Spiritual direction

St Teresa of Avila though saintly in herself chose St John
of the Cross as her spiritual director

Almighty God orders our lives with the sole goal of reaching Him who is our ultimate end. He has a unique name for each one of us from the foundation of the world, in that name is bound up our role in life. No one of us is reproducible and each one is so richly endowed with supernatural uniqueness that only an eternal God can fathom.

In this journey to Him, we travel along unique roads and no one can fit into another shoes. Our very nature and strengths speak to these roles and what is required of us is to accept what we are here for. These roles define our individuality which when put together work together to build up the body of Christ, the Church. Even to those who turn away from Him He still honours their individuality with the opportunity to shine a message even in their twisted view of life and its purpose. For God so loved the world that He gave us His one and only son to be the bridge from a sinful world to where we ought to be.

In the Lord of the rings, only Frodo could carry the ring to Mordo, however, he could only do so after making a free choice at the council of Elrond. It this free choice that shaped up his character and brought out who he really was. However, not only Frodo had a unique role; Sam had to be the brave and stalwart that ensured that the ring reached its destruction, also Sam could only assume his proper role after he was tasked to do so by Gandalf and he accepted. Sometimes our roles are appear to be decided and shaped in response to a need to which only we can satisfy, and the push seems to come from those around us.

The journey to Almighty God is not a lonely one and cannot be shaped by one person. It takes friends to help us accomplish these roles and in so doing we build lasting fellowships that strengthen us on the way to become who we were designed to be. In this journey when the time of adversity comes and our time of testing dawns one never sees the bigger picture. All we see around us is darkness, not that Almighty God casts in darkness but just as our eyes are blinded by a brilliant light when it is suddenly shined upon us, so also the eyes of the soul is blinded by the brilliance of God who carries us in such times. It is during these times of trial and difficulty that we are granted the opportunity to truly shine, if we hold on with filial trust. In May 2011 Pope Benedict XVI said that anyone who wants to live his or her baptism responsibly should have a spiritual director. This is the tradition of the Church and can be see in the teachings of the saints throughout the ages. St Teresa of Avila is on record as having said “The person who has himself as a spiritual director has a fool for a director” and this is echoed by St Bernard who said whoever constitutes himself his own guide, becomes a disciple of a fool. This is because not even opening the Bible will help us in the dark night of the soul.

It takes a person outside of ourselves with knowledge of the mystical ways of the Lord (St John of the Cross) to see the hand of Almighty God in our lives at those times. Just as a spectator in a game of chess would see our way clear so also others can see what is happening to us with a better sense of clarity than ourselves. St Claire and St Augustine once taught that ‘find for yourselves models of spirituality that are holy and worthy to direct you’ [paraphrasing]; not every priest can be a spiritual director, in fact not only clerics or nuns can fit this profile but those whose who enter the house of the Lord with reverence (St Augustine). A spiritual director does not need to tell you how to live but rather discern from your experiences and state of being the best advise to give you.

Just as in the Lord of the rings Frodo needed Sam, and Gandalf needed Aragorn as much as Aragorn needed Gandalf and Aragorn needed Lord Elrond to discern the way forward under the circumstances so too are we called to walk in unison with others more schooled in the ways of the Lord. Every Christian needs a spiritual director, not their confessor but a guide in times of trial as well as in times of spiritual prosperity.

One preacher once said that the difference priestly ordination and baptism is the anointing of the hands all receive the same anointing of the head. Baptism thus puts a mark on our heads that marks us as enemies of the devil and his camp. We are at war even if we believe this or not, the attacks of the devil do not cease just because we are Christian and we pray to God. In fact they intensify, the fight is against God and anyone that dares to go to God’s side becomes the devil’s sworn enemy. This means even in prayer we are tempted and we are more in danger when we are holy for then we begin to be spiritually proud and to judge others. The devil knows the Bible more than we do and he can confound us with verses that seem to support our way of thought whenever we lower our guard.

All the baptised are called to holiness and to be great saints and responding to this call does not require great acts but rather careful and guided small steps. It takes a great act of humility to realise that we need help in our journey to God. St Augustine said “Thou hast made us to journey towards thee O God and our hearts are restless until they rest in thee”.