Firstly, if I am repeating a previous thread then please feel free to remove this one.
As some of you are aware I am discerning a vocation to the religious life, I have contacted some orders and I am waiting to get some information from them. However I do not as yet have an SD, so my questions are;
1: Do I really need one?
2: How do I go about finding the right one for me?
And apologise for the next question, what exactly does an SD do? (Sorry for my ignorance on this point ).
There’s a nice blog about Catholic Spiritual Direction here that will probably answer some of your questions.
Do you need a spiritual director? I think having someone to talk with about your vocation could be very helpful. A spiritual director can help you focus on where God is calling you and how you can best respond.
How to find a spiritual director? First of all, pray. The Holy Spirit is the real spiritual director and will help you find someone. Then I would try asking your parish priest. It’s very likely that he won’t be able to be your director (since our priests tend to be very busy) but you never know. If he can’t, then he may be able to refer you to someone. If he isn’t able to help you might check with the vocations office for your diocese and see if they have suggestions. Or if you have a particular order in mind as far as a possible vocation you might check with them as well. You might also try a monastery, convent, or retreat house if there’s one in the area since they may offer spiritual direction as part of their ministry or may have members who are skilled in this area. And a retired priest or nun has both time available and much wisdom to offer.
What does a spiritual director do? This message from the blog I mentioned earlier has some information. In short, I would say that a spiritual director is someone who accompanies you on your faith journey, helps you see where the Spirit is moving in your life, and helps you respond to the sweet whispers of God.
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