SpiritualDirection – Saint Anne Catholic Community

Spiritual Direction

Spiritual Direction is an ancient tradition. Its main purpose is to help you deepen your relationship with God by journeying alongside a trained director who has been called into this special ministry. In one-on-one, meetings you have sacred time to explore your personal relationship with God by discussing how you experience, or don’t experience the movements of the Holy Spirit in your life.

Our spiritual journey can be mysterious and difficult to navigate at times. During a meeting you can speak about anything going on in your life that you wish to bring, and you will be closely listened to with an ear for discerning how is God showing up in your story. The Spiritual Director is trained and experienced in sacred listening and will hold the space you share in prayer for God’s grace.

Helps those searching for relevance in God.
Assists individuals in articulating their God experiences.
Supports those who are experiencing life’s transitions when it feels like God is distant.
Provides a safe place for people to have their stories heard.
Is open-ended on the individual’s needs.

Spiritual Direction does not tell you how to act or what to do, rather it helps shine light on the aspects of your life that you bring forth. It is not psychological counseling or psychotherapy.

Who walks with you on your journey?

All of our spiritual directors have completed rigorous internships in Spiritual Direction. Meetings are typically held once a month for about an hour. Financial contributions are arranged between you and your director. They generally range between $35 to $100 per session, depending on your circumstances. No one is turned away due to financial ability.

If you are interested in exploring spiritual direction, please send an email to Spiritual_Direction@stannebarrington.org or leave a voice mail message at 847-620-3056 to find out more. An initial conversation can help you discern if this journey will benefit you. If so, then a determination of which director is best suited to meet your needs will be made and a mutually agreeable time and meeting place will be set up between you and your director.

The Spiritual Directors function independently from the Saint Anne parish staff to ensure confidentiality. If you have any questions, please contact Fr. Rodolfo Ramirez at rramirez@stannebarrington.org or 847-382-5300.

Meet Our Spiritual Directors

Paul Horcher

I am grateful to be part of the Spiritual Direction Team. I have been a parishioner at Saint Anne basically my entire life. I have been married to my wife Lisa for 36 years, have 6 adult children and 3 grandchildren. I have been sitting with people in spiritual direction for 10 years.

I completed a 3-year spiritual direction internship in the Ignatian tradition at Bellarmine Jesuit Retreat House in Barrington Hills. I am very familiar with Ignatian spirituality. I am a seeker and I have been involved in a number of formation and self-discovery journeys over the last 25 years including:

• Graduated from the 2-year Archdiocese Called & Gifted Lay Ministry Program
• Served as a minister of care in the hospital for 20 years
• Participated in numerous retreats and mission trips for juniors and seniors in high school
• Studied spirituality at the Catholic Theological Union
• Completed an extensive study of St. John Paul II‘s Theology of the Body with the Theology of the Body Institute in Pennsylvania
• Has extensive experience with men’s spirituality
• Completed the 2-year Living School through the Center for Action and Contemplation
• Continuing a deep dive in nature, discovering its gifts for our wholeness, and delving into dream work

I long to help people uncover their true self and discover how desperately they are loved. My perspective is God’s love is all encompassing and can be found in every situation. God desires our healing and wholeness more than we can imagine and continuously beckons us to it and uses all of creation to do so.

Kathleen Martz-Betlinski

I received my certificate in Spiritual Direction from the Wheaton Franciscan Center in 1995, further training at Aylesford, The Covey Institute, and Bereavement Training and Pastoral Care Training from the Archdiocese of Chicago. I was affiliated with Holy Family’s Spirituality Center as a Spiritual Director and Adult Faith Leader.

With the support of Father Jack Dewes, I was a lector and participated in the Kingdom Retreat Program, offered workshops on “The Spirituality of Midlife” and led Group Spiritual Direction. Now in private practice, I develop and lead spiritual growth groups, most recently “Fanning the Flame”, an ongoing small group experience that deepens faith.

I spent many years as a corporate business professional, experiencing downsizing, unemployment and relocation in my personal life. I have also known the pain of rejection in divorce, the anguish from the death of a child, and the trauma over my husband’s sudden death. I seek to help others with their life transitions as part of Spiritual Direction.

Life is a journey of loss and recovery, and the process of Spiritual Direction helps us uncover God in everyday events, which is how God tries to “reach” us. I help awaken others to the mystery called “God” in all of life and respond to that discovery in a growing, intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. I specialize in life transitions, helping to give a person’s life story a voice, while discerning their unique spiritual DNA, as unique as their thumb print.

Saint Augustine understood, after years of prayer and study, God’s sustaining love and faithfulness to us. He once said, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.” He sought truth and found God in whom the great Saint found peace.

Anne Rometty

In May 2023, I became a Spiritual Director grounded in the principles of Ignatian Spirituality, having completed an eighteen-month Spiritual Direction Internship at Bellarmine Retreat House in Barrington Hills.

I have been a parishioner at the Saint Anne Catholic Community with my husband John and our children for nearly thirty years. I spent my career as a Catholic elementary teacher, and the past decade ministering to young adults in the Kairos and Summer Service programs at our parish.

My heart is happiest sharing my faith, and accompanying others in ministry and service. I see myself in my role as a Spiritual Director as a “compassionate listener,” one who walks with another providing insights into examining where God truly is in our everyday lives.

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