The Practice of Spiritual Direction Paperback – 1 Jun. 2009

This is a well written and highly informative book which covers a lot of ground. It will provide a good overview of what spiritual direction is, how to do it and how to recognise and avoid some of the most common problems.

EXCELLENT BOOK FOR SPIRITUAL DIRECTORS

This book gives a good insight into the meaning of, and the processes involved in, the art of spiritual direction.

Heavy reading.

A good study book.

The authors note that there has been increased demand for direction not just from Roman Catholics but from protestants and even members of other faiths. They define it as “help given by one Christian to another which enables that person to pay attention to God’s personal communication to him or her, to respond to this personally communicating God, to grow in intimacy with this God, and to live out the consequences of the relationship.”In an age where respect has to be ‘earned’, clergy are not automatically sought – spiritual direction has become increasingly a lay ministry, though the lay person needs to have some sort of relationship with the Church rather than being some sort of free lance – though there is little or no accreditation by churches.They define direction ‘as help given by one Christian to another which enables that person to pay attention to God's personal communication to him or her, to respond to this personally communicating God, to grow in intimacy with this God, and to live out the consequences of the relationship’A directee expresses her personal experiences from times of prayer and from her life. This articulation includes her spontaneous reactions -- feelings, thoughts, desires, judgments, etc. These are sometimes expressed clearly, but most often they are less than clear as the directee is often clarifying for herself what is going on. Her spiritual guide listens and helps her to clarify her feelings and thoughts by focusing carefully on what is being said, what is being left out, what is implied, and the feelings that are present. Thus, the meaning behind these reactions begins to surface along with a growing awareness of their direction. These are interior facts which the guide helps the directee to notice.Practitioners often voice a concern that the properly spiritual is in danger of being absorbed by, or reduced to, the psychological. Barry and Connolly themselves are aware of the danger: ‘with the emergence of modern theories of therapy and counselling, pastoral care had too often looked like a carbon copy of these secular models’.Although the authors are Jesuits and are most at home in the Ignatian tradition, they are broader than merely to plug one ‘brand.’ They also note the importance of acknowledging dryness and affirming it as being frequently a waiting period for new growth and cite the example of Thomas Merton. (Compare ‘Seeds of Contemplation’ with ‘New Seeds of Contemplation’)They were two of the six co-founders of the Centre for Religious Development in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1971. The centre was one of the first to offer year-long specialized training in spiritual direction. Both authors now reside at Campion Centre, Weston, Massachusetts.The director has to listen to two others – the directee and the Holy Spirit - 'letting the creator deal with the creature'There’s some good stuff about being calm and centred before seeing a directee and of the importance of receiving supervision.