Wichita, Kan., Aug 7, 2008 / 06:59 am
By Fred Solis
God’s voice isn’t always easy to recognize, especially when it comes in a whisper, or in the form of silence. That’s when a second, trained pair of ears, like Father Kent Hemberger’s, can help.
Prior to his assignment as the Spiritual Life Center’s new director, Fr. Hemberger completed a nine-month sabbatical in Guelph, Canada, immersed in a program about providing spiritual direction. “I’m able to use what I learned to give individually directed retreats,” he said.
Directed retreats for individuals follow Ignatian spirituality, which prefers to “Let God deal directly with the retreatant.” The compiler of the Spiritual Exercises, and a gifted spiritual director, St. Ignatius has been described by Pope Benedict XVI as being above all a man of God, who gave the first place of his life to God, and a man of profound prayer.