Gifts for spirtitual directors

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houston1

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Hi CAF members,

I was wondering whether it is appropriate to give your spiritual director a gift. If so, how much and in what manner?

My spiritual director is a priest.

Thanks for your help.

houston1
 
The best gifts to give to your spiritual director are your continued prayers for him as well as having Masses offered for him.
 
My spiritual Director is an awesome, awesome Conservative Priest. I gave him a really nice handgun. 👍

YMMV.
 
I would find out if he has a charity or a cause that is especially important to him. If he does, you can make a cash gift to it.

If you are a woman, the giving of an actual personal gift could be taken in the wrong way or give out inappropriate signals…
 
I have had 3 spiritual directors (2 priests & a deacon), and a prayer guide (a lay woman who guided me through the 19th annotaion of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius). I have given all of them gifts.

I have never given anything overtly personal, such as clothing, personal or very expensive items. Usually a small token of my appreciation.
I gave my prayer guide a stained glass candle-holder with a motif that symbolized our journey together.
I gave one of my priest SD’s a hand made mug, filled with his favorite chocolate. The chocolate just becasue, the mug, because it symbolized my gratitude for his help in realizing that I was just a simple lump of clay in God’s hands. The other priest, I gave a hand-made- stole (I have a friend who is very handy w/ a sewing machine ;)) to wear when he hears confessions because he helped me learn to appreciate the sacrament, and to frequent it much more often.

I am very sentimental, and always give much, (sometimes too much:blush:) thought to gifts that I give, but I know that not everyone is like that. As someone who also works for the Chruch, I know that priests love gift certificates for restaurants, coffee shops, movies & bookstores. Everyone deserves a treat now & then, and most priests, even secular ones, live on a pretty modest income, so there is not a lot left for extras.
 
Thank you all for responding to my post. These give me some ideas on what to consider.

houston1
 
This reminds me - I bought my parish priest (not my spiritual director) a small statuette of Mary. I believe he liked it very much.
 
I gave my SD a gift basket lately, a basket full of different fruits - apple, orange, grapefruit, pear, nuts - pistachios, almonds. seaweed snack, organic raw honey, lemons, etc. He liked it.
 
I like all your ideas. I hope to be able to send my spiritual director something for Easter. No worries about the inappropriateness of this. My spiritual director is in the sunset years of his life.
 
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