Wow ! I'd love to chew the fat with you on all of this - it sounds fascinating. It seems to me that definitions of spiritual direction and how it is offered have changed greatly in recent years - I'd love to be more up to date on it all, and explore how it complements/is distinct from 'ordinary' pastoral care.
It seems like there is so much that has been developed in SD even in just the past ten years that I wonder what it was like before that. So many of the texts are relatively new, recently written.
I suppose that an important thing is terminology. Back in the day when I was training 'spiritual direction' was a quite specific calling practiced predominately by religious orders. Since then other churches have caught up with the importance of silence and retreats somewhat, and have adapted rigid definitions to fit with their own experience. I guess 'spiritual direction' fits into the same category as retreats - sometimes its hard to tell what you're signing up to until you experience it.
Wow ! I'd love to chew the fat with you on all of this - it sounds fascinating. It seems to me that definitions of spiritual direction and how it is offered have changed greatly in recent years - I'd love to be more up to date on it all, and explore how it complements/is distinct from 'ordinary' pastoral care.
ReplyDeleteThat would be a most enjoyable conversation.
ReplyDeleteIt seems like there is so much that has been developed in SD even in just the past ten years that I wonder what it was like before that. So many of the texts are relatively new, recently written.
The conversation would be welcome.
I suppose that an important thing is terminology. Back in the day when I was training 'spiritual direction' was a quite specific calling practiced predominately by religious orders. Since then other churches have caught up with the importance of silence and retreats somewhat, and have adapted rigid definitions to fit with their own experience. I guess 'spiritual direction' fits into the same category as retreats - sometimes its hard to tell what you're signing up to until you experience it.
ReplyDelete