Must a spiritual director be completely orthodox?

[SeekingHoliness]

I live in an area of the country that has a higher proportion of New Age followers and more liberal parishes. As a result, in my search for a spiritual director, I have met with three different people. None of them agreed with the Church’s teaching against contraception. One of them recommended I read a book that I later discovered teaches some significant New Age beliefs, and another one regularly teaches centering prayer as taught by Father Thomas Keating.

I am a well-catechized Catholic, strong in my faith, and not likely at all to be drawn away from the Church into New Age beliefs or anything else that may arise. I’m feeling discouraged and am considering choosing one of these as my spiritual director, hoping to benefit from direction concerning areas that particular person appears to be orthodox in. Is this a matter of private judgment? Or has the Church taught specifically against this? If not, your personal opinion on this subject would be helpful!

 

[Michelle_Arnold]

Suppose you wanted to take up rock climbing, realized you needed to find an experienced partner, and someone you were considering for the job told you that he disagreed with the rock-climbing community’s insistence on the use of safety ropes. Would you trust this person with your physical safety? If not, then how much more so should you value your spiritual safety and seek only an orthodox Catholic priest or trained layperson for spiritual direction?

I can only recommend that you keep searching. Entrust your search for a spiritual director to God. Ask God to help you find the right person who can help you along on the road to heaven. If you like, you might also ask the renowned saintly spiritual directors, St. Francis de Sales and St. Joseph Cafasso, for their intercession. And, in the meantime, you might consider saints to be your spiritual directors and read some of the Church’s spiritual masterpieces, three of which I’ve linked to below.

Recommended reading:

Introduction to the Devout Life by St. Francis de Sales
Story of a Soul by St. Therese of Lisieux
The Practice of the Presence of God by Br. Lawrence of the Resurrection