I am a full-time professor at St. Jerome’s University in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, and have been teaching Christian spirituality and ethics since 1994. I am the former President and Vice-Chancellor of St. Jerome’s University, a past-President of the Society for the Study of Christian Spirituality, and the former Dean of the Faculty of Theology, Saint Paul University, Ottawa, Canada. As a professional educator, academic speaker and author, as well as a popular workshop and retreat director, I have given conferences, workshops and retreats on a range of topics in Canada, the United States and Europe. Of particular interest to me are the writings and life of the Spanish mystic John of the Cross. My popular interests focus on the lived experience of spirituality in today’s world and how that experience opens up new possibilities for meaningful faith-filled living. As a missionary in Haiti (two years) and graduate student in Rome, Italy (three years) I draw on a truly international experience to inform my reflection. I am the author of a number of books which include For Love of the World: The Old and New Self of John of the Cross (1997); The Sacrament of Reconciliation (1998), Studying Christian Spirituality (2007) and The 20-Minute Retreat: 18 Sessions With the Saints to Nourish Your Faith (2019). I am also the editor of Women Christian Mystics (2001).
PhD/DTh, University of Ottawa/Saint Paul University
STL, Pontifical Gregorian University
BSc, University of Western Ontario
519-884-8111
The content that follows may only represent a portion of the Faculty member's work.
Books
The 20-Minute Retreat: 18 Sessions With the Saints to Nourish Your Faith (Toronto, ON: Novalis Publishing; New London, CT: Twenty-Third Publications, 2019), 160 pages.
Studying Christian Spirituality (London, UK: Routledge, 2007), 346 pages.
Christian Women Mystics Speak to our Times, edited by David B. Perrin, with an Introduction by the Editor pages ix-xxi, (Franklin, WI: Sheed & Ward, 2001), 209 pages.
The Sacrament of Reconciliation: An Existential Approach (Queenston, ON: Edwin Mellen Press, 1998), 147 pages.
For Love of the World: The Old and New Self of John of the Cross (Bethesda, MD: International Scholars Publications, 1997), 123 pages.
Canciones entre el alma y el esposo of Juan de la Cruz: A Hermeneutical Interpretation (Bethesda, MD: International Scholars Publications, 1996), 429 pages.
Articles in Referred Journals or Books
“La mimesi come terreno comune per la spiritualità e la teologia spiritual,” Anno 12 Numero 2 (2019), Mysterion: Rivista di Ricerca in Teologia Spirituale, 68-82.
“The Literary Genre of the Spiritual Canticle of John of the Cross,” in Mysticism and Contemporary Life: Essays in Honor of Bernard McGinn, J. August Higgins and John Markey, editors, introduction by Ron Rolheiser, Herder & Herder Publishing, 2019, 53-67.
“The Nature of the Self: Christian Anthropology Revisited,” in Vinayasādhana: Dharmaram Journal of Psycho-Spiritual Formation, Vol. X, No. 2 (July 2019), 23-41.
“Mimesis: The Substructure of Hermeneutical Methodology in Christian Spirituality,” Studies in Spirituality, Vol. 28, Nijmegen, Netherlands, 2018, 85-115.
“Stories, Hermeneutics and Maturation in Christian Life,” Vol. IX, No. 1, January 2018, Vinayasādhana: Dharmaram Journal of Psycho-Spiritual Formation, Dharmaram College, Bangalore, India, 35-57.
“The Trinity Who Prays and Engages Others to do the Same,” Vinayasādhana: Dharmaram Journal of Psycho-Spiritual Formation, Vol. VIII, No. 2, July 2017, 28-41.
“Metodologia ermeneutica nella spirtualità cristiana: fenemenologia e interdisciplinarità,” Anno 10 Numero 1 (2017), Mysterion: Rivista di Ricerca in Teologia Spirituale, 5-21.
“The Clash of Transcendence and History: The Conversion of Óscar Arnulfo Romero, Part II,” Vol. VII, No. 2, July 2016, Vinayasādhana: Dharmaram Journal of Psycho-Spiritual Formation, Dharmaram College, Bangalore, India, 60-76.
“The Clash of Transcendence and History: The Conversion of Óscar Arnulfo Romero, Part I,” Vol. VII, No. 1, January 2016, Vinayasādhana: Dharmaram Journal of Psycho-Spiritual Formation, Dharmaram College, Bangalore, India, 53-62.
“God’s Defeat of Deceit: The Seduction of Oscar Romero,” in Robert Pelton, editor, Archbishop Romero and Spiritual Leadership in the Modern World, Lexington Books, Lanham, MD (2015), 56-60.
“The New Self of John of the Cross,” Vol. V, No. 1, January 2014, Vinayasādhana: Dharmaram Journal of Psycho-Spiritual Formation, Dharmaram College, Bangalore, India, 31-42.
“Hermeneutical Methodology in Christian Spirituality,” THEOFORUM 44 (2013), 317-337. (Issue Backdated: Published February 2015)
“The Uneasy Relationship Between Christian Spirituality and the Human Sciences: Psychology as a Test Case,” Fall 2007 Spiritus: A Journal of Christian Spirituality, Johns Hopkins University Press, 169-192.
“Mysticism,” entry in The Blackwell Companion to Christian Spirituality, Arthur Holder, editor, Oxford, U.K.: Blackwell, 2005, 442-458.
“The Mythopoetic Interpretation of Texts: Hermeneutical Considerations,” in Mythopoetic Perspectives of Men’s Healing Work: An Anthology for Therapists and Others, James Doyle, Editor, Greenwood Press, Westport, CT, 2000, 59-74.
“The Unique Contribution of John of the Cross to the Western Mystical Tradition,” Science et Esprit, 51/2 (1999), 199-230.
“Spiritual Direction, Hermeneutics, and the Textual Constitution of Selfhood,” Église et Théologie, 29/1 (1998), 31-62.
“Asceticism: The Enigma of Corporal Joy in Paul Ricoeur and John of the Cross,” Pastoral Sciences, 16 (1997), 135-162.
“Implications of Hermeneutical Methodology for the Interpretation of the Cántico espiritual of Juan de la Cruz,” Science et Esprit, XLVIII/2 mai-septembre (1996), 153-174.
“Foundations for a Hermeneutical Interpretation of the Cántico espiritual of Juan de la Cruz,” Science et Esprit, XLVIII/1, janvier-avril (1996), 61-84.
“Mysticism and Art: The Importance of Affective Reception,” Église et Théologie 27/1 (1996), 47-70.
Grants
Research Council of Saint Paul University, Research Grant for book: Studying Christian Spirituality, Routledge, London, UK, July 2007. (2005)
Research Council of Saint Paul University, Travel Grant to attend American Academy of Religion as Workshop Facilitator/Presenter (2005)
Research Council of Saint Paul University, Travel Grant to attend American Academy of Religion as Workshop Facilitator/Presenter (2004)
Research Council of Saint Paul University, Travel Grant to attend American Academy of Religion as Chair, Mysticism Group (2002)
Research Council of Saint Paul University, Research Grant for book: The Symbol of Reconciliation: An Existential Approach. (1996)
Research Council of Saint Paul University, Travel Grant to present at the Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Religion: Masculinity: Personal and Communal Transformation via the Mytho-Poetic Text,” New Orleans, LA (November 23-26, 1996)
Research Council Saint Paul University, Travel Grant to present at the American Academy of Religion - International Regional Meeting: Asceticism - The Enigma of Corporal Joy,” LeMoyne College, Syracuse, N.Y. (April 13, 1995)
Fellowships
Doctoral Scholarship, Saint Paul University (1990)
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (S.S.H.R.C.) Doctoral Scholarship, Renewal of Scholarship, Saint Paul University (1991)
Renewal of SSHRC Scholarship (1992)
Renewal of SSHRC Scholarship (1993)
RS 150: Christian Ethics
RS 180: Love and Friendship
RS 240 / HIST 235: History of Christianity
RS 251: Catholic Social Thought
RS 254: Christian Sexual Ethics
RS 286: Spirit in Motion
RS 291: Special Topics: Mysticism
RS 348: Vatican II
HUMSC 101: Great Dialogues: Reflection and Action
Master of Catholic Thought
CT 604: Catholic Moral Life and Thought
CT 605: Prayer of the Church: Liturgy and Spirituality
CT 612: Special Topics in Catholic Theology: Vatican II
CT 612: Special Questions: Reverberations of Vatican II in the Pontificate of Francis
Master of Catholic Thought
The content that follows may only represent a portion of the Faculty member's work.
Professional
2020 July 1-present: Member of Finance Committee, Board of Governors, Saint Paul University, Ottawa.
2018 October 1-present: Member of Editorial Board: Offerings: A Journal of Christian Spirituality and Practical Theology, Oblate School of Theology, San Antonio, TX, U.S.A. by Herder & Herder
2013-present: Director on the Board of Governors, Saint Paul University, Ottawa; member Governance and Nominations Committee; Member President’s Annual Evaluation Committee
2010-present: Member of Editorial Board: Vinayasādhana: Journal of Psycho-Spiritual Formation; Dharmaram College; Bangalore, India
2016 July 1 - July 1, 2020: Chair, Governance, Nominations and Rector’s Evaluation Committee of the Council of Administration (Board of Governors), Saint Paul University, Ottawa
2006-2010: Chair, Promotions Committee, Society for the Study of Christian Spirituality
2005-2006: President, international group Society for the Study of Christian Spirituality of the American Academy of Religion
2004-2005: Vice-President/President-Elect, Society for the Study of Christian Spirituality
2001-2004: Board Member Society for the Study of Christian Spirituality
1998-2002: Chair – Mysticism Group, American Academy of Religion
1996-present: Canadian Theological Society
1996-present: Société Canadienne de Théologie
1992-present: American Academy of Religion
1992-present: Society for the Study of Christian Spirituality
October 2, 2019: Saint Paul University, Ottawa, ON. Public conference and Book Launch: The 20-Minute Retreat: 18 Sessions With the Saints to Nourish Your Faith.
October 8, 2019: “Medically Assisted Suicide, Abortion, and Euthanasia: A Catholic Perspective,” conference; St. Michael Parish Catholic Women’s League, St. Michael Parish, Waterloo.
October 27, 2019: Galilee Centre, Arnprior, ON. Public conference and Book Launch: The 20-Minute Retreat: 18 Sessions With the Saints to Nourish Your Faith.
September 25-28, 2019: “Mimesis as Common Ground for Spirituality and Spiritual Theology,” Joint conference sponsored by the Society for the Study of Christian Spirituality and The Forum of Professors of Spiritual Theology in Italy, Peer-reviewed selection process. 20 minute conference. OFM Pontifical University Antonianum, Rome, Italy.
May 28-30, 2018: Workshop at Galilee Mission Centre, Arnprior, ON. “Mimetic Quality of the Spirituality of Space,” 5 talks of 1.5 hours ea.
June 28, 2017: “The Trinity Who Prays and Engages Other to Do the Same,” Plenary Session, Pray Without Ceasing Conference, Biannual International Meeting of the Society for the Study of Christian Spirituality/Universität Zürich, Kappel, Switzerland.
March 27, 2017: “The Spirituality of Óscar Arnulfo Romero,” Keynote address during the annual “Romero Days,” (March 24-28) Notre Dame University, IL, U.S.A.
January 17, 2016: “Les étapes vers l’union divine selon Jean de la Croix,” 3 hour Master seminar at Saint Paul University, Ottawa, in THO 5514 Étapes sur la voie de la plénitude. DES in Théologie contemplative et mentorat spiritual.
Administrative
University of Waterloo
Member, Senate
Community
March 7-11, 2020: Holy Cross Parish Lenten Retreat, “Conversion in the Ordinary: Discovering God in Everyday Life,” 5 evening conferences, Georgetown, ON.
March 4, 2020: KW Serra Club, Lenten Retreat: “Let Us Live Joyfully in God,” Kitchener, ON.
February 7, 2020: Inaugural Conference “Older Adults Luncheon,” “The Spirituality of Retreat,” St. Michael Parish, Waterloo, ON.
November 25, 2019: Knights of Columbus, Waterloo, ON. Public conference and Book Launch: The 20-Minute Retreat: 18 Sessions With the Saints to Nourish Your Faith
November 2 & 3, 2019: Saint Jerome’s University Campus Ministry. Homily at Masses and Book Launch: The 20-Minute Retreat: 18 Sessions With the Saints to Nourish Your Faith.
October 15-19, 2019: Preached Retreat at School Sisters of Notre Dame Motherhouse, Hamilton, ON. “Endless Spirit.”
June 3-7, 2019: Preached Retreat for Congregation of the Resurrection, Resurrection Manor, Waterloo, ON. “Amoris Laetitia / The Joy of Love,” Apostolic Exhortation of Pope Francis. 9 Conferences of approximately 30 minutes each.
March 31 - April 3, 2019: Lenten Retreat at St. Teresa’s Parish, Kitchener, ON. “Conversion in the Ordinary: Discovering God in Everyday Life,” 4 conferences.
June 11-16, 2018: Preached Retreat at Sisters of St. Joseph Motherhouse, Hamilton, ON. “Living Trinitarian Life: An Invitation to Live With God Always.”
June 3, 2017: “Coequal Genders: Why Men Need to Pay More Attention to Women of Faith in Order to be Men of Faith,” Keynote Address (45 minutes), Marian Days, St. Thomas the Apostle Parish, Waterdown, ON.
April 4, 2017: “Board Governance and Mission,” Workshop for Board of Directors, Galilee Community, Arnprior, Ontario.
March 11-15, 2017: “Conversion in the Ordinary: Discerning God in Everyday Life,” Preached Mission/Lenten Retreat, St. Michael’s Parish, Waterloo, Ontario.
May 8-13, 2016: “Retreat: Living Trinitarian Life: The Invitation to Live with God Always,” Galilee Mission Centre, Arnprior, ON.
June 19-21, 2015: “The Experience of God: Mysticism in Everyday Life,” Workshop/Retreat given at the Galilee Centre, Arnprior, ON.