Spiritual Direction
Seeking spiritual direction is a response to Jesus question:
"What are you looking for?"
Why Spiritual Direction?
Spiritual Direction is for those who desire to grow in their personal relationship with Jesus Christ, to know Him more intimately, to follow Him more closely, to love Him more dearly; to grow in virtue and holiness, to have a deeper prayer life, to learn to listen more attentively the Holy Spirit to discover God the Father's will for their life.
What Happens in Spiritual Direction?
As the one seeking direction shares, we both listen for the leadings of the Holy Spirit that emerge from within the heart and from those deepest desires. Together, we notice, observe, assess, and discern how God is loving and calling you ever closer to Him.
History of Spiritual Direction
The Catholic Church, founded by Jesus and guided by the Holy Spirit for more than 2000 years, has a rich history filled with the spiritual traditions of countless holy men and women. This heritage is a treasure that offers us opportunities to learn, grow in holiness, and become the person God intends us to be, so we can build His kingdom both now and in the future.
Within this wealth of traditions, we find our purpose and mission. Spiritual direction, where we are accompanied by someone who accompanies us for a time to helps us see, hear and respond to God's loving activity in our life is an invaluable part of this tradition.
In recent years interest has increased among believers for someone to companion them in deepening their experience of God. This desire for spiritual direction is not new. It has its deepest roots in the Gospels where we find Christ investing significant time with His disciples, teaching and modeling how to live. out His Father's love in daily life. The dessert fathers (Abbas) and mothers (Ammas) of early Christian centuries, having drawn apart to enhance their intimacy with God, were sought out by persons wanting to know God in a similar way. This practice of seeking spiritual guidance from holy men and women rooted in a contemplative experience of God is still carried in today. - not just by those called to the ordained or consecrated life, but also by lay persons seeking oneness with God
Ignatian Spiritual Direction
Ignatian Spiritual Direction addresses what is in one’s daily life as they pray their way through life’s complex decisions and interpretations of their spiritual experiences in those everyday life's circumstances.
Fr. Joseph Tetlow, SJ paraphrased from Handing on the Fire
Ignatian Spiritual Direction helps one discern their own way to find who God means for them to become and what is the best action to take. An Ignatian trained director supports "the whole person in prayerfully discerning the next good thing as they try to find God in all things." This process of discernment is coming to a decision after prayerful attention to heart, head, and hand on what will bring an increase of faith, hope, and love.