Spiritual direction/directors

[SFX]

please tell me about your experiences with spiritual direction. i tried one person once, on recommendation, and only went once. all the while i was there i just kept thinking how i couldn’t wait to get out of there, because i kept feeling like she was pitying me, more than listening to give advice. also, i didn’t feel i got any direction. she just sort of let me ramble. i thought maybe she could have guided me through the first session more. also, i’m broke. are there sp’s out there that take on charity cases?

sfx

 

[T.A.Stobie_SFO]

A spiritual director (SD) needs a listen a lot to get to know you before they can help you. Every person is different. As a SD I primarily listen and ask questions, to help both for my and the directee’s understanding of what is going on. I do assign tasks early on that focus on self-understanding and self-examination. I for one do not charge. I do accept donations, but do not ask for them.

To help yourself, write up your spiritual biography. Where is your faith life? Where are your struggles? Where do you feel peace? How do you experience the sacraments? Provide this biography to the SD prior to the session so they have time to read through it before hand. The better they know you, the better they can work with you.

Here is my webpage on Spiritual Direction and its has links to take your to further explainations.

 

[Princess_Abby]

Personally I think we can risk a lot by trusting a lay person (or that of any secular order) to spiritually direct us. A good holy priest, brother, sister or nun (though nuns are technically cloistered ) is a better choice, IMHO.

Fr. Thomas Dubay writes about choosing a SD. Do a search for his books on amazon.com --it is something like “Seeking Spiritual Direction.”

Abby