I enjoyed the course tremendously and it has been invaluable as part of my Carmelite formation and helped me to grow in my knowledge of the Order and its Charism. For sure there were times when I found it a real struggle to find the time to engage with the assignments due to the, at times, heavy demands of full time job and supporting a young family. However, due to the way the on-line distance learning course is structured, with very supportive tutors – flexible in their approach, I managed to complete the course.
This course seems especially helpful for anyone involved in initial formation, and the Adult Education course could be helpful for the novices themselves as an introduction to Carmel. Because of our experience, we were asked to lead the community sharing and discussions of the writings of St. Teresa of Avila, in preparation for the Centenary of her birth in 2015.
In my learning process, I found the on-line delivery of and the content of the modules to be very well structured and user-friendly. While awaiting the clock-work release of the module reading and questionnaires, my anticipation heightened with tackling each block of units and questionnaire. Each essay assignment had its exciting moments when sourcing ideas and support literature, at times including drawing upon personal and communal life experiences.
Studying online with CIBI gave me the opportunity to explore in more detail the history of our Carmelite Family. At first, I was intimidated by the idea of an online course, but I can confidently say this was an amazing learning experience. The CIBI team was extremely helpful throughout my studies in developing my understanding and promoting my spiritual growth.
