How to choose a Spiritual director

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Hello I have not been Catholic along time. How do I choose a Spiritual director? Can it be a good friend who si super devout? does it need to be a Priest? Any info would be great!
 
I highly recommend the book Seeking Spiritual Direction: How to Grow the Divine Life Within by Father Thomas Dubay.

You might also want to check out www.catholicspiritualdirection.org.
Lots of good resources there, and they offer spiritual direction by email. They also recommend the same book I mentioned above.
 
Thank you! One thing I couldnt find on the site (I might have looked in the wrong place) is if my Spiritual director can be a good devout friend? or if they have to be a Preist?
 
A personal spiritual director does not have to be a priest.

I have many good, devout Catholic friends, but I am not led to ask any one of them to be my personal spiritual director, although we do talk of such things to one another.

Sometimes a sister belonging to a religious order has the gift of spiritual direction. And, I have known a small number of laymen who have been given permission by their pastors to be spiritual directors.
 
Well, first, you need to pray, ask God to send you a Spiritual Director.

Then if you are interested with a priest, listen to his homily, go to confession to him, and chat with him. So you know whether he is right for you.

Just my 2 cents, well, I’m also still searching for one.
 
vince2paul said:
Well, first, you need to pray, ask God to send you a Spiritual Director.

Then if you are interested with a priest, listen to his homily, go to confession to him, and chat with him. So you know whether he is right for you.

Just my 2 cents, well, I’m also still searching for one.
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First, I’d like to thank OP for that question. I had thought of it - need one - but never seriously pursued. And to “Vince2Paul” and others - the thought of a Spiritual Director not being a priest - REALLY never crossed my mind. While my preference would be a priest, I’d not even thought there was an alternative.

My preference for a Spiritual Director would be a priest - first, of course, one who we feel able to discuss our needs - but one who knows us and our spiritual / temporal and even emotional situation - sufficiently enough to be able to advise. Just my personal thoughts.
 
Conservative said:
First, I’d like to thank OP for that question. I had thought of it - need one - but never seriously pursued. And to “Vince2Paul” and others - the thought of a Spiritual Director not being a priest - REALLY never crossed my mind. While my preference would be a priest, I’d not even thought there was an alternative.

My preference for a Spiritual Director would be a priest - first, of course, one who we feel able to discuss our needs - but one who knows us and our spiritual / temporal and even emotional situation - sufficiently enough to be able to advise. Just my personal thoughts.
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There are many religious and lay people who are trained in spiritual direction. My husband, who is a deacon, was taught by a nun to be certified in direction. Not all priests are trained so it is important to find one who is.

The poster who asked about a devout friend being a director…maybe what you are looking for is more of a spiritual friend…someone who you meet with to discuss your mutual spiritual journey. A friend of mine had one such friend and they would meet for coffee every other week to talk about their spiriutal life. My friend eventually became a spiritual director herself.
 
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