Spiritual Direction

God desires to communicate His life to all believers, and those who have communed deeply with Him can help others mature in their experience of God. Pope Benedict XVI, in a general audience held September 16, 2009, recommended that “everyone -- priests, religious, laypeople -- and especially youth, should have a spiritual director to help them in the Christian life… and [to] lead [them] to union with the Lord, so that [their lives are] increasingly conformed to the Gospel…. We always need a guide … to go to the Lord," the Pope affirmed. "We cannot do it with our reflections alone.”

Spiritual direction offers Christian disciples the companionship of a seasoned believer who has rich experience of knowing and being with God.  Directees can grow to know themselves and God, to deepen their prayer life, and to conform their inner lives to Christ’s example.  Most of all, through the experience of spiritual direction, the “common good [of] prayer” will be enhanced, because prayer enriches and sustains the life of the entire Church.
 

How Can a Spiritual Director be Found?

A mature spiritual guide will give evidence of several “gifts” or “traits” that have developed in him or her through formation as a spiritual director. 

• An ability to hold conversations in strict confidentiality

• Evidence of a prayerful spirit

• An ability to listen intently and non-judgmentally to what others say

• A steady willingness to wait in silence listening for the Holy Spirit’s voice

• A capacity for contemplative recollection

Dcn. Bill Thornberry is currently accepting new clients for Spiritual Direction. Please email him to learn more information and to schedule. St. Peter upon the Water also has a recommended list of spiritual directors to chose from. Click Here to View their Website. 

Persons sensing a call to become a spiritual director can seek out a program designed to form spiritual directors.  The Spiritual Director Formation Program is a three-year program offered by St. Peter upon the Water at the Center in Ingram, Texas. For more information, please click the button below or contact Dcn. Bill Thornberry. 
 

Click Here to Learn More About the Spiritual Direction Program