Catholic · Emmaus course
The Soul’s Journey: Moral Conversion and the Three Stages of Spiritual Growth
Why does spiritual growth stall in devoted believers? Fr. Benedict Groeschel says it often hinges on an unnamed threshold: moral conversion.
With Fr. Benedict Groeschel, C.F.R.
- Length
- 4 hrs
- Lessons
- 7
- Level
- Intermediate
- Version
- Catholic
- Price
- Free
About this course
Why does spiritual growth sometimes stall — even in people who pray, go to Mass, and sincerely want to grow? The answer, Fr. Benedict Groeschel taught, often has to do with a threshold most believers have never named: moral conversion.
In this six-lesson course, one of the most beloved voices in Catholic psychology guides you through the three classic stages of the interior life — purification, illumination, and union — with rare clarity, humor, and pastoral warmth. You will learn to distinguish voluntary sin from weakness-based failure, recognize the signs of mature faith, grow in trust through suffering and darkness, and understand why some of the greatest saints experienced God’s apparent absence as His closest approach.
Drawn from a landmark lecture delivered at the IPS 10th Anniversary — an event honoring Fr. Groeschel’s own 50 years of priestly ministry — this course is at once deeply traditional and immediately practical. Whether you come as a counselor, a spiritual director, or a Catholic adult seeking to understand your own interior life, The Soul’s Journey offers a map for the road ahead.
Curriculum
-
Module 1
Moral Conversion and Voluntary Sin
- 1.Lesson 1: Introduction and the Three Stages of Spiritual Growth
- 2.Lesson 2: Moral Conversion and the Difference Between Weakness and Deliberate Sin
- 3.Lesson 3: Mature Faith and the Mystery of God
- 4.Lesson 4: Trust, Providence, and the First Darkness
- 5.Lesson 5: Enlightenment, Forgiveness, and Mother Teresa's Darkness
- 6.Lesson 6: The Unitive Way and the Final Question on Darkness
- 7.Post-Test
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