By Marcia Moore
When I was told many years ago that I needed a spiritual director, as a convert to Catholicism I had no idea what that meant. I asked questions to which the answers were vague and I had no idea how to find one of these “spiritual directors.” Perhaps, I thought, if I found one I’d figure out what he or she would do and then I would see what it meant.
I’m here now to put forth some of those questions and to the best of my ability to give you, the readers, some simple answers about spiritual direction.
Let’s begin with, “What is spiritual direction?”
Spiritual direction is the help or guidance one Christian gives another so that the one receiving continues to grow in faith and love of God. The directee (person receiving spiritual direction) learns to communicate better with God and have a better understanding of God’s action in his or her life. Over time a deeper relationship will develop between God and the directee and the directee will learn to cooperate with God’s grace active in his or her life. In the process of spiritual direction the overall goals include the directee learning to discern God’s will, a deepening relationship with God and a prayer life leading to contemplation.
(Marcia Moore, M.S. Ed., is a longtime professional Christian therapist and certified Spiritual Director who founded Eagles’ Wings to provide counseling from a Christian perspective. She is a member of St. Alphonsus Parish, Davenport.)
