There are many factors to consider for your friend. Here’s a good article by Father Ryan Erlenbush, A LINK giving his advice on the matter as a whole, what to carefully and prayerfully consider.What do I tell him?
He brought it up to me. He was clearly looking for some (name removed by moderator)ut. If ‘Go deal with it yourself’ is a good Catholic answer when someone speaks to me, I will keep that in mind. Thank you.I think you leave your friend’s matters of conscience to himself and his spiritual director, and trust that they know what they’re doing.
Thank you for the link. I’ll look into that.There are many factors to consider for your friend. Here’s a good article by Father Ryan Erlenbush, A LINK giving his advice on the matter as a whole, what to carefully and prayerfully consider.
First of all, please don’t be rude/ flippant to a priest who actually takes the time to respond during Easter Triduum, one of the busiest times of the year for priests.He brought it up to me. He was clearly looking for some (name removed by moderator)ut. If ‘Go deal with it yourself’ is a good Catholic answer when someone speaks to me, I will keep that in mind. Thank you.
The essay I first referred to, mentions also a previous essay by the same priest on a related issue,If there is advice on seeking a spiritual director, I would appreciate that, too.
When a friend of many years, who I know well, whose faith I know well, who in fact I sponsored into the Catholic church; comes to me repeatedly dropping hints, for six months on end, that something is troubling him, is the good Catholic answer to tell him to talk to someone else because I’m going to mind my own business?I’m not sure what you mean by “a good Catholic answer.” Is there some reason to think that what I said might not be?
@CRM_Brother, thank you for this excellent perspective.Mystical experiences are a complicated issue. In one sense they seem to change everything in your life and in another they seem to change nothing. Unless the recipient is commanded to publicly reveal something (and this must be examined and tested very carefully both by the recipient and their spiritual director), then it is meant to be kept mostly private. The experiences make God more immanent in one’s life. It is easier to believe in and have a relationship with God if you know God exists. The experiences are there to draw the recipient into a more intimate relationship with Him.
The experiences, however, are in no way meant to set the recipient apart from the rest of the faithful. He or she is no more or no less important or holier than his or her brothers and sisters in Christ. The experiences are not meant to give preference over others.
This is what the spiritual director is aiming at. He is saying that these mystical experiences are nice. They are a gift and they have a personal meaning. They must not, however, be what your friend’s spiritual life revolves around. That focus must continue to be their personal relationship with Christ and their living that love in in their interactions with their brothers and sisters. These experiences may give your friend strength but the more important question is still, “Do you love and live in God?”
The spiritual director’s seemingly blase attitude may be purposeful so as to keep your friend humble about the experiences. Throughout my ministry, I have found that mystical experiences, while still uncommon, happen quite a bit more frequently and to more people then most have come to believe. It is only the private nature of these experiences which disallow the knowledge of them to spread widely. Your friend may be the only one in your parish who has had mystical experiences or they may only be one in a hundred who has. No one knows.
Personally, I think that your friend’s spiritual director will be good for them. He is quite center-of-the-road and that is what your friend needs. Some spiritual directors may focus on the experience so much that the focus is taken away from your friend’s life with Christ and some others may simply dismiss the experiences as mental disease, imagination, or a detrimental need for attention.
Many thanks. I’ll add this to the list. He became Catholic about 5 years ago and has undergone profound changes since then. There may have once been pride but I don’t believe there is now. I think he’s only talking about this to his priest and me–and there’s a specific reason he brought it up to me. No, I don’t think he’s exploiting or bragging. I think he will appreciate your suggestion.Tell him to start reading the mystics, John of the Cross or St Teresa of Avila, for example. There he’ll find out if he’s got any kind of kindred spirit in them. If so, all will end up better explained. And in my understanding, God generally doesn’t grant such experiences to those who are on the proud side, or those who might wish to exploit or boast of them, etc. He has His purposes and such experiences are oriented towards that end.