Have you ever wondered what spiritual direction is all about? The tradition has its roots deep in the earliest Christian centuries. Then it was customary for the desert fathers and mothers to seek the spiritual advice of others and to spend long stretches of time in contemplative prayer. In the 16th century the founder of the Jesuits, St. Ignatius of Loyola, popularized a retreat process for religious and lay people. The past 30 years have seen a renewed interest in these practices of retreat and spiritual direction for Christians of many faith traditions.

Here are some tips from an experienced spiritual guide, Springfield Dominican Sister Kathleen Cour. Sister Kathleen is a spiritual director on the staff of Benincasa Ministries, which offers private spiritual direction and a range of retreat experiences year-round. She says spiritual direction is an invitation from God to rest and renew the spiritual center of our lives, likening it to Moses’ journey to God. “Our life experiences are reminders of God’s presence and nearness to us.” She says. “The question becomes: How do we learn to recognize that presence? Where is our burning bush? How do we approach it?”

Need a reason to consider spiritual direction? Here are nine:

1. Developing a contemplative presence before God; learning to find God in Scripture and in the daily events of life.
2. Recognizing the role of the Holy Spirit; valuing the silence required to sense the movement of the Spirit.
3. Being open to the changing sense of God and self that leads one to a wholeness of body, mind, and spirit.
4. Encountering God through personal experience; seeing how God communicates through the experience of faith.
5. Deepening a relationship with God even during struggle through the griefs and pains of life.
6. Learning to pay attention to personal experience within the context of one’s own theology and faith tradition.
7. Growing in the ability to trust the spiritual director who keeps confidences and maintains appropriate professional boundaries.
8. Discerning God’s will and having confidence in God’s presence in the choices that result from prayerful listening.
9. Growing in the ability to let go of one’s own plans for the sake of God’s plans; moving toward faith-filled discipleship.

Spiritual Direction: A Grace-filled Journey

The full appointment calendars the Benincasa Ministries staff keep are an indication that more and more people are finding spiritual direction meaningful. Why is that so? According to Sister Melanie Roetker, who offers spiritual direction through Benincasa, many people are looking for someone who can help them process what is happening in their lives. They might be in the midst of making an important decision or be facing a job change or retirement, and feel a need to pray about it.

Those who come for spiritual direction are from all walks of life and many faith traditions. Sister Melanie says her clients range in age from late 20s to late 70s, and they come from 11 faith traditions. “Business people, mothers, homemakers, singles, working people. People who are serious about the life of the soul.” She says these are they who find their way to Benincasa Ministries. “They want to grow in their life with God.”

Sometimes, she says, “People come because the way they used to pray isn’t working right now. They think they are doing something wrong.” They usually aren’t doing anything wrong, Sister Melanie says. Instead, it may be that they are growing in their prayer life and God is calling them toward something deeper.

“I have a humbling, awesome job,” she says. “It is a grace-filled journey with people in their lives.”