This covenant is not a contract to be perfected, but a shared intention to be lived—one step, one conversation, one act of accompaniment at a time. Persons admitted to the program will be asked to sign and date this covenant.

This formation journey invites more than learning—it asks for a way of being. As companions on the way, we enter not as experts, but as attentive listeners to God, to one another, and to the quiet movements of the heart.

In offering this program, ISI commits to providing a prayerful, faithful, and well-held space for formation—rooted in the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius and grounded in reverence, discernment, and accompaniment. We promise thoughtful teaching, honest guidance, attentive mentoring, and a community where trust, spiritual freedom, and ongoing growth can flourish.

As a participant in Companions on the Way, I enter this formation freely with a desire to be shaped—by prayer, by experience, and by the quiet, faithful work of God. 

In freedom and sincerity, I commit to the following: 

 

Prayer

  • I will maintain a faithful, daily practice of personal prayer, tending to my own relationship with God as the ground from which all accompaniment flows.
  • I will remain attentive to the movements of the Spirit in my life, trusting that my own ongoing conversion is integral to this ministry.

Presence & Fidelity

  • I will attend all scheduled sessions, arriving prepared, attentive, and engaged.
  • I understand that my presence is part of the formation of the whole, and I will communicate with care if circumstances require my absence.

Reverence for the Exercises 

  • I acknowledge that the Spiritual Exercises are not a technique, method, or curriculum, but a sacred space of encounter with God.
  • I will approach this ministry with humility, magnanimity, openness, and self-discipline, trusting that God is the true director.

Spiritual Direction

  • I am currently receiving spiritual direction and will remain in ongoing spiritual direction throughout the duration of this program.
  • I recognize direction as a necessary place of honesty, discernment, and grounding for this work.

Confidentiality & Trust

  • I will honor the sacred trust of what is shared within the group and in practicum settings.
  • I will listen with openness and without judgment, honoring each person’s experience as sacred ground. 
  • I will respect the vulnerability of others and help cultivate a space where honesty and freedom can flourish.
  • I will resist the impulse to fix, advise, or interpret prematurely, trusting the Spirit’s quiet work.
  • I will hold the sacred stories and experiences of others with reverence, helping to foster a safe space for all. 

Discernment & Humility

  • I will attend honestly and prayerfully to my own interior movements—my desires, attachments, resistances, and fears—as they arise in accompaniment.
  • I will allow this awareness to deepen my freedom and my capacity to listen. 
  • I will engage fully in conversations, practice sessions, and reflections, offering my voice with care and making room for others. I will take responsibility for my own learning and growth.

Openness to Formation

  • I will remain open to ongoing conversion—welcoming both affirmation and challenge. I will approach this formation not as acquiring a set of tools, but as being shaped in freedom, humility, and love.
  • I will remain open to feedback, mentoring, and the ongoing invitation to growth and conversion.
  • I will speak honestly with the program team if challenges arise, especially as I discern my continued participation in the program.

Care for the Whole

  • I will be attentive to the life of the group, noticing when to speak and when to yield, helping to foster a spirit of prayer, trust, and mutual respect.

Together, we entrust this journey to the faithful guidance of the Spirit, trusting that God is already at work among us.