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Spiritual Direction
Spiritual Direction is an ancient tradition within the
historic Church whereby an individual seeks to grow closer to God with the help
of another person who is capable of helping them hear the Spirit within.
It is about listening to God with the desire to know and do God's Will, and grow
in Love of God and Charity toward self and others. It can take various forms depending upon the director and directee. In recent years spiritual direction has been known by several
names or descriptions, such as spiritual journeying, co-journeying,
soul-friendship, soul-mentoring, or spiritual-mentoring. Spiritual
direction has been a tradition within the Orthodox and Roman Catholic Church
since the beginning of the Church, regardless of the name that was used for it
in various parts of the world. Soul-friendship was also a sacred tradition
among the pagan Celtic people, and the concept of soul-friendship was readily
baptized into the Christian Faith in the early Church among the Celtic people.
The Celtic monks combined this tradition with the sacrament of Penance as a
normal practice, and influenced the early Church's ritual of the sacrament,
changing it from a public confession and penance once before death, to a private
exchange between the penitent and confessor, and done more frequently than once
before death.
Today, spiritual direction has been rediscovered by
more of the laity within the Catholic Church, and newly discovered by many non-Catholics in growing numbers.
This is one area of spirituality where Christians are
united, i.e., in the desire to grow closer to God and have that close
relationship affect their daily lives.
HOW does it work?
Before beginning spiritual direction, the director and
directee talk together about their practical expectations, and their personal
approach to spiritual direction. They may agree to try the spiritual
relationship for a set time, then to evaluate it before committing to an ongoing
relationship of spiritual direction. In this manner both will feel
comfortable enough to continue together. If the match is not a beneficial
one, it is understood that the directee is free to seek another director.
We will try to help him or her do this so the directee is not left feeling
alone.
Both Bishop Joseph Grenier and Rev/Cait Finnegan are trained
spiritual directors with years of experience.
Bishop Joseph received training in the NY Archdiocese
program for spiritual direction. He has been a spiritual director for the past
42 years.
Rev. Cait received her training at
Oasis Ministries for
Spiritual Directors.
She has been a spiritual director for the past 16 years.
Both are members of
Spiritual Directors International,
as well as the regional chapter of SDI.
To talk with either one of them, or to schedule an
appointment, call 570-595-7950.
Back to St. Ciaran's Community Homepage
the Celtic
Christian Church
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