Spiritual Direction
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esus said that "where two or more are gathered in my name, there am I in their midst." |
Spiritual direction is a "gathering together" of two in the name of Jesus, the spiritual director and the directee, to help a person to develop a closer relationship with God and to better discern how the Holy Spirit is leading in their life.
This website is being developed to answer questions on the faith and to offer some personal spiritual direction and spiritual guidance through e-mail as well as general spiritual direction from the teachings of the Church and lives of the Saints through articles and links to other websites.
Spiritual Reading
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n today's sometimes crazy, mixed-up world, authentic formation in the faith and in the spiritual life are often lacking.
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The goal for this website is to present timeless truths of the Catholic Faith both from the Bible, official teachings of the Church, teachings of the Saints, and the principles of spirituality through articles on this site and through links to other websites.
St. John of the Cross in the Prologue to the Ascent of Mt. Carmel said, ". . . I will not rely on experience or science, for these can fail and deceive us. Although I will not neglect whatever possible use I can make of them, my help in all that, with God's favor, I shall say, will be Sacred Scripture, at least in the most important matters, or those that are difficult to understand. Taking Scripture as our guide we do not err, since the Holy Spirit speaks to us through it. Should I misunderstand or be mistaken on some point, whether I deduce it from Scripture or not, I will not be intending to deviate from the true meaning of Sacred Scripture or from the doctrine of our Holy Mother the Catholic Church. Should there be some mistake, I submit entirely to the Church, or even to anyone who judges more competently about the matter than I."
The above quote with emphasis added in italics, expresses the attitude and goal of this website, to remain faithful to the truth and spiritual guidance handed down and explained through the centuries through the official teachings of the Catholic Church, which was founded on Peter and the apostles by Jesus Christ himself to teach and preach the truth about God and our salvation.
God has an individual plan for each of our lives which varies from person to person and, at the same time, He also created general laws and principles which apply to all people in all ages. God and his ways are eternal, true and relevant regardless of the latest throughts of the modern culture.
The goal in spiritual direction is to seek discernment of how the Holy Spirit is leading in one's own particular life. At the same time we can recognize that God has already revealed much of what we need to know in the Bible and the official teachings of the Church. It is important for us to study and meditate upon the truths that God has publicly revealed as an ongoing part of seeking God's guidance for our own life. Some links to Church teachings and the writings of the Saints are here. Also, click here if interested in information on a personal online spiritual formation course called "Seeking Union with God", which gives an overview of developing the spiritual life.
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This occasional newsletter has articles on general spiritual direction topics such as developing our relationship with God, tips on prayer, solving problems in our personal lives and relationships through Catholic principles and other topics related to the Catholic faith. It includes advice from the Bible, teachings of the Church and writings of the Saints. Your e-mail address is never given out to others for any reason.
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Some examples of past newsletters:
May 2015 Newsletter
September 2009 Newsletter
July 2009 Newsletter |
CatholicSpiritualDirection.org Mission Statement:
CatholicSpiritualDirection.org facilitates personal spiritual direction in the (Roman) Catholic tradition through the internet, by e-mail and by telephone, in order to provide this ministry to those who are unable (by reason of job, family situation, or location) to have the benefit of direction face-to-face. CSD enlists the help of trained, practicing Catholic spiritual directors who have formally committed to remain faithful to the Magisterium of the Church and to abide by an established written code of ethics for spiritual directors. CSD also provides internet-based resources on topics related to spiritual direction (including links to books and articles, the Vatican website, and official Church teachings), a free monthly e-mail newsletter, and online classes on spiritual formation and the Catholic faith.
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Spiritual Direction over the Internet
By Father Ambrose
I think it's quite possible to provide spiritual direction via the net, and I know of many who give and receive direction in this way. But it helps to actually know each other first, and a telephone call from time to time helps, too. It's hard to find directors these days, and so the internet can be a tremendous tool. Someone else suggested to me that one of the positive aspects of having to commit thoughts to written words (whether one is the director or the directee) is that one becomes very careful and more precise about how words are used. One thinks things through in a much more thorough way, too, than might happen in a conversation. Or at least it SHOULD happen that way. We live in a time of very careless use of language.
Except for the spiritual letters of direction by Fenelon, I'm not familiar with the Roman Catholic tradition in this regard, but there are fine examples of spiritual direction via regular snail-mail correspondence in the Orthodox Church. Some have even been published. Perhaps others will point out examples from the Western tradition. Anyway, my point is that if spiritual direction could be given by regular correspondence, then it can surely be done via email, too."
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