Spiritual direction can help us discern God’s will

Every day, of course, is a new opportunity to give thanks to God for our blessings and to ask for the strength to face our challenges. We thank God for the good things in our lives. It’s also a reality that the death of a loved one, a sickness in the family, the loss of a job or the end of a relationship can bring us to a place where we have a unique need for God and ask new questions about life.

 

Many Catholics make it a practice to attend daily Mass during Lent, and that can open up a new appreciation for the church’s wisdom through the Scriptures and can provide food for our spiritual journey through more frequent reception of the Eucharist. Opportunities for confession are more available.

 

Every church of the archdiocese will offer confession on Wednesday evenings, from 5 to 6:30 p.m., on March 18, March 25 and April 1. I also would encourage everyone to spend 10 minutes or more each day disconnected from the noise of the world – silent time that can be used to read the Bible or other spiritually uplifting material and talking to God freely from our heart. Many people also make use of spiritual direction.
 

What do you mean by spiritual direction?
 

Spiritual direction is a faith-building activity in which a person meets with a trained spiritual director, usually once a month, to pray and examine how God is working in his or her life. It may surprise people to know that it’s not just priests or deacons or religious women and men who make use of spiritual direction. It’s for anyone who desires to have a closer relationship with the Lord and to discern his will. We have hundreds of laypersons who visit regularly with spiritual directors.

 

In fact, in the last decade, under the direction of Sister Dot Trosclair, a Dominican Sister of Peace, the Archdiocesan Spirituality Center has trained approximately 300 persons to serve as spiritual directors. Some of these spiritual directors are nuns and priests, but many are laypersons who have been trained and certified to serve in this capacity. Spiritual direction is separate and distinct from faith companioning and pastoral counseling.

 

In spiritual direction, the emphasis is exclusively on the person coming forward for spiritual direction and the person’s relationship with God. Faith companioning is more of a back and forth between persons on their journey of faith. Pastoral counseling is counseling. Sometimes when people come for spiritual direction, it might be recommended that a person go for counseling for a specific issue. But spiritual direction is about prayer, how that relates to your everyday life and seeing God’s movement in the life of the individual person.
 

How do people become spiritual directors?
 

We have a two-year internship program through the Archdiocesan Spirituality Center through which people can become trained spiritual directors. It’s very important that they go through this training in order that we as an archdiocese provide the very best in spiritual direction. In the last 10 years, we have trained spiritual directors for many of the dioceses in Louisiana. If people in the Archdiocese of New Orleans are interested in finding a spiritual director, they can call the Archdiocesan Spirituality Center at (504) 861-3254. The center has a book that contains the biographical profiles of each trained spiritual director from which to choose.
 

Who would benefit from spiritual direction?
 

Anyone could benefit. It could be people who have questions about their faith lives, people who feel something is missing in their lives praying as they were as a child. Spiritual direction is for anyone who really desires to grow in closer relationship with God. It also could be for someone seeking more clarity about how God is acting in their lives and discerning God’s will.
 

What’s the normal schedule for spiritual direction?
 

The norm is to meet with your spiritual director once a month for about an hour. The director listens to you about your prayer life. The director is trained to listen to what a person says and help the person notice where God is in their daily life and in their heart. This is about discerning God’s will in our lives. In fact, during Lent, the Spirituality Center is presenting a special seminar entitled

 

“Discerning God’s Presence in Every Moment of the Day,” Mondays from 7 to 9 p.m. through April 6. How many times have we asked ourselves, “How do I know if I am doing God’s will?” This would be a great opportunity to learn more about prayerful discernment in making decisions – both small, everyday ones and life-changing ones. The Spirituality Center is also offering a “Lenten Retreat in Daily Life,” which is an individually directed retreat designed for those who would like to make a retreat during Lent but can’t get away to a retreat center.

 

The retreatant meets with a spiritual director once a week during Lent and is given prayer suggestions. During their private spiritual direction session, the spiritual director will help the retreatant experience God’s presence in his or her life. This would be a great way for people to discover what spiritual direction is all about. Have a blessed Lent!