What is Spiritual Direction?

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 Desert 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 on today – not just by those called to the ordained or consecrated life, but also by lay persons seeking oneness with God.
William A. Barry, S.J., and William J. Connolly, S.J., in their book The Practice of Spiritual Direction, say this:
 
 “We define Christian spiritual direction … as help given by one Christian to another which enables that person to pay attention to God’s personal communication to him or her, to respond to this personally communicating God, to grow in intimacy with this God, and to live out the consequences of the relationship.” (p. 8)
 
A well-formed spiritual director helps another Christian listen and respond to God so that intimacy with Him will grow and be lived out in an obedient life.  Despite the title, a spiritual director does not “direct” someone about what to say or do.  Nor does a director offer psychological or pastoral counseling.  A spiritual director is specifically focused on enriching a directee’s prayer life, pointing always to Christ, the true model for living in intimacy with God. 

According to The Catechism of the Catholic Church, spiritual direction is a prayerful presence offered to others by “certain of the faithful” who have been gifted by the Holy Spirit with “wisdom, faith, and discernment for the sake of this common good which is prayer.” [CCC 2690]  A spiritual director is a mature Christian accompanying seekers into a deeper prayer life connecting them with the Holy One.