SPIRITUAL DIRECTION

Helpful Insights

Bishop Robert Morneau, Spiritual Writer

As Bishop Morneau writes in A Handbook of Spirituality for Ministers: “Spiritual direction is about a journey … Along the route many crossroads emerge and decisions have to be made, choices shaping our individual and collective destines. Along the route suffering hits us and we have to struggle with its meanings … The journey demands serious discernment since the Lord who created us continues to call us to follow the divine path. To travel alone or to attempt to make decisions in isolation is a dangerous way to live. At times we need direction in our spiritual lives just as we need assistance in an unfamiliar city.”

Food for Thought

“Spiritual Direction can be understood as a process, carried out in a one-to-one interpersonal context, of establishing and maintaining a growth-orientation (that is, direction) in one’s faith life. This process has two moments which are in constant dialectical relationship with one another, namely, listening to and articulating God’s call in one’s life and listening to and progressively elaborating an integrated and adequate response to that call. (Sandra Schneiders, I.H.M., “The Contemporary Ministry of Spiritual Direction”, Chicago Studies, Spring 1976, p. 123.)

“It is what spiritual direction is all about. To be able to cooperate with the voice of the Spirit within us and, by obediently listening to that voice, permit the realization of God’s will to take place within our lives.” ¹

Spiritual Direction: an interpersonal relationship in which one assists others to reflect on their own experience in the light of who they are called to become in fidelity to the Gospel. ²

Ignatian Spirituality Centre, Seattle

“A spiritual director is a person with whom you can talk about your experience of God, both in prayer and in the rest of your daily life. It is never easy to talk about what is most personal to us – who and how we love, where we have struggled or been hurt in our lives, our deepest hopes, fears and dreams, our relationship with God, but the results of such conversations are tremendous.”

HELP OBSTACLES

Prayer Lack of preparation

Preparation (reflection, journal)

No regular prayer life

Trust grows, not fear

Realism talk about what matters

Talking about surface, superficialities

Willingness

Denial

Integrate inner and outer Discouragement

Docility to Spirit Over dependence

Spiritual reading

Control

Expect great things to happen

University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary

Points for Reflection and Discussion

What is spiritual direction?

A chance to talk about the deeper side of life and the movement of life and the movement of God in those depths. A chance to talk about faith, prayer, vocation, development in a personal way. The goal of the relationship of spiritual direction is growth in one’s relationship with God.

Goal: Turn always to God; Grow in freedom to answer call; Look inward.

University of St. Mary of the Lake/Institute for Diaconal Studies

“Spiritual Direction is a relationship between two believers that live a radical belief in the divine gift of the Incarnation . It is a journey directed by the Holy Spirit and a relationship: one of whom shares their faith and its manifestations in his or her life and the other who reflects that experience back through the prison of resources, Tradition and wisdom of the Church. It is counseling for is it therapy. It is a dialogue in the “Internal Forum” It is confidential and it is private. It compromises the essentials of the art of conversation and its inherent listening skills: It requires a humble heart and the desire for self-understanding: By its very nature it begs for the use of active imagination that is genuine and authentic. It allows for an openness to God in a spirit of self-surrender where the Christian heart may focus on the genuine, real world. It provides an opportunity for the use of reflexive consciousness: recalling and reliving moments of grace. The goal of diaconal formation is an integrated faith in ministerial identity. The goals for the directee include articulation, awareness, clarification and vocation discernment (i.e. growth and understanding of diaconal identity).

Catholic Theological Union

Spiritual direction, a tradition in the church which is ancient and ever-new, can serve as an aid to your personal integration and growth in responsiveness to God. There are many forms of direction and no one “correct way” to go about it. This is a helpful definition:

Spiritual direction is that form of pastoral care which aims at helping another

* Claret Center (Counseling and/or Spiritual Direction)

* Institute For Spiritual Leadership 55th & Kimbark (Spiritual Direction)

* Center For Religion and Psychotherapy (Counseling) has a Chicago Loop office

(312) 263-4368 Main office: 1649 E. 50th St. Chicago 752-5821

Our Lady of Knock. Ireland

What is Spiritual Direction?

Receiving spiritual direction means sharing with another person about what is going on in your life, with a view to drawing closer to God.

Anamchara (soul-friend) is the title of a best-selling book by John O’ Donohue. It is an ancient Irish term for the relationship of two persons in the persons in the search for God. Imagine a person meeting a stranger and asking the way to where they want to go: it is that simple!

Daily life issues are the raw material of the meeting: the agenda is yours.

A person may feel they have only a weak relationship with God; but chatting about this can help them to move along and make good choices. God is always looking out for us and accepts us just as we are, because we are limitlessly loved by God who desires our friendship.

Who are the Spiritual Directors?

Our spiritual directors are men and women, both lay and religious who have received specific training and engage in ongoing supervision. They offer a respectful and safe place to share your story, to explore your desires, and to let go of burdens in a context of good listening.

As Jesus asked his disciples, ‘What do you want? What are you looking for?’ (John 1:38), the guide tries to help you sift through your desires and to choose as best you can. No judgment is passed on you: you are freed to make your own decisions, and these are accepted by God.