Going Past the Shallows: Professional Development Series
Going Past the Shallows is a four-part professional development series created and led by our founder, Becky Eldredge. This series is designed to deeply form ministry leaders and accompaniers in the Ignatian way of prayer and discernment. There are four courses in the series.
1. The Fundamentals of Ignatian Prayer (Fall 2025)
2. The Fundamentals of Discernment (Spring 2026)
3. The First Set of Rules of Discernment (Fall 2026)
4. The Second Set of Rules of Discernment (Spring 2027)
This August, we are re-launching the series from the beginning with The Fundamentals of Ignatian Prayer! We invite you to join us in the deeper waters of faith and Ignatian spirituality.
The Fundamentals of Ignatian Prayer Course:
Have your ways of praying expanded and widened to help you hold the weight of your personal experience along with the responsibility of leading and walking with others?
Are you trying to accompany and lead others out of a well that feels dry and unable to nourish yourself for the ministry being asked of you today?
As ministry leaders, God is urgently calling us to a deeper faith. We are being invited to live, to lead, and to offer hope in a time of chaos, suffering, and division. And yet, we cannot offer what we do not have.
In our upcoming series, The Fundamentals of Ignatian Prayer, we are invited to deeper prayer. Prayer that quiets the busyness and chaos of the world and invites us into the still waters within. Prayer that renews our hope. Prayer that invites us to carry suffering with Christ. Prayer that fosters our ability to hear God’s call for us and for the ministries we lead. Prayer that invites discernment so we can lead with Christ. Prayer that deepens our interior life and helps us lead others to deeper prayer. Prayer that births hope not only in us but in those we serve and accompany. Prayer that offers a pathway to hope.
The path is Ignatian prayer.
There is an antidote for your longing and the longing of the people you encounter and accompany. There is hope to bring light to your darkness and to the suffering plaguing others. St Ignatius of Loyola gives us the path.
The 500-year-old spiritual wisdom of St. Ignatius stands the test of time as a pathway to God. The Holy Spirit birthed Ignatian spirituality out of a time that also held division, suffering, and confusion. These ancient tools of faith guided people for centuries to find their way to God, to hear God’s voice, to hold the sorrows of the world with God, to become compassionate listeners, to act boldly with God, and to be hope-bearers in the world.
This path is available to every single one of us. It is accessible. It lives in the real.
It is time to walk the Ignatian path of prayer.
You do not walk alone.
The path of Ignatian prayer is not meant to walk alone. St. Ignatius anchored his wisdom in the need for a guide to help us into deeper waters of faith.
Building on insights from her over twenty years of experience as an Ignatian-trained spiritual director, teacher, and retreat facilitator and the work of her two award-winning books, Becky Eldredge has a profound knowledge of scripture, the Catholic faith, and the Ignatian path of prayer and discernment. Becky lives, leads, and thrives in the deep waters – and she is eager to accompany you beyond the shallows and onto a path that leads to greater hope. It is a path you can walk, you can lead from, and you can also offer to those you are called to serve.
Your Trusted Guide.
Becky Eldredge is an Ignatian-trained spiritual director, retreat facilitator, teacher, writer and founder of Ignatian Ministries. She trains spiritual directors through the Archdiocese of New Orleans Spirituality Center, and she is the Coordinator of Spiritual Direction Ministry for the Diocese of Baton Rouge.
She is the author of two award winning books Busy Lives & Restless Souls (2017) and The Inner Chapel: Embracing the Promises of God (2020).
Becky holds a Certificate of Spiritual Direction from SpringHill College, a Master in Pastoral Studies from Loyola University in New Orleans, and a Master of Education from Louisiana State University. She can be reached at www.beckyeldredge.com.
Going Past the Shallows: Series Descriptions
This series includes nine hours of direct virtual learning from Ignatian author, spiritual director, and teacher, Becky Eldredge – that is 90 minutes once a month for 6 months. Her expert guidance will lead you past a foundational knowledge of Ignatian spirituality to advance deeper into Ignatian contemplative prayer; not just to guide your own heart, but to equip you to guide others you encounter in ministry.
All sessions will be delivered live via Zoom and the full recordings will be available within 24 hours for all who are unable to attend live.
Session I: August 27, 2025: 12:30-2:00pm Central Daylight Time
Fundamentals of Ignatian Prayer
You will gain a deeper understanding of the foundations of Ignatian contemplative prayer, including the fundamentals needed for contemplative prayer, the wisdom of naming a grace, the importance of the review of prayer, the value of spiritual direction, and more.
Session II: September 17, 2025: 12:30-2:00pm Central Daylight Time
Prayer of Consideration
This session dives into the Prayer of Consideration as a way to pray from the book of our lives like Jesus did. We will also explore the First Principle & Foundation and other meditations from the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius. You will receive scripture guides on the life of Jesus and handouts to help you find stillness and deeply notice God in our lives and the world around us.
Session III: October 8, 2025: 12:30- 2:00pm Central Daylight Time
The Examen
A deep look at the Ignatian value of review, focusing on the movements of gratitude, consolation, and desolation in our everyday lives. Resources provided include guided audio examens, scriptures on the discernment of spirits, and a collection of variations on the examen, including an examen for couples, teens, a day of crisis, annual examen, etc.
Session IV: October 29, 2025: 12:30- 2:00pm Central Daylight Time
Lectio Divina
God is with us in scripture, in a living and personal way. This session seeks to tune our ears to God’s voice through the method of sacred reading of the book of scripture. Leave this session with a greater appreciation for the value of steeping in the word of God and practical scripture guides, guided audio, and handouts on the review of prayer and Lectio Divina.
Session V: November 19, 2025: 12:30-2:00pm Central Standard Time
Colloquy
How do we pray with the deep matters of the heart? This session will take a deep dive into the tool of spiritual conversation that St. Ignatius calls colloquy. We will look at the formal colloquies outlined in the Spiritual Exercises, like the Triple Colloquy and the Colloquy at the Foot of the Cross as well as how to apply this tool to our daily lives.
Session VI: December 10, 2025: 12:30-2:00pm Central Standard Time
Ignatian Contemplation
This session will focus on utilizing our imaginations to dive into the Gospel scriptures. We will focus on the second week grace of coming to know, to love, and to follow Jesus through praying his life in the Gospels. Resources provided include guided audio, a scripture guide on the healing scriptures, and tools on how to pray Ignatian Contemplation with adults and young people.
You’ll discover:
- Deeper faith.
- Silence and stillness within the noise.
- Renewed hope.
- A way to hold the sorrows of this world with Jesus.
- Compassion.
- God’s voice and call.
- Soothing for your longing.
- More meaning.
- Deeper understanding of a path of prayer that you can also offer to others.
- A way forward that invites us to hear God's voice above the noise of our world.
What's Included:
- Six live 90-minute sessions via zoom with Becky Eldredge
- Access to video recordings of the monthly sessions
- Gathering with other deep-water seekers and ministry leaders
- Downloadable workbooks with dozens of replicable resources
- Additional resources, such as guided audio prayers, blog posts, songs, and more to equip you to utilize these tools in your life and ministries.
Cost:
Don’t miss this opportunity to work with Becky Eldredge in a small group setting. Register now for the Fall 2025 offering of this virtual class for $350.
Course Curriculum
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is this series for?
It is for volunteer or paid ministry leaders who lead ministries in parishes, schools, dioceses and other organizations. It is for lay leaders, religious sisters, deacons, and clergy. It is for those involved in ministries such as adult faith formation, young adult ministry, youth ministry, campus ministry, children's ministry, RCIA, marriage preparation. It is for spiritual directors, retreat facilitators, pastoral care ministers, directors of religious education along with parents, catechists, teachers, bible study leaders, or leader of women's or men's groups. It is for all who want to walk the Ignatian path with a trained guide and who are called to accompany others in their faith. It for those desiring to say "yes" to God's call into deeper waters of faith.
When are the classes held?
Going Past the Shallows runs from August through December, with monthly live virtual meetings via Zoom on Aug. 27, Sept. 17, Oct. 8., Oct. 29, Nov. 19, and Dec. 10. All meetings are held from 12:30-2pm Central Time. The recordings of each meeting will be posted within 24 hours if you cannot attend live.
How is this different from other offerings Becky has done in the past?
Going Past the Shallows is not a retreat, but rather a live virtual class where Becky is teaching from her expertise. It will include prayer and wisdom drawn from her twenty-five years of ministry rooted in Ignatian spirituality. The goal is for you to leave with greater knowledge and the tools to journey on the Ignatian path of prayer for yourself so that you can lead others on this path of prayer.
Do I have to attend all the sessions?
Going Past the Shallows is a six-class series. When you register, you are able to attend all six sessions and get access to every recording. Attendance is not necessary, but highly recommended in order to learn from the community gathered together. The recording will be available if you are not able to attend live. Access to the recordings and materials will be available through the end of January.
What if the cost is too much?
Just like all of our Ignatian Ministries' offerings, we do not want the financial aspect to keep you from attending. If you want to attend and your budget does not allow for it at this moment, please email us at [email protected]. We will get you a coupon code with an option to pay what you can.
How can I access the classes and materials? Is there an app?
The classes will be delivered via Zoom and accessible via the Zoom app. The course platform, which holds all of the details and materials, is Teachable. If possible, please opt into emails from Teachable so that we can send updates and notify you that new content is available. You can access the course through logging into Teachable.com on a computer or laptop. There is also a free Teachable iOS app for Apple devices. Note that through the app, you will not have access to the community wall and will have limited access to the handouts. If you having trouble downloading the handouts, please reach out to us at [email protected].
