Hesychia School is an ecumenical and interfaith program designed to provide resources and support for the ministry of spiritual guidance, and to encourage the deepening of the spiritual life of participants. The program focuses on the ancient Christian practice of evocative, non-directive spiritual direction, adapted and revisioned for our time.
The heart of the program is contemplative, emphasizing the importance of spiritual study, discernment, and prayer. Its focus is on the experience of a person’s relationship with God and on fostering this relationship as the foundation of our lives. The program is offered in spring each year.
Eligibility
Classes will include 15 – 20 participants who feel called to explore the ministry of spiritual guidance and to further their spiritual growth. Participants usually include lay people, clergy, vowed religious, and professionals representing a wide variety of vocation and faith traditions. One priority of our program is helping spiritual directors discern the presence of the Divine in their own lives and experiences in order to be better listeners for those who come to them for spiritual direction. Thus it is assumed that applicants will already be in active ongoing relationship with a spiritual director. We also expect that applicants will have the maturity and life experience necessary for this ministry.
The deadline for all application material is December 31 each year. Please send all applications and recommendations via email to Fr. Stephen Rehrauer, CSsR at HSSD Director. You will be contacted for mutual discernment about acceptance after all materials are in.
Applications & Recommendation Forms
Pamphlet on Hesychia – coming soon
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Upcoming Dates
| 2025 | |
| 2025 HSSD Alumni Renewal | March 31 – April 7, 2025 |
| The Hesychia School of Spiritual Direction | |
| 2026 | |
| Weeks 1 and 2 | Feb. 1 – 13, 2026 |
| Weeks 3 and 4 | Apr. 19 – May 1, 2026 |
| 2027 | |
| Weeks 1 and 2 | Jan 31 – Feb 12, 2027 |
| Weeks 3 and 4 | Mar. 28 – Apr. 9, 2027 |
| 2028 | |
| Weeks 1 and 2 | Jan. 30 – Feb. 11, 2028 |
| Weeks 3 and 4 | Mar. 26 – Apr. 7, 2028 |
2025 School weeks Cancelled
The Hesychia Spiritual Direction Program
This program offers a formal training program of study, prayer, and reflection designed to deepen the spiritual life and to aid participants in their discernment to the ministry of spiritual direction.
It draws from the wisdom of the Christian mystical tradition, spiritual guidance as practiced in the community of the world’s religions, and the insights of psychology, the arts, and social justice.
Format of Study
The Hesychia Program is formed around four retreat weeks, which can be taken in separate modules or weeks I and II together, then weeks III and IV together. Each retreat is focused on a specific segment of spiritual direction curriculum. Completion of all four retreat weeks is required to qualify for a Certificate of Completion.
Please click for the weekly schedule, general syllabus, our list of instructors for 2023.
Program Schedule and Fees
Retreats begin with arrival and registration on the Sunday evening before classes begin. Participants are encouraged to arrive between 3:00-5:00 PM in order to register, move into your room, and become acquainted with the other participants. A reception will be held at 5:00 PM. Dinner will be served at 6:00 PM. Classes begin at 9:00 AM on Monday morning. The school ends on Friday after lunch.
Cost for the Hesychia Program: Funds: USD only. Payment by credit card, or check, please make a check payable to the Redemptorist Renewal Center.
Resident: $5,000.00 ($1,250.00 per week)
Commuter: $4,000.00 ($1,000.00 per week)
Testimonials
The Hesychia School of Spiritual Direction offers an intensive four week program that is both comprehensive and user friendly. Preparing their students for the much needed role of spiritual director in our culture, the program covers topics and issues crucial to the growth and healing of individuals and to society as a whole. In addition to learning from the excellent staff and presenters, my completion of the Hesychia program provided an opportunity for deepening and expanding my own inner healing and spiritual journey. (Linda Hunter)
I was looking for education in spiritual direction and received so much more: a greater appreciation for how various faith traditions live out their spirituality, a deeper understanding of myself and my own spiritual journey, and a more confident sense of how I could be a person called by the Spirit to hear someone else’s sacred story. The Hesychia program has been life transforming. ( A. Joan Bowers)
Thank you for a wonderful experience. The key ingredient in any program that depends on active listening is a practicum. My, our experience, of practicum was so rich because of the deep reverence and respect with which we held each other. (Sister Jean Flannelly, SC, M.T.S., Ph.D.)
The Hesychia Program is truly a “diamond” in the desert! The contemplative atmosphere is a plus. It provides the context to be exposed to a truly ecumenical program of study, practice the skills needed to be a competent spiritual director, and faculty and guest speakers practicing in their area of expertise. The length of the program is ideal-four weeks total! (Sister Carolita Mauer, OSF)
For more information
Stephen Rehrauer, CSsR, Hesychia Director
Phone: 520.744-3400
Email: Stephen Rehrauer, CSsR director@desertrenewal.org, or Peter Tran pt@desertrenewal.org