(Please note this is a 4 day program.)

The terms, Mind, Body and Spirit are familiar to us and we have all heard what makes for grace filled aging (Living) as we try to stay open to what we cannot control, but then we face the quest: What can we control? And how can we honor our responsibility to complete the task of living our lives (of aging) gracefully?  

During this program Dr. Danilo will take us on the Pilgrim’s Journey. She will present research in psychology that identifies risk factors for healthy aging as well as protective factors that help us to thrive. We shall view all of this through the lens of faith constantly being encouraged to cooperate with God on our journey and to love the path we are traveling upon. 

Resource Person: Mariette Danilo, PhD, holds a doctorate in Psychology from Columbia University. As an academic, she taught graduate courses in Psychology and Education. As a researcher at the Institute for Health Behavior Research at the Cornell University Medical College-New York Hospital Center, she lectured extensively on topics in Health Psychology. Her research has focused on the cognitive, emotional and psychosocial variables involved in the prediction and prevention of risk taking and health compromising behaviors.  Her work also emphasizes the role of religion as a protective factor during adolescent development.  

Mariette currently serves as Director of Education for the Saint John Vianney Center (SJVC) in Downingtown, PA. where she creates educational programs for seminarians, newly ordained priests, Men and Women Religious, Diocesan priests, and Vicars for Clergy. These programs include topics in addictive behaviors, stress and anger management, resilience, boundaries and forgiveness, and compassionate confrontation.

Dr. Danilo also implements soft skills education such as listening skills and conflict resolution. She is the mother of 3 sons and has been married to her best friend, Jeff for 33 years.  Mariette enjoys teaching about the vital and dynamic relationship between psychology and religion. 

Recommended Reading: 

Chittister, Joan. The Gift of Years: Growing Older Gracefully.  Blue Bridge, NY 2008 

Cunningham, Frank. Vespers Time: The Spiritual Practice of Growing Older. Orbis Books, Maryknoll NY 2017 

Kidd, Sue Monk. When the Heart Waits: Spiritual Direction for Life’s Sacred Questions. HarperCollins, New York 1990/2006 

Rohr, Richard. Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life. Josey-Bass, San Francisco, CA. 2011 

Rupp, Joyce.  Praying Our Goodbyes: A Spiritual Companion Through Life's Losses and Sorrows. Ave Maria Press, Notre Dame Indiana, 2009 

Schacter-Shalomi, Zalman and Ronald S. Miller. From Age-ing to Sage-ing: A Revolutionary Approach to Growing Older.  Warner Books, NY 1995 

Snowdon, David.  Aging with Grace: What the Nun Study Teaches Us About Leading Longer, Healthier, and More Meaningful Lives.  Bantam Books, NY 2001