Spiritual Direction I & 2 LRM2 Goals: To provide a brief overview of Major streams of Spiritual...

Spiritual Direction I & 2LRM2

• Goals:

• To provide a brief overview of Major streams of Spiritual Direction.

• Specific focus on the tradition of groups and social action

• Specific focus The Roman Catholic Tradition


• DM Henderson A Model for Making Disciples: John Wesley’s Class Meeting 1997

• W A Barry Spiritual Direction and the Encounter with God 1992

• W A Barry and W J Connolly The Practice of Spiritual Direction 1982

• G Moon and D Benner eds Spiritual Direction and the Care of Souls 2004

• T Merton Spiritual Direction and Meditation 1975


Definition of Spiritual direction:• “The Leading of a disciple to God” Moon 2004:

49

• “A continuous process of formation and guidance, in which a Christian is led and encouraged in his special vocation, so that by faithful correspondence to the graces of the Holy Spirit he may attain to the particular end of his vocation and to union with God”. Professional Religious

Merton 1987:15


Definition of Spiritual direction:Help given by one Christian to another

which enables that person to pay attention to God’s personal communication to him or her, to respond to the personally communication God, to grow in intimacy with this God, and to live out the consequences of the relationship. (Barry 1992: 8)

Many other definitions….


Historical forms of Spiritual Direction

• Orthodox

• Roman Catholic

• Anglican

• Reformed

• Wesleyan-Holiness

• Social Justice

• Pentecostal/Charismatic(Moon 2004)


• Orthodox– Monastic– Restoration of the image of God– Process of healing the heart– sacramental and corporate context– Spiritual Director is:

4. Mediator5. sponsor – the director takes responsibility for his children

1. Doctor of the soul

2. Counsellor – teach and advise

3. intercessor


Roman Catholic

Spiritual direction becomes specifically RC when it is done within the context of the Catholic Church’s understanding of Scripture, is connected to its sacraments, and draws on the teaching and guidelines that have protected and fostered a variety of spiritualities over the centuries of the church’s history


• Rich and varied tradition - St Francis, St Francis de Sales, a Kempis & Vatican II

• Historically seen as for the ‘Religious’• Experiential process – one’s lived relationship

with God.

• Ignatian spiritual exercises - Lectio Divina

• Like Orthodox director – directee hierarchical relationship


The director helps a person to:

1. Understanding of unique divine relationships

2. To live as a disciple of JC

3. Use the means of nurturing and ie methods of prayer, meditation, and asceticism,

4. To recognize and disarm forces or sin that destroys this relationship

5. To experience the power and fruits of this relationship by responding to Jesus’ gospel imperative of witness and mission.


Anglican of course in the RC tradition – – in the ordination service like the Orthodox and RC

churches the implication is the the priest will be a spiritual director of the flock.

• next step after evangelism.

• Hourly meetings or retreats.

• Strong instructional element

• Horizontal and hierarchical

• Influence of RC Cursillo retreats

• Often a suspicion toward & bias against dramatic conversion experiences


Reformed Tradition • spiritual direction was off the agenda of the

early reformers – stressed grace alone – • – Presbyterian piety – but intentional

disciplines smacked of works righteousness – • Reacted against the sacrament of

confession.. Which was key in Orthodox and and Roman Catholic Tradition.

• Groups – Writers in spiritual direction often don’t recognize the corporate spiritual direction in protestant.


Social Justice

• Recognizes a bias towards only seeing spiritual direction as individual

• Relationship between the horizontal and the vertical.

• Justice is so closely linked to spiritual maturity in scripture that there cannot be spiritual growth without this concept

• De Renty – 1611 Catholic nobleman.


• Dorothy DayThe greatest challenge of the day is: how to bring about a

revolution of the heart, a revolution which has to start with each one of us? When we begin to take the lowest place, to wash the feet of others, to love our brothers with that burning love, that passion, which led to the Cross, then we can truly say, "Now I have begun"

Mother Teresa – A mystic.

“I meet Christ each morning in the sacrament so that I can meet Christ in the face of each person I meet in the day”


• Pentecostal/Charismatic– emphasis is on the work of the HS in the life

of the believer. Often centres on a quest to recapture the experience of the early heady days. The experience of the spirit during those days was life changing.


• ‘The search for renewal has taken charismatics and Pentecostals from Tulsa to Toronto, from Pensacola to Azusa and back to the local church. From revivals to renewal conference, study pamphlets to cassettes and back to the prayer closet, Pentecostals and charismatics have sought to experience the freshness of the Spirit. For some, ‘spiritual direction’ means getting direction to the location of a revival meeting.’

“Gladstone” 205

Wesleyan-HolinessEight major concepts that form the bulwark of

Wesley’s Discipleship (Henderson 1997: 128)• Human nature is perfectible by God’s grace.• Learning comes by doing the will of God• Human nature is perfected by participation in

groups, not by acting as isolated individuals.• The spirit and practice of primitive Christianity can

and must be recaptured.• Human progress will occur if people will participate in

‘the means of grace.’• The gospel must be presented to the poor.• social evil is not to be ’resisted,’ but overcome with

good.• The primary function of spiritual/educational

leadership is to equip others to lead and minister, not to perform the ministry personally.


Renovaré exists to inspire and support you in developing an integrated and fulfilled life as a disciple of Jesus Christ.

A modern Wesleyan renewal movement???

Renovaré exists to inspire and support you in developing an integrated and fulfilled life as a disciple of Jesus Christ.


• Spiritual Formation Groups• Six Streams is a • Practical strategy for spiritual growth • utilises various tools (conferences, personal and group

retreats, the reading of devotional classics, and long-term commitment to spiritual renewal.)

• The heart is Spiritual Formation Groups with a commitment to renewal, Common Disciplines and Questions of the Heart that measure spiritual progress.

• Mutual commitment to growth


We gather together with one aim – to become better disciples of Jesus Christ. We do this by encouraging one another to keep Jesus’ word, which, as he said, is what we naturally do when we love him (John 14:23-24). Through the grace of mutual accountability, we strive to inspire one another to love and good works.


The Renovaré Covenant – read in unison

• In utter dependence upon Jesus ChristAs my everliving Saviour, Teacher, Lord, and FriendI will seek continual renewal through:

• Spiritual exercises,• Spiritual gifts, and• Acts of service.

By God’s grace, I will set aside time regularly for prayer, meditation, and spiritual reading and will seek to practise the presence of GodI will strive mightily against sin and will do deeds of love and mercyI will welcome the Holy Spirit, exercising the gifts and nurturing the fruit while living in the joy and power of the SpiritI will endeavour to serve others everywhere I can and will work for justice in all human relationships and social structuresI will share my faith with others as God leads and will study the Scriptures regularlyI will joyfully seek to show forth the presence of God in all that I am, in all that I do, in all that I say


Director Directee spiritual direction in the Roman Catholic tradition…

Share you experiences…


The advantages of exploring you more deeply – groups are not equipped for this usually.

Meyer Briggs


Life transforming and evangelistic…

The Monastery

Take 5 minutes to discuss how Spiritual Direction individually, small groups and retreats can be understood missionally and evangelistically in your setting.


Taize,

Mother Teresa

Other examples of well know spiritual direction/development Icons

Spiritual Direction I & 2 LRM2 Goals: To provide a brief overview of Major streams of Spiritual...

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