While Spiritual Direction enjoys a long history within the Church, it appears to be experiencing a welcome resurgence in our era. As early as the fourth century, Christians sought out the holy hermits in the deserts of Palestine, Syria, and Egypt to learn how to live entirely for God. Succeeding generations continued the search with reliable guides. In each century, spiritual masters like Saint Catherine of Sienna, Saint Ignatius of Loyola, Saint John of the Cross, Saint Teresa of Avila, and Saint Francis de Sales, to name just a few, have guided this longing in Christian hearts for a personal relationship with God.

Living Stone Guesthouse

Today, Living Stone Guesthouse recognizes the increasing relevance of the Christian mystical and spiritual tradition as a means whereby a person can explore, deepen, and understand his/her unique journey toward God. While Living Stone Guesthouse is grounded in the spirituality of St. Benedict, hospitality, and his rule, varied approaches may be used in offering Spiritual Direction. Benedictinism offers a practical way to live out the gospel, emphasizing prayer and scripture, work, and holy leisure. It is always relational.

Benedictine Spirituality “offers more a way of life and an attitude of mind than it does a set of religious prescriptions. This early monastic rule is part of the Wisdom tradition of Christianity and is rooted in the Bible for its inspiration and its end. It deals with the meaning and purpose of life. Its logic is the logic of daily life lived in Christ and lived well. The spiritual life is not a set of exercises appended to our ordinary routine. It is a complete reordering of our values and our priorities and our lives. Winning, owning, having, consuming, and controlling are not the high posts of the spiritual life.The point of Benedictine spirituality is that we have to decide, once and for all, what we are about and then live in a way that makes that possible and makes that real.”

(Joan Chittister, Insight for the Ages, 1993)

What is Spiritual Direction?

Spiritual Direction is prayerful, active rendering of a service of sensitive presence and support to another as he/she risks sharing his/her spiritual journey. The role of the spiritual director is to assist the directee in discerning the particular path on which God is leading him/her, and encouraging the directee to faithfully follow that path. The director helps the directee clarify one’s beliefs, expands one’s understanding of God, or consciously focus one’s life so that it can be more God-centered.

A Spiritual Director helps one model his/her life in the image and likeness of Jesus Christ. Spiritual Direction fosters the ongoing process of putting “on a new self which will progress towards true knowledge the more it is renewed in the image of its Creator” (COL 3:10).

Spiritual Direction is separate and distinct from other forms of counseling such as: pastoral counseling, psychotherapy, or analysis. Spiritual Direction establishes a special relationship, which helps a person grow in their relationship with God through prayer. Like these counseling approaches, confidentiality is definitely maintained in Spiritual Direction.

Living Stone Guesthouse prefers the term, spiritual direction rather than spiritual companioning. More than walking along with someone on his/her spiritual journey, spiritual direction helps guide the directee in his/her personal process while moving toward particular goals. According to Ronald Rohlheiser in his book The Holy Longing (1999), four non-negotiable essentials are part of Spirituality: Private prayer, devotion, and morality; Social justice and social action; Involvement in a worshipping community; and Mellowness of heart and spirit. These four pillars offer more than sufficient areas for exploration.