SPIRITUAL BIOGRAPHY
I
am a Sister of St. Joseph in the Congregation of St.
Joseph, currently serving as Pastoral Associate in Our
Lady on the River. This parish embraces three Church
sites in the Blue Water Region of Southeastern Michigan:
St. Catherine, Algonac; Holy Cross, Marine City, and St.
Mark, Harsens Island.
I am serving the Church in parish team ministerial
leadership as director of faith formation, pastoral
care, spiritual life development as well as a spiritual
director and retreat facilitator.
My educational journey includes a Master of Arts in
Systematic Theology, Scripture and Liturgy from St. John
University, Collegeville, Minnesota; post-graduate
studies at The Institute for Christian Thought, St.
Michael's College, Toronto, Ontario and certification
from St. Joseph Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico in the
area of spiritual growth and inner healing. These
experiences have been gifts from Our Lord which have and
continue to lead me to an ongoing process of growth in
the spiritual gifts and healing prayer. This same
journey led me to ACT on my forty-eighth birthday,
in January of 1988.
Thinking about the past twenty-two years of membership
in ACT, I pray, "May the Spirit of God invite you to
listen to what my heart wants to share with you." I
find that the growth in openness to the Holy Spirit in
my life has become as essential to me as life itself.
ACT has helped me with that freedom. As the beneficiary
of intercessory prayer of ACT members, I have found the
prayers to be strengthening, life-giving, and
fruitful.
I am honored and happy to bring my congregation's
Charism to ACT. "Live out your life with one desire
only, to be always what God wants you to be, in nature,
grace and glory, for time and for eternity" is one of
our Maxims as CSJ's. It resonates so well in harmony
with ACT. By profession, a religious consecrates
herself to enter into a special relationship with the
Lord, to give God glory, and share in His holiness by a
life of charity and service to the neighbor. As a
member of ACT, I have found that I have been
strengthened to grow in "a radical commitment to Jesus
Christ and continue to seek wholeness and holiness,
committed to fostering the sanctity of life by truly
believing in and promoting the healing love of Jesus in
my ministry."
Following God's lead to ACT brought me to a new point on
the journey of deepening my spiritual life by listening
ever more intimately to God's direction. In quiet,
prayerful moments and in the everyday ministry with
God's people, I find myself more intent to follow how
God's love is working in and through the presence of His
Holy Spirit. I have learned that life at the center is a
personal love union with Jesus, and in Jesus, we meet
the Father and are generously given the gifts of the
Spirit for others in the service of the Gospel. Each
day, in and through God's call, surrendering to the
Spirit, I renew my commitment to continue the healing
ministry of Jesus in living my future. I strive to
continue walking with God, so that, drawing into the
present the meaning and value of my experiences, I may
dare to risk the deepening journey into God through
ministering God’s Healing to others. It is thus that I
have found a home in the Association of Christian
Therapists.
I believe that as an Association and as a member,
despite our imperfections, each of us will be called
beyond our own concerns and develop greater clarity to
allow God to continue to create us, guide us and shape
us into His earthen vessels of love and healing.
"Lord, I praise You for all You are doing within us, for
all You are offering us to be Your healing presence in
our broken world through our own unique ministries."
For more information, please contact:
Clergy and
Religious Chair
Sister Betty Igo, SFP, M Ed,MS
