I am available for retreat direction, workshops, public speaking, and more. I write and speak on a variety of topics, including:
- psycho-spiritual healing and integration
- contemporary grief theory
- the spirituality of care
- self-compassion and mindfulness
- spiritual care and politics
- trauma-informed spiritual care
- eco-spirituality
- Ignatian spirituality and the earth
- eco-spirituality and Christian ancestry
- eco-spiritual themes in the Advent season
- the Enneagram and personality psychology
- introduction to the Enneagram
- the vice-to-virtue conversion
- the Holy Ideas of the Enneagram
- using the Enneagram in spiritual direction and chaplaincy
- the neurobiology of personality psychology
- technology, spirituality, and ethics
- spirituality in an age of artificial intelligence
- ethical leadership development
- becoming a change agent in a community of faith
- spiritual direction and professional ethics in the “psychedelic renaissance”
and more. I am also happy to develop a new offering that fits your own needs. Some recent talks and retreats can be found below.
Coming Soon
Spiritual Direction in the Psychedelic Renaissance, an online course presented through Spiritual Directors International.
The field of psychedelics is undergoing a “renaissance,” as the FDA has approved breakthrough psychedelic-assisted therapies to treat a range of conditions, and hallucinogenic plant medicines are becoming increasingly popular among spiritual seekers today. What impact might this new frontier have on our profession, and are we prepared to accompany those who have had transformative, or challenging, psychedelic experiences?
Nicholas Collura has written on the topic of accompanying people who have used psychedelics in Presence Journal, as well as having given a highly-regarded presentation at the 2025 SDI Conference. Now, SDI offers you the opportunity for a deeper dive with Nicholas: digging into topics and concerns, bringing your questions, and participating in a supportive learning community.
This SDI webinar series is designed to support spiritual directors and companions – indeed all spiritual caregivers — as we discern together on how important psychedelic literacy is for us as spiritual directors, as more and more contemporary seekers are gravitating towards these medicines in search of spiritual healing—and in search of God.
Please join us on this contemplative journey to grow in our calling.
Wednesday evenings from October 15 – November 5, 2025. Learn more and register here.
Navigating Climate Spiritual Care, an online learning community presented through the BTS Center.
We are living in times of intersecting calamities, with the climate crisis adding increased instability, uncertainty, and suffering to systemic injustices including racism, inadequate healthcare, poverty, disenfranchisement, homelessness, war, the oppression of LGBTQIA+ communities — and more. No longer can those of us who offer spiritual care avoid the impacts of the climate crisis and these intersectional issues in our own settings, whether we work in health care, community chaplaincy, university settings, or within spiritual communities.
Spiritual care in this time of climate change — with so many social, emotional, and spiritual consequences resulting from such instability — is both deeply necessary and, in many ways, uncharted territory.
The BTS Center is pleased to offer this learning community, originally developed in an asynchronous format by our friends Jessica Morthorpe and Blair Nelsen, and offered by our partner Waterspirit. We will engage the materials from the Climate Pastoral Care course together as a learning community, guided by three hosts and facilitators, meeting twice each month, to deepen our understanding of the physical, emotional, mental health, and spiritual impacts of the climate crisis, and to explore how to address these impacts through the practice of spiritual care.
Learn more and register here.
Ancestry and the Earth: An Advent Eco-Spiritual Retreat presented through the Oblate School of Theology.
As the season of Advent draws us into the mystery of origins—of our faith, our world, and our calling—this retreat invites us to deepen our ecological awareness through the lens of ancestry. In our modern age, many of us experience a fragmented relationship with the earth. Yet our ancestors—biological, cultural, and spiritual—often held a deeper, more integrated understanding of the sacredness of creation.
Over three evenings, participants will explore how ancestral wisdom can inform our spiritual lives, ecological consciousness, and responsibility to future generations. Guided by reflection, prayer, and shared conversation, we will seek to reconnect with the earth through the practice of remembering those who came before us—and embracing our own role as future ancestors.
December 2, 2025 – Session 1: Invoking Our Ancestors
December 3, 2025 – Session 2: Learning from Our Ancestors
December 4, 2025 – Session 3: Becoming Ancestors, Ourselves
Date & Time: Sunday, November 2, 2025; 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm ET
Location: Cranaleith Spiritual Center, 13475 Proctor Road, Philadelphia, PA
Program Price: $25
Select Workshops, Talks, and Retreats
“Introduction to the Enneagram,” InSearch inter-community novitiate, Philadelphia, PA, January 22, 2026.
“Ancestry and Earth: An Advent Eco-Spiritual Retreat,” online offering open to the public, Oblate School of Theology, San Antonio, TX, December 2-4, 2025. Register here.
“Laudato Si’: Vision and Reality Ten Years Later,” panelist, Cranaleith Spiritual Center, Philadelphia, PA, November 2, 2025. Register here.
“Introduction to the Enneagram,” for the Mercy Volunteer Corps, October 16, 2025.
“Theology and Technology: Ethical Concerns and Imagination in a Digital Age,” National Council of Churches 75th Anniversary Convention, Cambridge, MA, October 16, 2025.
“Spiritual Direction in the Psychedelic Renaissance,” an online course presented through Spiritual Directors International. Wednesday evenings from October 15 – November 5, 2025. Register here.
“Slowing Down: Some Time for the Soul,” New Students’ Retreat, Villanova University Theology Department, October 9, 2025.
“Simple Living,” Jesuit Volunteer Corps National Orientation Retreat, Stony Point Center, Stony Point, NY, August 16, 2025.
“Using the Enneagram in Spiritual Care,” workshop of the Association of Professional Chaplains Conference, Minneapolis, MN, June 12-15, 2025.
“Head, Heart, Gut: Exploring the Enneagram and Three Centers of Intelligence,” professional development intensive of the Association of Professional Chaplains Conference, Minneapolis, MN, June 12-15, 2025.
“Professional Considerations for Spiritual Directors During the Psychedelic Renaissance,” featured workshop of the Spiritual Directors International Conference, Niagara Falls, NY, May 29-31, 2025.
“Spiritual and Cosmological Frames as Contexts for Psychedelic Integration,” Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, April 1, 2025.
“Using the Enneagram for Spiritual Care,” Harvard Divinity School, Cambridge, MA, February 7, 2025.
“The Inner Lines of the Enneagram,” Cranaleith Spiritual Center, Philadelphia, PA. Online offering: January 22 and 29 and February 5, 2025.
“Introduction to the Enneagram,” InSearch inter-community novitiate, Philadelphia, PA, January 23, 2025.
“Sacred Seasons: An Advent Retreat on Eco-Spirituality,” online offering open to the public, Oblate School of Theology, San Antonio, TX, December 17-19, 2024.
“The Spiritual Dimension of Our Politics,” Cranaleith Spiritual Center, Philadelphia, PA. Online offering: November 21, 2024.
“Emotionally Healthy Relationships and the Enneagram,” Highrock Cambridge Church, Swanzey, NH, October 4-6. 2024.
“The Enneagram for the Ignatian Volunteer Corps,” online offering, September 19, 2024.
“Simple Living,” Jesuit Volunteer Corps National Orientation Retreat, Stony Point Center, Stony Point, NY, August 16, 2024.
“Honoring Relationships,” Jesuit Volunteer Corps DisOrientation Retreat, Stony Point Center, Stony Point, NY, July 18, 2024.
“When Patients Talk Politics,” Association of Professional Chaplains / National Association of Catholic Chaplains Joint Conference, St. Louis, MO, June 22, 2024.
“Head, Heart, Gut: Exploring the Enneagram and Three Centers of Intelligence,” professional development intensive of the Association of Professional Chaplains / National Association of Catholic Chaplains Joint Conference, St. Louis, MO, June 19, 2024.
“Ignatian Volunteer Corps Annual Retreat,” online cohort, May 16, 2024.
“A Trauma-Informed Approach to Ignatian Spiritual Direction,” in the virtual Enrichment for Spiritual Directors series offered by St. Raphaela Center, April 7, 2024.
“Laudato Si’: Contemplation and Action,” Ignatian Volunteer Corps online retreat, March 14, 2024.
“Introduction to the Enneagram,” Boston College School of Theology and Ministry, February 17, 2024.
“The Enneagram: Nine Personality Types and Communication Styles,” Massachusetts Institute of Technology winter session, Jan 30 – Feb 1, 2024.
“Creator of the Stars of Night: An Advent Retreat,” St. Raphaela Center, Philadelphia, PA, December 8-10, 2023.
New Students’ Retreat, Villanova University Theology Department, October 6, 2023.
“Head, Heart, Gut: Enneagram Wisdom on the Limits and Possibilities of Directees’ Personality Structures,” in the virtual Enrichment for Spiritual Directors series offered by St. Raphaela Center, October 1, 2023.
“Spiritual Cataracts and New Horizons: The Holy Ideas of the Enneagram,” Cranaleith Spiritual Center, Philadelphia, PA. September 18 and 25 and October 2 and 9, 2023.
“Introduction to the Enneagram,” a series for Augustinian Novices in Philadelphia, PA. September and October 2023.
“Timeless Exercises, New Possibilities: New Perspectives on Ignatian Spiritual Direction” (co-facilitator, with Lori Stanley, of speaker series), an online course presented through Spiritual Directors International. Tuesday evenings from July 18 – October 3, 2023.
“Simple Living,” Jesuit Volunteer Corps National Orientation Retreat, Stony Point Center, Stony Point, NY, August 12-13, 2023.
“When Directees Talk Politics,” pre-recorded virtual offering, One Spirit Learning Alliance, July 2023.
“Honoring Relationships,” Jesuit Volunteer Corps DisOrientation Retreat, Loyola Jesuit Center, Morristown, NJ, July 17, 2023.
“Ancestry and the Earth: An Eco-Spiritual Retreat,” Cranaleith Spiritual Center, Philadelphia, PA, July 15, 2023.
“Eco-Spirituality,” part of Laudato Si’ and the Catholic Church: A Conference Series on Our Common Home, sponsored by Creighton University and the Catholic Climate Covenant, July 13, 2023 (panelist).
“Ignatian Volunteer Corps Annual Retreat,” Philadelphia, PA, June 19, 2023.
“Introduction to the Enneagram,” Center for FaithJustice, Lawrence Township, NJ, June 16, 2023.
“When Directees Talk Politics,” Spiritual Directors International Conference, Madison, WI, May 5, 2023.
“Aftershocks: Living with Grief that Lingers,” online offering, On the Third Day Renewal and Formation Center, Calamba, Laguna, Philippines. March 18, 2023.
“Lenten Surrender, Easter Expansiveness: An Eco-Spiritual Retreat,” Villanova University, Philadelphia, PA, March 18, 2023.
“Taking a Breath: A Contemplative and Connecting Evening for Campus Ministers,” St. Raphaela Center, Philadelphia, PA, February 15, 2023.
“Converting Vice to Virtue with the Help of the Enneagram,” Cranaleith Spiritual Center, Philadelphia, PA, February 9, 16, and 23, and March 2, 2023.
“Sacred Journey: A CLC Retreat,” Loyola Jesuit Center, Morristown, NJ, January 27-29, 2023.
“Self-Compassion,” USA East Province of the Society of Jesus virtual staff retreat, October 21, 2022.
“Listen to the Voice of Creation: A Day of Reflection, Prayer, and Action,” keynote, All Saints’ Parish, Syracuse, NY, October 1, 2022.
“The Enneagram: A Tool for Spiritual Growth,” Cranaleith Spiritual Center, Philadelphia, PA. September 12, 19, 26, and October 3, 2022.
“When Patients Talk Politics,” a virtual conversation with the pastoral care team of Mercy Health System, St. Louis, MO, September 22, 2022.
“Introduction to Ignatian Spirituality,” Jesuit Volunteer Corps Staff Retreat, Wellspring Conference Center, Germantown, MD, September 8, 2022.
“The Enneagram for Self-Care,” with Kessuda Boonngamanong. Jesuit Volunteer Corps Staff Retreat, Wellspring Conference Center, Germantown, MD, September 7, 2022.
“The Enneagram in the Workplace,” Holy Child Academy teachers’ in-service, August 31, 2022.
“Ignatian Journey to Spain,” a guided pilgrimage with Fr. Josep Lluís Iriberri, SJ, for Spiritual Directors International, July 24 – August 2, 2022.
“Honoring Relationships,” Jesuit Volunteer Corps DisOrientation Retreat, Loyola Jesuit Center, Morristown, NJ, July 19, 2022.
“Discernment in Troubled Times: Ignatian Wisdom for Spiritual Directors and Companions,” four-part webinar series, Spiritual Directors International, May and June 2022.
“Riding the Waves Amid the Ups and Downs,” USA East Province of the Society of Jesus virtual staff retreat, May 20, 2022.
“God in All Things: A Pilgrimage through Ignatian Spirituality,” Holy Mountain Retreat Center, Garrison, NY, May 14, 2022.
“Becoming a Change Agent,” a virtual offering for the Institute for Catholic Formation, Roman Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport, CT, May 12, 2022.
“The Grief of Goodbyes,” talk at Campus Ministry Student Leaders’ Retreat, Cristo Rey Philadelphia, April 22, 2022.
“Sacred Planet: Story of Faith, Story of the Cosmos,” Holy Mountain Retreat Center, Garrison, NY, April 2, 2022.
“The Enneagram: Ego and Integration,” St. Raphaela Center, March 5-6, 2022.
“The Enneagram in the Workplace,” Holy Child Academy teachers’ in-service, February 18, 2022.
“From Faith to Action: The Nuts and Bolts of Nurturing a Creation Care Team in Your Parish,” in collaboration with EcoPhilly.org and Villanova University, Philadelphia, PA, January 22, 2022.
“The Waiting Earth: An Eco-Spiritual Advent Retreat,” Cranaleith Spiritual Center, Philadelphia, PA, 2021. (“Deep Time: Cosmic History and Advent Waiting,” November 29; “Birth Pains: The Vulnerable Child and the Fragile Web of Life,” December 6; “And Ransom Captive Israel: Active Hope and Eco-Justice,” December 13; “The Cosmic Christ: Seeing Creation, Seeing God,” December 20.)
“Ministry Across Racial, Ethnic, and Cultural Lines,” with Boreta Singleton, Seattle University Campus Ministry, December 7, 2021.
“ADEI Leadership Roundtable: Allyship,” Tandigm Health Executive Leadership, Conshohocken, PA, October 25, 2021.
“Be yourself, only make that self all that God wants you to be (Cornelia Connelly),” 8th Grade Retreat, Holy Child Academy, Drexel Hill, PA, October 20, 2021.
“True Longing,” talk at Campus Ministry Student Leaders’ Retreat, Cristo Rey Philadelphia, August 21, 2021.
“Grieving What We Have Lost,” online offering for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport, June 16, 2021.
“When Patients Talk Politics,” with Medina Jones, Association of Professional Chaplains Annual Conference, June 12, 2021.
“Reconstructing a World: Re-entry After the Pandemic,” online offering, Jesuit Connections, May 18, 2021.
“Your Sorrow Unmasked: Journeying Through Grief,” online offering, Spiritual Directors International Conference, April 25, 2021.
“Addressing Pandemic Burnout,” USA East Province of the Society of Jesus virtual staff retreat, March 30, 2021.
“The Enneagram for Team-Building,” with Kessuda Boonngamanong, Jesuit Volunteer Corps Online Staff Retreat, March 29, 2021.
“The Heart Beneath is Teaching: Christmas Wisdom for Times of Pandemic,” Church of Our Redeemer online offering, Lexington, MA, December 20, 2020.
“Crossing the River,” a year-end virtual staff retreat for Chestnut Hill College, Philadelphia, PA, December 15, 2020.
“Encontrar a Dios en un pandemia,” online offering for “Care for the Person,” 3rd Leadership Summit, St. Raphael Catholic Church, Raleigh, NC, August 23, 2020. Re-recording of “Finding God During a Pandemic” (Office of Ignatian Spirituality) with Spanish translation by Lili Villafuerte.
“Journeying through Grief and Healing: An Evening Retreat,” with Jaclyn Newns, St. Raphaela Center Online Offering, July 22, 2020.
“Prayer and Reflection for Health Care Providers in Light of the Pandemic,” co-reflector, St. Raphaela Center Online Offering, July 15, 2020.
“Introduction to the Enneagram,” with Kessuda Boonngamanong, Jesuit Volunteer Corps Online Staff Retreat, June 24, 2020.
“‘Love with No Place to Go’: Grief in Times of Transition,” Boston College School of Theology and Ministry Online Offering, May 27, 2020.
“Finding God During a Pandemic: Insights on Grief and Loss,” Office of Ignatian Spirituality Online Offering, April 30, 2020. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TBe4SVxuwc)
“There’s a Person There: An Introduction to Human Dignity,” Cristo Rey Philadelphia, November 23 and December 7, 2019.
“Encountering Beauty: A Retreat into Rest and Creativity,” with Jaclyn Newns and Paul Burgmayer, St. Raphaela Center, Philadelphia, PA, October 19-20, 2019.
“Honoring Relationships,” Jesuit Volunteer Corps DisOrientation Retreat, Stony Point, NY, July 19-20, 2019.
“Healing,” Jesuit Volunteer Corps Ignatian Retreat, St. Raphaela Center, Philadelphia, PA, May 3, 2019.
“Loving Awareness: A Resource for Promoting Spiritual Growth and Healing,” Population Health Professionals Training Program, Philadelphia, PA, April 23, 2019.
“Taizé: Its History and Spirituality,” Blessed Sacrament Church, Los Angeles, CA. February 17, 2016.
“Towards a New Solidarity,” Taizé European Meeting, Santa Maria Maggiore, Rome. Jan 3, 2013.
“The Camino de Santiago: History and Spirituality,” Assumptionist Center of Brighton, Boston, MA. Oct 27, 2012.
Media Appearances
On Palma: Climate, Culture, and Storytelling, a podcast with Diana Maria Bunge. November 2025, “How Ecospirituality can Unlock Climate Advocacy.”
On The Gospel of Direct Experience, a podcast with Jeff Mansfield and Michael Ellick. August 2025, “The Psychedelic Renaissaince.”
On The Chaplain’s Compass, a podcast with Rev. Alice Tremaine and Rev. John Betz: August 2024, “Politics and Religion: What Could Go Wrong?”
On Finding Hope, a podcast by Counselor Mandy Bird: March 17, 2021, “Asking the Big Questions is Key”
FASPE (Fellowships at Auschwitz for the Study of Professional Ethics) Webinars: March 30, 2020, COVID-19: A Question of Faith, panelist.
On NPR’s All Things Considered: September 18, 2015, “Social Media-Savvy Bishop Brings Fresh Approach To Spread Of Catholicism”
On The Huffington Post Live: May 1, 2013, “Pope John Paul II’s Inevitable Canonization”
On The Huffington Post Live: April 1, 2013, “Will Pope Francis Be A Gamechanger For Church?”
On The Huffington Post Live: March 29, 2013, “Good Friday”
Publications
“Spiritual Direction in the Psychedelic Renaissance,” Presence: An International Journal of Spiritual Direction (Vol. 31, No. 1: May, 2025)
“When Patients Talk Politics: Opportunities for Recontextualizing Ministerial Theory and Practice,” Pastoral Psychology (August 2022)
“Ecological Conversion,” A Matter of Spirit: A Publication of the Intercommunity Peace & Justice Center (No. 134: Spring 2022)
“The Terror That Strikes at Night: A Reflection on Overnight On-Call Shifts,” Journal of Pastoral Care & Counseling (Vol. 75, No. 4: December 2021)
“Spiritual Direction as Grief Work,” Presence: An International Journal of Spiritual Direction (Vol. 26, No. 3: September 2020)
“Some Reflections on the Eucharist as Fragment,” Worship (Vol. 88: March 2014)
“Meister Eckhart: Seeing All Things as Naught,” Lumen et Vita (3:2013).
“Cinematic Montage and the Act of Insight,” Lonergan on the Edge, Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI. Sept 21, 2013. The delivery of an academic paper.
Nicholas Collura, D.Min. 