Qualifications for Spiritual Direction

[mick321]

Does the Church have guidelines on who may serve as a Spiritual Director and what qualifications are required of those who wish to serve in this capacity? Must the aspiring spiritual director be a priest or religious or is the field open to laypersons? Are there educational requirements at the entry level?

 

[robert7685]

Well, I have heard of people being certified as spiritual directors, but I believe that priests or religious are the best choice. If you are seeking a spiritual director, be sure to pray on it. Let God lead you to the person you need.

 

[SuscipeMeDomine]

Does the Church have guidelines on who may serve as a Spiritual Director and what qualifications are required of those who wish to serve in this capacity? Must the aspiring spiritual director be a priest or religious or is the field open to laypersons? Are there educational requirements at the entry level?

Anyone can call him or herself a spiritual director, and that has pluses and minuses. On the one hand it means that the ministry is open to anyone the Holy Spirit calls. On the other hand, it means that a directee must discern who is and isn’t qualified.

There are training programs all around the country. I would consider it a good sign if someone had completed such a program – it shows that they are serious about their ministry and willing to put time and effort into it. On the other hand, when I was completing my program, the instructors said frequently that completing the course only shows that you completed the course, it doesn’t make you a spiritual director. Only the Holy Spirit can do that. (And among my fellow students, there were people I think would be excellent directors and people I wouldn’t ever consider as a director for myself.)

Clergy and religious often serve as spiritual directors, but they are subject to the same kind of discernment as anyone else. Some are excellent and some are less so.

 

[Wesley7]

Does the Church have guidelines on who may serve as a Spiritual Director?

Yes.

 

[Friar_David_O.Carm]

Yes.

Can you provide the guidelines or point us to where tgey can be found?

I ask because I agree with what SuscipeMeDomine said that the Church does not have any such guidelines.

 

[mick321]

Can you provide the guidelines or point us to where tgey can be found?

I ask because I agree with what SuscipeMeDomine said that the Church does not have any such guidelines.

So theoretically, a Latin Rite Catholic could choose an Eastern Catholic or possibly even an Eastern Orthodox spiritual director, purely at his own discretion?

 

[Dan_Daly]

I would strongly discourage anyone who is Catholic from asking a member of the Eastern Orthodox Church to be their spiritual director.

That doesn’t mean that a Catholic can’t learn a lot from someone who is Orthodox. I’ve learned a great deal from my Orthodox brethren on CAF. However, there are several cases where there theology is simply wrong. If you want to grow in your Catholic faith, seek spiritual direction from a Catholic.

As far as Latin Rite Catholic seeking direction from a Byzantine Catholic (or the reverse), it would depend on the circumstances. As a Latin Rite Catholic I would much rather get direction from an orthodox Byzantine than from a modernist Latin.

Pax Christi.

 

[SuscipeMeDomine]

So theoretically, a Latin Rite Catholic could choose an Eastern Catholic or possibly even an Eastern Orthodox spiritual director, purely at his own discretion?

Or a Protestant or a Jew or anyone else. It’s not like you need permission to talk with someone about your spiritual life.

Would it be a good idea for a Catholic to go to a non-Catholic spiritual director? It’s not something I would do. My relationship with God is facilitated through the Church and I need someone who understands that and encourages me in that direction.

At the same time, the director and directee don’t need to be identical. I’ve never felt like my director is trying to make me a clone of himself, but is supporting me on my individual faith journey. And that’s what a good director does.

 

[Joannm]

At the same time, the director and directee don’t need to be identical. I’ve never felt like my director is trying to make me a clone of himself, but is supporting me on my individual faith journey. And that’s what a good director does.

My director is much more conservative in his theology than I am, but I like it because he helps keep me balanced. He knows that we disagree on some things, not dogma or doctrine, but it is more a difference of opinion on things that still keep us both within the good graces of the Church. It also gives us something good to argue about and I think he learns a lot about me spiritually from the way I engage in these discussions, and I learn a lot too. Sometimes he comes around to my way of thinking, and many times I come around to his, but more often we agree to disagree. We’ve been doing this for 14 years so it must work for us.