This covenant is not a contract to be perfected, but a shared intention to be lived—one prayer, one conversation, one act of accompaniment at a time.
The Listening Heart is a two-year journey of formation that invites more than learning. It asks for a way of being: a deepening capacity to listen to God, to oneself, to others, and to the movements of the Spirit. We enter this journey not as experts, but as companions willing to be formed in freedom, humility, and love.
In offering this program, the Ignatian Spirituality Institute (ISI) commits to providing a prayerful, faithful, and thoughtfully held space for formation. Rooted in the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius and enriched by the Ignatian tradition, this formation invites participants into deeper prayer, reflective study, shared experience, and the practice of spiritual accompaniment. ISI commits to offering thoughtful teaching, attentive mentoring, honest feedback, and a community in which trust, spiritual freedom, and ongoing growth can flourish.
As a participant in The Listening Heart, I enter this formation freely, with a desire to deepen my relationship with God and grow in the capacity to accompany others with attentiveness, reverence, and care.
In freedom and sincerity, I commit to the following:
Prayer and Relationship with God
- I will maintain a faithful, daily practice of personal prayer, tending to my relationship with God as the ground of my capacity to accompany others.
- I will attend to the movements of the Spirit in my life, recognizing that my own ongoing conversion and growth are integral to this ministry.
- I will make space for reflection, allowing prayer and experience to speak to one another throughout this formation journey.
Presence and Fidelity
- I will participate faithfully in scheduled sessions, arriving prepared, attentive, and ready to engage.
- I will complete assigned readings, presentations, and other formation activities with care, recognizing that preparation is part of my commitment to the cohort.
- I will communicate responsibly when circumstances prevent my participation and take responsibility for engaging with missed material when possible.
- I will contribute to the life of the cohort, recognizing that my presence, listening, and participation help shape the formation of the whole.
Reverence for the Ignatian Tradition
- I will approach the Ignatian tradition with reverence and openness, allowing its wisdom to deepen my relationship with God and shape my way of accompanying others.
- I will remain attentive to the breadth of Ignatian spirituality, including the writings, experiences, and wisdom of Ignatius and those who have lived and continue to embody the Ignatian charism.
- I will honor the Spiritual Exercises as a foundational expression of Ignatian spirituality, recognizing that this tradition invites an ongoing way of living, praying, discerning, and relating to God and others.
- I will approach the ministry of spiritual accompaniment with humility, magnanimity, and respect for the freedom of each person, trusting in God's active presence in every spiritual journey.
Ongoing Spiritual Accompaniment
- I will remain in regular spiritual accompaniment throughout the two years of formation, attending honestly to my own prayer, interior movements, questions, and growth.
- I will receive spiritual accompaniment as a necessary place of grounding, discernment, and deepening relationship with God.
- I will recognize that my own experience of being accompanied can enlarge my capacity to listen and accompany others with compassion and freedom.
Discernment and Humility
- I will attend honestly and prayerfully to my own interior movements, including desires, attachments, resistances, and fears, allowing this awareness to deepen my freedom and capacity to listen.
- I will approach others with humility and reverence, honoring their experiences and relationship with God without judgment or the impulse to fix, advise, or interpret prematurely.
- I will honor the confidentiality of what is shared within the cohort and in practicum settings, treating the stories and experiences entrusted to me with care and respect.
- I will participate openly in conversations, reflections, and practicum experiences, offering my perspective with care while making room for others.
- I will remain open to feedback and challenge, recognizing that growth in spiritual accompaniment requires ongoing self-awareness, humility, and a willingness to be formed.
Openness to Formation and Feedback
- I will enter this formation with a willingness to be shaped, challenged, and renewed, rather than simply to acquire knowledge or develop skills.
- I will take responsibility for my learning and for the interior work that this formation invites.
- I will communicate honestly with the program team when questions, challenges, or concerns arise, including when I need support in discerning my continued participation.
Care for the Cohort
- I will contribute to a spirit of mutual respect, generosity, and shared responsibility, attending to when I am invited to speak and when I am called to listen.
- I will respect the diversity of experiences, traditions, perspectives, and ministries represented in the cohort, remaining curious and willing to learn from others.
- I will help nurture a community in which participants can take risks in learning, acknowledge uncertainty, and grow in confidence without fear of judgment.
- I will recognize that formation happens not only through formal teaching but also through the quality of our relationships and the care we extend to one another.
A Commitment to the Journey
- I will approach these two years as an unfolding journey, allowing time for learning, integration, practice, and growth.
- I will remain attentive to how this formation is shaping my relationship with God and my capacity to accompany others.
- I will hold this ministry with reverence, remembering that spiritual accompaniment is a privilege and a responsibility entrusted to me, never a possession of my own.
Together, we entrust this journey to the faithful guidance of the Spirit. May our listening deepen, our freedom grow, and our capacity to accompany others become more rooted in the love of God.
Participant Name: __________________________________
Signature: _________________________________________
Date: _____________________________________________