Can I Trust Mercy Center Spiritual Direciton Training Program

Can I Trust the Mercy Center Spiritual Direction Training Program?

Dear Dan, I was searching for your spiritual direction training programs in my area and noticed an advertisement for the Mercy Center in Colorado Springs. Have you had a chance to evaluate them? Do you recommend them?

Dear friend, the answer is yes I have had a chance to evaluate their program and another one in the area provided by Benet Hill Monastery and Retreat center. I wouldn’t recommend either nor would I recommend seeking spiritual direction from anyone associated with either program. The central reason is that the Mercy Center and Benet Hill are both steeped in a New Age syncretism that is spiritually dangerous and incompatible with Catholic spirituality.

If you would like to learn more, the Holy See provides a helpful document on the subject entitled Jesus Christ, the Bearer of the Water of Life explaining the dangers of many of the practices that are taught at the Mercy Center, Benet Hill, and Benet Pines. As for the evaluation of any retreat center or spiritual program, this document is a great guide to understanding and uncovering those things that are spiritually harmful and that should be avoided.

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Dan Burke

Dan Burke is the past President and C.O.O. of EWTN's worldwide news network. He is presently the founder and President of the Avila Institute for Spiritual Formation, which offers graduate and personal enrichment studies in spiritual theology to priests, deacons, religious, and laity in 90 countries and prepares men for seminary in over 40 dioceses. Dan is the author and editor of numerous books on authentic Catholic spirituality and hosts the Divine Intimacy Radio show with his wife, Stephanie, which is broadcast weekly on EWTN Radio. Past episodes can be found, along with thousands of articles on the interior life, at SpiritualDirection.com. In his deep commitment to the advancement of faithful Catholic spirituality, he is also the founder of Apostoli Viae, a world-wide, private association of the faithful dedicated to living and advancing the authentic spiritual patrimony of the Church. Most importantly, Dan is a blessed husband, father of four, grandfather of one—and grateful to be Catholic.