preacher.

In my preaching, I try to identify where God is already at work, in the tension, the quiet, the beauty, and the mess of real life. I’m not just hoping to spark ideas or emotions, but to stir something that moves us — head, heart, hands, and feet. Week after week, retreat after retreat, and in the quiet work of spiritual direction, I see how the Gospel lives and breathes in the stories we carry.

Preaching, for me, begins with listening, with paying attention, with witnessing the grace that unfolds in everyday relationships. I don’t preach for the sake of preaching. I preach to speak into the particular needs, questions, and beauty of a community or a person, trusting that the Spirit is already there.

Rooted in Ignatian spirituality and inspired by the conviction that something new is always being born, I preach to create space for reflection, for encounter, and for the Spirit to send us back into the world with a little more clarity, courage, and hope.

Because if God has spoken, then surely we are being sent.

Preached Retreats

These preached retreats are designed for groups — in-person or online — and typically include 8 to 14 talks, although the format can be adapted to fit your community’s needs. Each retreat follows either the four movements of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola or the rhythm of the Ignatian Examen, offering a prayerful path of reflection, silence, and deeper encounter with God.

  • Retreat Overview
    This retreat invites participants into an honest exploration of identity through the lens of Ignatian spirituality. Using prayer, imaginative contemplation, and spiritual discernment, participants reflect on the roles, expectations, and attachments that shape their sense of self. Rooted in the Spiritual Exercises, the retreat offers a path from performance to freedom, helping participants rediscover their belovedness and live more fully from their truest identity in Christ.

  • Retreat Overview
    This retreat invites you to walk through the sacred thresholds of Scripture, doors of encounter, freedom, suffering, and new life. Each “door” is a spiritual opening, a place where God meets us and invites us to deeper trust and love. Grounded in the rhythm of the Ignatian Examen, every session leads toward the door Christ still knocks on today: your own heart.

    Along the way, we cross some of Scripture’s most powerful entry points: the Threshold of Creation, the Door of the Ark, the Passover Doorposts, the Entrance into the Temple, the Manger Threshold, the Narrow Door, the Shepherd’s Gate, the Cross, the Door to the Upper Room, the Tomb’s Opening, and finally, a threshold that opens into Christ’s own heart.

  • Retreat Overview
    Structured around the four movements of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola, this retreat invites you to step into the sacred rhythm of Gospel friendship. Companions of the Heart is a preached Ignatian retreat rooted in the life of Jesus and the relationships that shaped his ministry: those who walked beside him, ate with him, wept with him, and were sent by him. It’s a journey through the New Testament that highlights one of the most overlooked yet essential elements of discipleship: companionship.

  • Retreat Overview
    This Advent retreat invites participants to pray with the Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds through the lens of Ignatian spirituality. Grounded in the rhythm of the Spiritual Exercises, the retreat explores the Creeds not as static texts but as living truths that shape our longing, identity, and mission. Designed for the weeks of Advent, each session pairs elements of the Creeds with themes of the season, inviting participants to become what they profess.

  • Retreat Overview
    This 8-day retreat invites participants to journey through the rhythm of the Catholic Mass using the structure of the Spiritual Exercises. Each day focuses on key moments of the liturgy — gathering, listening, offering, receiving, and being sent — paired with scripture, imaginative prayer, and reflection. Designed to deepen one’s experience of the Eucharist, this retreat is ideal for liturgical ministers, catechists, OCIA sponsors, and anyone and everyone seeking a more intimate encounter with Christ in worship and daily life.

  • Retreat Overview
    This retreat invites you to explore the core themes of Catholic Social Teaching (CST) through the lens of the Ignatian Examen. Rather than simply studying Church documents or policies, you will reflect on how God is already at work in the world, and how you are called to respond. Each session uses a CST principle to guide a five-step Ignatian Examen, blending personal awareness with communal responsibility and Gospel-rooted justice.

  • Retreat Overview
    This Lenten retreat invites you to dwell deeply in The Confiteor (“I Confess) — the Church’s ancient prayer of confession, often prayed during the Mass — as a bold act of truth-telling, humility, and trust in mercy. Its words offer a path back to the heart of God: not in fear, but in love. Rooted in Ignatian spirituality, the retreat draws on the Ignatian Examen, imaginative prayer, and the Contemplation on Divine Love (a meditation from the Spiritual Exercises) to reframe confession not as a source of shame but as a gateway to healing, freedom, and grace. Over six weeks, we journey line by line through The Confiteor, letting each phrase become a threshold of conversion and a doorway into deeper communion with God.

  • Retreat Overview
    This retreat invites you into a deep and personal encounter with the prayer Jesus gave us — the Our Father. Through the lens of St. Ignatius of Loyola’s Spiritual Exercises, each line of the Lord’s Prayer becomes a doorway into greater intimacy with God, deeper interior freedom, and renewed commitment to Christ’s way of love.

  • Retreat Overview
    This 8-talk retreat invites participants into deeper intimacy with Jesus through the eyes and heart of Mary, the first disciple. Rooted in the four movements of the Spiritual Exercises, the retreat follows Mary as a companion who teaches us to listen, surrender, walk with Christ, and go forth in joy. Along the way, participants engage in foundational Ignatian methods of prayer — imaginative contemplation, colloquy, the Examen, and naming a grace — while praying each line of the Hail Mary not just with your lips, but with your life.

  • Retreat Overview
    This retreat invites you into sacred conversation with eight women of the Bible, whose stories mirror the movements of the Spiritual Exercises, from creation and call, through struggle and surrender, to mission and new life. These women are not just figures of the past, but spiritual companions who reveal what it means to be seen, called, and sent by God. Through their courage, lament, wisdom, and witness, we encounter the shape of our own discipleship.

    Throughout the retreat, we journey with Eve, Hagar, Miriam, Ruth, Esther, Mary of Nazareth, the Samaritan woman, and Mary Magdalene.

📩 CONTACT ME ABOUT A RETREAT

When reaching out, please include the retreat title, dates, group size, and a short description of your community. I usually schedule a year out, but I’m always open to discerning what’s possible. An honorarium and help with travel and lodging are appreciated, as they help make this ministry sustainable.

Spiritual Direction

Spiritual direction is a sacred space for listening to God, to your heart, and to the movements in your life. It’s not about advice, but accompaniment as you discern how God is inviting and leading you.

  • My work in preaching and spiritual direction is shaped by years of formation, study, and supervised practice. Below is a snapshot of the academic and spiritual training that continues to ground me in this ministry:

    • Ignatian Spirituality Institute (Dallas, TX) Practicum in developing and leading preached retreats.

    • Boston College School of Theology and Ministry Training and practicum in spiritual direction.

    • Bellarmine Jesuit Retreat House (Barrington, IL) Mentored experience in preached retreats.

    • Loyola House Retreat & Training Centre (Guelph, ON) Training and practicum in directing the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola.

    • Loyola University Chicago Ongoing spiritual direction formation in the Ignatian tradition, including individual and retreat settings.

  • Rooted in the tradition of St. Ignatius of Loyola, my approach to spiritual direction centers on prayer, freedom, and discernment, trusting that God meets us right where we are. Whether you’re new to prayer or seeking clarity in your relationship with God, direction helps you notice grace, name desire, and respond with trust.

    As a spiritual director, my role isn’t to give answers, but to walk with you as a companion. Together we listen for how God is moving in your life. Sessions are one-on-one, typically held every three to four weeks, and conducted in sacred confidentiality.

  • I have offered spiritual direction for a range of retreat styles. Each format provides a unique rhythm for prayer, reflection, and encounter with God.

    • Discernment Retreats

    • Individually Directed Silent Retreats (3-day, 5-day, 8-day)

    • Preached Retreats (8 talks; in-person and online)

    • Spiritual Exercises in Everyday Life (19th and 18th Annotations)

  • These are parishes I’ve accompanied as a spiritual director, whether for parish retreats, ongoing spiritual direction, or both.

    • St. Xavier Church (Cincinnati, OH)

    • Bellarmine Chapel (Cincinnati, OH)

    • Church of St. Ignatius of Loyola (Chestnut Hill, MA)

    • Gesu Church (Detroit, MI)

    • Old St. Patrick's Catholic Church (Chicago, IL)

  • I’ve served on spiritual direction teams at several retreat houses, primarily for silent retreats grounded in Ignatian spirituality.

    • Bellarmine Jesuit Retreat House (Barrington, IL)

    • Ignatius House Jesuit Retreat Center (Atlanta, GA)

    • Jesuit Retreat House (Oshkosh, WI)

    • Manresa Jesuit Retreat House (Bloomfield Hill, MI)

  • I’ve had the privilege of accompanying college students, faculty, and staff on retreats and through one-on-one spiritual direction, walking with them as they navigate their faith, vocation, and the movements of God in their lives.

    • Boston College Campus Ministry

    • Boston College Ignatian Spirituality Center

    • Loyola University Chicago Arrupe College

    • Loyola University Chicago Campus Ministry

    • Loyola University Chicago Office of Mission Integration

    • University of Detroit Mercy Catholic Studies Program

    • University of Detroit Mercy University Ministry

    • Xavier University Center for Faith and Justice

  • I’m often invited to accompany men and women discerning religious life, whether through one-on-one spiritual direction or by serving on discernment retreats. It’s a privilege to walk with those listening deeply for God’s call.

    • Vocations Office of Midwest Jesuits

    • Vocations Office of Jesuits East

    • Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet

    • Carmelite Missionary Sisters

  • I’ve had the joy of working on retreats in various capacities, from spiritual direction to retreat ministry to discernment support and everything in between. Each experience has deepened my understanding of how God works across diverse communities and contexts.

    • Hearts on Fire; Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network (Apostleship of Prayer)

    • My Life in God’s Project; Spiritual Grounding

    • Who Do You Say That I Am?: A Lenten Retreat; The Jesuit Post

    • The God of Us All: Praying with Black Spirituality, Jesuit Anti-Racism Sodality (Midwest Province of the Society of Jesus)

    • Bee at Peace: Peace, Stillness, and Connection for Black Women; Lauren Morton (Ignatius House, Atlanta)

    • Christ in the Colors: Retreat for LGBTQ+ Catholics; DignityUSA

    • A Retreat for Our Times: A Retreat for Racial Equity, Grounded in the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius; Collaborative Organizing for Racial Equity (CORE)

📩 INQUIRE ABOUT SPIRITUAL DIRECTION

If you’re reaching out about spiritual direction, feel free to share what you’re seeking or discerning. While I don’t ask for a fee, I invite directees to make a donation to a charity of their choice or offer time or service in place of payment.