Spiritual direction is an intentional relationship in which two people regularly meet, listening and attuning themselves to one another and to God. Spiritual direction provides space for deep, soul-level conversation with a trained companion as one journeys deeper into union with God.
Eugene Peterson wrote that the first thing he noticed after he began meeting his spiritual director was a “marked increase in spontaneity.” *
Eugene also wrote, “There is a radical difference between a book and a person. A book that tells me about the soul, and a person who comments on my soul, even though the words are the same, are different.” *
Spiritual direction can help us in noticing and responding to God’s presence and activity in our life. Having a co-discerning listener come alongside us monthly can be a significant place of encouragement and consolation. Monthly meetings with my own spiritual director are holy touchpoints in my life with God.
Spiritual direction is not a subject that you learn about,
it is an organic life that you enter into.
Eugene Peterson
Renovare recently hosted a beautiful and insightful conversation with Jan Johnson and Trevor Hudson on the subject of spiritual direction called “Learning to Listen: Exploring the What, Why and How of Spiritual Direction.” Trevor and I share an Ignatian approach. The conversation highlights spiritual direction, the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, how spiritual direction is different from therapy, along with suggested resources. It’s a long conversation. I invite you to pour yourself a cup of tea, settle in, and get many questions answered about spiritual direction. The link to the conversation is here:
*All quotes in this post by Eugene Peterson are taken from the article “On Spiritual Direction” by Eugene Peterson via the Imago Dei Community Blog.
Read Eugene’s full article “On Spiritual Direction” here:
If you'd like to have a conversation about Ignatian spiritual direction, I'd be honored to meet with you. You can reach me at tongua@soulcaresanctuary.org.
Tongua is in her fifth and last year, the final practicum stage, of Ignatian spiritual direction formation training through St. Scholastica Monastery in Fort Smith, Arkansas.