Very cool that they have such an organized program. There’s a shortage of spiritual directors and many dioceses don’t seem to want to be involved. My diocese has a list that’s out of date.
> “A bad spiritual director can do a lot of harm,” he said.
St John of the Cross has an epic rant about that in Living Flame of Love (the rest of the book is quite different and is essentially about this article's final quote: “God has so much more for them than they even dare to ask for”; worth a look.)
I am happy to see the issue of payment addressed. A community of religious sisters were recommended to me, and I decided to give one of them a try. I knew right away that we were not a good fit so I wasn’t worried about an ongoing expense, but I was surprised to be asked for payment of a specific amount as soon as the fifty minutes were up. I was interested in knowing if this was the norm.
Interesting. I have never encountered that and I do not think that I would go to spiritual direction that charged by the hour as though it is therapy (not because people's time has no value, but because I have experienced subtly-misaligned incentives in one of the various seasons where I went to therapy: there is no incentive to say "I cannot help you and here's why" and there is an incentive to not say it and let the paying customers figure out on their own eventually. Though probably it's also because people who are blunt enough to tell customers to take a hike do not become therapists.)
There are varying opinions on that. The simplest and, I think, most grounded in the history and practice of the Church is that payment gets in the way of the relationship. What we are given, we gratefully receive and in turn offer freely if given the opportunity, especially if the director is a layman. I can understand freewill offerings to religious orders or to a parish for the time invested by priests and religious in this ministry, but it should never be a requirement.
Indeed. There are a plethora of “spiritual direction” trainings that are horrendous. There are a comparatively small number of faithful Catholic programs that have the right combination of competence and orthodoxy.
There is a lay apostolate here in Kansas City that trains people: https://schooloffaith.com/spiritual-mentorship so that is how I found my spiritual director. Cool to see the Charleston diocese take this approach!
Excellent article! I am involved in a program called: School of Faith. This school consists of two in person retreats per year for two years and online ongoing education. After completing the educational requirements and working with a mentor I will become a Spiritual Mentor myself.
Dr. Mike Scherschlight and Dr. Troy Hinkel are the President/Co-President and Founders of the School of Faith. This program is perfectly aligned with the Magisterium.
Again, thank you for bringing this much needed article to the forefront.
Very cool that they have such an organized program. There’s a shortage of spiritual directors and many dioceses don’t seem to want to be involved. My diocese has a list that’s out of date.
> “A bad spiritual director can do a lot of harm,” he said.
St John of the Cross has an epic rant about that in Living Flame of Love (the rest of the book is quite different and is essentially about this article's final quote: “God has so much more for them than they even dare to ask for”; worth a look.)
I am happy to see the issue of payment addressed. A community of religious sisters were recommended to me, and I decided to give one of them a try. I knew right away that we were not a good fit so I wasn’t worried about an ongoing expense, but I was surprised to be asked for payment of a specific amount as soon as the fifty minutes were up. I was interested in knowing if this was the norm.
Interesting. I have never encountered that and I do not think that I would go to spiritual direction that charged by the hour as though it is therapy (not because people's time has no value, but because I have experienced subtly-misaligned incentives in one of the various seasons where I went to therapy: there is no incentive to say "I cannot help you and here's why" and there is an incentive to not say it and let the paying customers figure out on their own eventually. Though probably it's also because people who are blunt enough to tell customers to take a hike do not become therapists.)
My union benefits will pay for spiritual direction, so I would voluntarily pay.
I wouldn't feel comfortable at all with such a strict fee payment system either.
There are varying opinions on that. The simplest and, I think, most grounded in the history and practice of the Church is that payment gets in the way of the relationship. What we are given, we gratefully receive and in turn offer freely if given the opportunity, especially if the director is a layman. I can understand freewill offerings to religious orders or to a parish for the time invested by priests and religious in this ministry, but it should never be a requirement.
I suspect spiritual directors may need oversight. I heard of one that advocates ordination of women in a diocesan spirituality center.
Indeed. There are a plethora of “spiritual direction” trainings that are horrendous. There are a comparatively small number of faithful Catholic programs that have the right combination of competence and orthodoxy.
There is a lay apostolate here in Kansas City that trains people: https://schooloffaith.com/spiritual-mentorship so that is how I found my spiritual director. Cool to see the Charleston diocese take this approach!
Excellent article! I am involved in a program called: School of Faith. This school consists of two in person retreats per year for two years and online ongoing education. After completing the educational requirements and working with a mentor I will become a Spiritual Mentor myself.
Schooloffaith.com
Dr. Mike Scherschlight and Dr. Troy Hinkel are the President/Co-President and Founders of the School of Faith. This program is perfectly aligned with the Magisterium.
Again, thank you for bringing this much needed article to the forefront.