I was brought up in a secular household but was drawn to the church at the early age of 6 years old. My first encounter with the church was in an old Catholic church which stood not far from my parent’s house.

Later in life, I was baptised in the Anglican Church, which was the prevalent tradition in my place of residence. At some point, I felt a calling to ministry and completed pre-ordination training. However, God’s mysterious ways called me out of the Anglican fold and I became a senior pastor of a Baptist church. I was drawn to that particular church because of its focus on serving the poor and marginalised.

It was during those years as a pastor that I started to realise the source of the hunger that has been gnawing at me all through my life. It was a hunger for the peace, and the feeling of wholeness that I felt in my first encounter with the church as a 6-year-old. That old Catholic church of my childhood was calling me home. God has put kind Catholic guides, and great Catholic books on my path, and they helped me “swim the Tiber”.

I entered the Catholic church and now serve as the Catholic Chaplain for the University of Canterbury and Lincoln University.

My approach to spiritual direction stems from the Ignatian tradition. I am trained as a spiritual director and a ‘giver of the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises.

Ignatian Spiritual Direction is based on Ignatian spirituality, developed by Saint Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556). The Ignatian Tradition leads the directee through a journey of uncovering their deepest desires and discovering who they truly are, that is, a person who is loved by God.

The tradition also equips the directee with methods for identifying inner movements, and spiritual growth. These help the directee find the path of their own spiritual journey.