Spiritual Direction
What is Spiritual Direction?
Jesus Christ used to take the Twelve Apostles away to a lonely place to pray with them. He also would reveal to them the deeper meaning of the Scriptures and even revealed to some of them a special place or mission they had in His work.
Since then, and all throughout the history of the Church, spiritual direction has had an important place in the Christian life. Here at Saint Paul’s, we are dedicated to providing for anyone who wants it, good people to guide you in the spiritual life.
If you want to be holy then you are ready to have a spiritual director. Below we have an excellent list of priests and religious to act as spiritual directors for any who request them. You can contact a director at your discretion and meet with them on your schedule.
Your director will not speak for God, but will help you to better understand the Word of God and how God is speaking to you.
Interested in spiritual direction? Contact one of our spiritual directors listed below!
Fr. Eric Nielsen has been the Pastor of Saint Paul’s since 2006 and a priest of the Diocese of Madison since 1995. The oldest of seven children, Fr. Nielsen grew up in Oshkosh, graduated in 1984 from the UW in Civil Engineering, and entered Mundelein Seminary in 1990. As a young man he enjoyed a lot of outdoor activity and travel but now spends most of his time at St. Paul’s encouraging students to focus on study and prayer as a path to know, love and serve Jesus Christ.
Fr. Luke Syse grew up in Blanchardville, WI and attended UW-Madison studying Biological Systems Engineering. He grew up in a Catholic home and thought about the priesthood at a young age. It was at Saint Paul’s where Fr. Luke discerned his vocation to the priesthood, entering seminary after graduation in 2011. After two years of seminary in Detroit and four years in Rome Fr. Luke returned home and was ordained to the priesthood on June 30th, 2017. He loves to play sports, especially basketball, and enjoys a good hike or bike ride in the great outdoors of Wisconsin.
The Sisters of Mary Morning Star are available for spiritual direction to women! They are at Saint Paul’s on Wednesdays and Fridays and if that doesn’t work, you may be able to schedule a time to go to them. If you are interested in spiritual direction with a sister, email mariastella.madison@gmail.com or call (608) 224-0251!
Fr. Greg Ihm grew up in Lancaster, WI on a farm, attended seminary in Rome, and was ordained in 2010. He is currently the vocation director for the Diocese of Madison and the Bishop’s Master of Ceremonies.
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