Spiritual director moved

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Trust_in_Him

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My spiritual director is not longer at my parish. He went to the missions overseas.

Should I get a new spiritual director or not?

From Vanessa
 
Trust_in_Him said:
My spiritual director is not longer at my parish. He went to the missions overseas.

Should I get a new spiritual director or not?

From Vanessa
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You should have discussed this with your former director.
 
Unless you can correspond with him on a regular basis I would say get a new one. My director went to Europe to study and we would correspond regularly by e mail or by phone, but it was not ideal. There are some things that don’t translate well over e-mail or even on the phone. But it was only temporary so we dealt with it until he returned. I don’t know if I would do it again.
 
I did not know that he would be moved. It was a complete surprise to me. I never had time to discuss with him what would happen next.

From Vanessa
 
Trust_in_Him said:
I did not know that he would be moved. It was a complete surprise to me. I never had time to discuss with him what would happen next.

From Vanessa
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It does not sound like you had a very stable relationship as a directee.

I cannot imagine a SD moving without tying up such loose ends.
 
Okay…

My spiritual director was a priest. I spoke to him once about him being my spiritual director. Then I just went to confession to him as usual.

Now he has gone.

What do I do now? What if he comes back in a few years? I was thinking about asking another priest. However won’t each priest give different advice?

Any advice please…

From Vanessa
 
If you still feel in need of spiritual direction, I’d say yes-- find a new SD. You can do the same thing you did before…Find a priest you trust. Or, you can ask any priest you know if he has any ideas on who you can ask to be your SD. Good luck to you! 🙂
 
Trust_in_Him said:
Okay…

My spiritual director was a priest. I spoke to him once about him being my spiritual director. Then I just went to confession to him as usual.

Now he has gone.

What do I do now? What if he comes back in a few years? I was thinking about asking another priest. However won’t each priest give different advice?

Any advice please…

From Vanessa
Click to expand...
Vanessa, I went to an initial meeting with a priest who agreed to be my SD and he gave me a task to work on and sent me on my way saying “See you in 6 weeks”. When I called him to setup another appointment, he had moved to a distant parish. I tried to contact him to tie up loose ends and tell him I would not be able to drive that distance for direction, but he never returned my call. I felt a little abandoned and haven’t sought direction again.
Do you have a task to work on that your previous director has given you? Have you completed it? Maybe the Lord is given you time to work something out until you can find another director. Maybe it is a lifetime task. You’ll have to discern this. Hope it works out for you. Tim
 
Trust_in_Him said:
Okay…

My spiritual director was a priest. I spoke to him once about him being my spiritual director. Then I just went to confession to him as usual.

Now he has gone.

What do I do now? What if he comes back in a few years? I was thinking about asking another priest. However won’t each priest give different advice?

Any advice please…

From Vanessa
Click to expand...
Were you actualy in direction with him or did you just go to himfor confession. Direction is different than confession and some advice. It involves a special relationship. If you are in need of direction and not just a confessor, then I would suggest finding someone new instead of waiting a few years.
 
I used to ask him questions if I felt confused about something. He gave me a lot of advice. Once I asked to talk to him and he helped me. I also went to confession to him, when he was available.

Any more advice… please

From Vanessa
 
Are carmelites (OCD) priests well known for spiritual direction?
Is the first priest you think of when considering spiritual direction, the one the Holy Spirit is guiding you to?

From Vanessa
 
Finding a good spiritual director doesn’t come easy. It is a good idea to “interview” with one first. In fact, most good director take people on a trial basis, say for a few sessions before they decide if the relationship will work. Not all preists are trained in direction and not all have the time or energy to devote to directees. It is an ongoing relationship and one that involved trust on both sides. You have to trust the director and he or she has to trust that you will be following his or her advice, sticking to you agreed prayer disipline and anyother things that you are advised to do.

Most good directors come recommended from others. I have been with mine for 10 years and I can tell you I went through 2 or three before I found him.
 
The priest who was my spiritual direction accepted straight away without any further questions.

From Vanessa
 
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