What is Spiritual Direction in these changing times? Perhaps the role of the spiritual director in the Reformed tradition can best be introduced through the variety of terms used for this practice. For example, the role of spiritual director has been referred to as a spiritual friend, which stresses the relational character of the role of the director: one person willingly befriends another on the spiritual journey. Or we may think of this role as that of a soul friend. Soul suggests depth, a guide who is willing to walk into the deep places of human life and listen to the persistent yearnings, explore the darkest fears and identify the dominant images of self or God. Some have spoken of the spiritual director as a soul mate, a term that suggests the mutuality of the relationship. A soul mate must be one who gives as well as receives in a relationship of sharing. Though mutuality may be confusing by shifting the focus from the directee to the director, it need not do so. It is possible for a director to give information from his own life experience without becoming the center of the director-directee event. Still another synonym for spiritual director is a companion on the inner way. The title suggests that the director companions persons on their journey, helping them sort out the meaning of their lives. Like soul friend, it suggests a journey toward ones depths... The image of a midwife has also been used to describe the work of a spiritual director. One should not be fooled into thinking that this refers only to an evangelistic function of presiding over the born again experience. Though it certainly may include assistance at the beginning of a journey with Christ, it involves much more. The new creature in Christ Jesus is always abornin. God continues to come to souls in numerous ways, and each visitation holds the potential of newness-new life, new directions, new choices. The spiritual director is also a discerner of spirits. Some people have an indescribable ability to see through a situation or an issue. How they see so consistently I am not sure. According to St. Paul, one of the Spirits gifts is discernment... The functions of the spiritual director begin with listening. The director forms one-third of the triad: God, directee and director. The most important task for the director is to listen for God in the words and behavior of the directee. As a listener, the director is always asking, What is God saying to this life? What is God doing in this life? A spiritual director prays. Maybe the director employs silent prayer. What better way to begin a session than a few minutes of silence with a directee? In the silence both the director and the directee open themselves to become aware of the presence of God. The director prays for the directee and the directee for the director. Both realize that without God nothing of value will come of the session. This posture of prayer established in the opening minutes of a session must pervade the time together. To make prayer such a pervasive influence, the director assumes a contemplative posture. This means that the director images the session as being in God and thus continuously looks for the evidence of Gods presence in the sharing of the directee, in the thoughts and images that come into her mind, and also in the interaction between herself and the directee. Continuous prayer distinguishes spiritual direction from other caring experiences. Prayer transforms the sharing and lifts it to an intentional transaction in the presence of God... All the roles, functions and responsibilities of the spiritual director have only one aim. Whether listening, questioning, discerning, praying, suggesting, contracting or keeping his own soul, the spiritual director aims at helping the directee to become the person she was created to be. ~Spiritual Direction and the Care of Souls: A Guide to Christian Approaches and Practices
Posted on: Sun, 09 Mar 2014 00:26:09 +0000