Faculty Directory

Colleen M. Griffith

Professor of the Practice of Theology

Faculty Director of Spirituality Studies

Profile

Dr. Colleen M. Griffith is Professor of the Practice of Theology at Boston College’s Clough School of Theology and Ministry where she serves as Faculty Director of Spirituality Studies and Coordinator of the Practical/Pastoral Area. She holds her doctorate in Theology from Harvard Divinity School, where she worked under the direction of historical theologian Margaret Miles. Dr. Griffith’s research and writing interests include historical and contemporary spirituality, Christian theologies of the body, method in practical theology, and exploration of the relationship between doctrine and spiritual practice. In addition to her full time teaching during the academic year, she directs the Summer Post Master’s Program in Spiritual Formation offered at the SCTM.

Dr. Griffith’s publication Prophetic Witness: Catholic Women's Strategies for Reform, published by Crossroad (2017, 2009), received a first place book award by the Catholic Press Association in June of 2010. Author of numerous articles, chapters, and encyclopedia entries, Dr. Griffith’s most recent project has been the book Formative Theological Education, co-edited with Dr. Hosffman Ospino.

Selected Courses

  • Seminar in Practical Theology
  • Theological Foundations in Practical Perspective
  • Theological Anthropology & the Body
  • Seminar: The Theology of Elizabeth Johnson
  • Historical Spiritual Classics

Selected Publications

Formative Theological Education, co-editor, (Paulist Press, 2023)

"Practice as Embodied Knowing:  Epistemological and Theological Considerations," Invitation to Practical Theology, ed. Claire Wolfteich.  Mahwah: Paulist Press, 2014.

"Underhill's Practical Mysticicm: One Hundred Years Later," New Theology Review, vol. 27, no. 1 (2014).

"Elizabeth Ann Seton: An Example of Holy Dexterity," All Holy Men and Women, ed. Thomas A. Kane.  Mahwah: Paulist Press, 2014.

"Spirituality and the Body,"  Reading in Moral Theology No. 17,:  Ethics and Spirituality, eds. Charles Curran and Lisa Fullam.  Mahwah: Paulist Press, 2014.

"Christian Hope: A Grace and a Choice," Hope: Promise, Possibility and Fufillment,  eds. Richard Lennan and Nancy Pineda-Madrid.  Mahwah: Paulist Press, 2013.

Catholic Spiritual Practices: A Treasury of Old and New, eds. Colleen M. Griffith and Thomas Groome.  Brewster" Paraclete Press, 2012, 2014.

"Dialogue:  The Pearl of Price,"  Women, Wisdom and Witness: Engaging Contexts in Conversation, eds. Rosemary Carbine and Kathleen Dolphin.  Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 2012.

Prophetic Witness: Catholic Women's Strategies for Reform, ed. Colleen M. Griffith, New York: Crossroads Publishers, 2009.  Awarded first place in the gender category by the Catholic Press Association, 2010.

Selected Appointments, Awards, and Grants

  • 2022: Faculty Research Grant, Boston College
  • 2021: Formative Education Project Grant
  • 2021: AAA/DoSer Science for Seminaries Faculty Team Grant
  • 2010: First Place Book Award by Catholic Press Association, Gender Category