We need not approach biblical texts passively. We can communicate with the stories. We can talk back to them! Today’s Advent meditation is a dialogue with the daily lectionary passage—Matthew’s version of the feeding of the four thousand (Matthew 15:32-37). Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion for the crowd, because they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat; and I do not want to send them away hungry,... Read more
For many Christians, praying daily with scripture is an important devotional practice. There are a number of ways to do this. One of the easiest and most portable is to use the Irish Jesuit’s Sacred Space 2015 prayer book or website (www.sacredspace.ie). They include a short snippet of scripture from the daily lectionary—scriptures chosen to be read in churches and homes worldwide—with suggestions for points of reflection. You can read it daily with the book or online at your computer... Read more
If you find it hard to relax into prayer during Advent, try this contemplative exercise. It’s adapted from Anthony Bloom’s classic book Beginning to Pray. Bloom, a Russian Orthodox Archbishop who died in 2003, wrote this short book in 1970 and it continues to be an inspiration to people of prayer today. Read more
Spiritual Direction 101 seeks to offer spiritual directors–and all others interested in spirituality–tools for deepening in relationship with God. Through Advent, SD101 will offer one prayer practice a day. Most of these practices come from my book 50 Ways to Pray by Abingdon Press. Advent is the perfect time for reflection on the past and the present as well as hope for the future. The season honors the days prior to the birth of Jesus—a time of waiting in anticipation for Mary and... Read more
If so inclined, you could spend years of your life reading books written about spirituality, discernment, prayer, religious and spiritual traditions and spiritual direction. Here’s a suggested reading list which contains a list of books and authors we recommend at the Hesychia School of Spiritual Direction. You could consider these books a starting point for learning more about the subjects near and dear to the heart of the practice of spiritual direction. The books are grouped according to general... Read more
Marketing spiritual direction can be a touchy subject. There are some spiritual directors who abhor the idea of advertising their availability. In fact, A Code of Ethics for Spiritual Directors (Dove Publications), states: “Traditionally, spiritual directors have not publicized or advertised their services, or promoted themselves in other ways (p15).” That was published in 1992, before people began using the Internet as a primary communication tool. Today if a spiritual director is available and wants to let the world know... Read more
Spiritual directors need to make a living like everyone else. So, like all freelancers, we have to figure out what we are going to charge for our service. There is no standard fee or even agreed-upon scale for spiritual directors. There are lots of ways spiritual directors approach this. Ask around in your region and find out what the “going rate” is. Your rate should be comparable. You can try pricing yourself higher and see if the market can... Read more
Spiritual directors must pay special attention to the space they use for direction. It needs to be quiet, comfortable, private and uncluttered. The space needs to mirror the contemplative work that will be done in it. The best spaces are artistically beautiful yet not overtly “religious.” You may be wondering, “What’s wrong with putting my religious knick knacks around the room?” Well, what is religiously significant to you may be a huge distraction to your directee. I don’t think directors... Read more
Once you have received training in the art of spiritual direction and want to get started as a spiritual director, you then have a lot of smaller decisions to make. Chief among them is what kind of spiritual director am I called to be? There are a lot of ways to be a spiritual director. Some of us set up private practices and basically “hang a shingle” in order to meet with people one-on-one. We hope to see quite a... Read more
The psychological term transference is a concept that spiritual directors need to know and understand in order to not be derailed by it. It’s the natural, to-be-expected process by which a person seeking help in a direction relationship (or any helping relationship) transfers his or her own feelings, thoughts, impulses and fantasies about a person from one’s past (feelings not fully resolved) to the spiritual director. The directee in the midst of transference is not aware that he or... Read more
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