Holy Listening

I recently decided to re-read some books on spiritual direction. I thought that it might be interesting to see how they are now that I have a lot more experience under my belt. The first one that I chose to read was “Holy Listening” by Margaret Guenther. I really enjoyed reading this anew after many years. I appreciate her approach to spiritual direction. Here are some of the highlights:

 

1. Directors as Amateurs

 

She talks about directors being amateurs and not professionals. Directors should never see themselves as authorities or gurus, but as fellow travelers.

 

She says “… the amateur is one who loves, loves the art that she serves, loves and prays for the people who trust her, loves the Holy Spirit who is the true director in this strange ministry called spiritual direction.”

 

I think that there is a freedom in being an amateur. We are free to love the practice and to understand that we are continuing to grow and mature ourselves. Being free from any professional rules or oversight lets it be more fully about God.

 

2. Direction is not to fix things

 

She says “Another debilitating effect of the drive and greed of a consumer society on the life of the spirit is the assumption that everything is, in principle, fixable. True spiritual direction is about the great unfixables in human life”

 

This is so true! Therapy seeks to fix things. Direction is simply companioning someone on their journey through life with God, helping them to hear His voice.

 

3. Blessed silliness

 

She also emphasizes that the spiritual life needs to have play in it too. She coins the phrase “blessed silliness” and encourages her directees to make sure that there is recreation built into their lives. This is a good reminder for us all.

 

4. Women

 

Her final chapter deals with women directees and directors. It is a marvelous essay on how women are perceived in society and how they perceive themselves as a result. These are key issues to keep in mind while working with female directees.