What are spiritual directors?
I was in a spiritual formation class in graduate school when I learned about the ministry of spiritual direction. My heart leapt as I heard about this gentle ministry of listening, loving and praying. I knew I felt called to offer it to others. Though the name sounds funny, it’s really just a fancy term for a spiritual friend and confidante. The Holy Spirit is the only one who directs you.
Where did the funny name come from? I have read books about the ministry dating back to the late third century AD (think: people going into the desert to learn from the simplicity of the desert fathers and mothers). The ministry has certainly changed over the centuries. Still, I have never read a satisfactory, historical entomology for the term. I wonder if it might have come from the Middle Ages when men and women were entering monasteries as young novices. Novice is the name for a person who came to live in the monastery and was trying to discern if he or she was called to shed their former way of life and take final vows. They were seeking “spiritual direction”. As they entered, they were often assigned a spiritual director as well as a confessor (sometimes the same person). I can imagine their spiritual director would meet with them to discuss their calling. Were they sensing God leading them to continue down the path and become a monk, priest or nun? What other invitations were they sensing from God? What was God showing them or teaching them as they lived in community with other brothers or sisters? Their director didn’t tell them what God was saying, rather he or she helped them process what they were already hearing, sensing, feeling and experiencing.
Today, both professional clergy and lay people meet with spiritual directors. Some meet with directors for a limited time. Perhaps they are making decisions about whether to go back to college, quit and start a new job, or even retire. These are people who want to make decisions that honor God, themselves and others. They need a safe person with whom they can be honest about their desires and longings. Others see their director for many years (I’ve been seeing the same director for 2 years). Their director helps them notice God’s presence and activity along their life journey. Their director may provide them a time and space to practice spiritual disciplines. Directors remind people to pay attention to their reactions and responses to God and others.
You don’t have to walk alone on your spiritual journey. A spiritual director is a companion along the way. Hospitable, confidential, non-judgmental, and grounded in biblical truth, a Christian spiritual director is a safe person who provides a prayerful space to process your thoughts and emotions about God, others and the whole of life. Most people meet with their director once a month.
For more information about spiritual direction, or to find a local spiritual director, click on the link below (I am a member of the Evangelical Spiritual Directors Association).
https://www.graftedlife.org/spiritual-direction/about-spiritual-direction
