FREE THE PRACTICE OF SPIRITUAL DIRECTION PDF William A. Barry | 240 pages | 01 Jun 2009 | HarperCollins Publishers Inc | 9780061652639 | English | New York, United States The Practice of Spiritual Direction - William A. Barry, William J. Connolly - Google книги William A. He entered the Society of Jesus The Practice of Spiritual Directionstudied philosophy in Germany from until and studied theology at Weston College from to Ordained a priest inFather Barry earned a Ph. From tohe served as provincial of the Jesuits in New England. Following that, he served as co-director of the Jesuit Tertianship Program. I recently interviewed Father Barry by email about the Ignatian practice of spiritual direction. Moreover, this experience is viewed, not as an isolated event, but as an expression of the ongoing personal relationship God The Practice of Spiritual Direction established with each one of us. And people seek it out because they want help to develop that relationship. By the way, both The Practice of Spiritual Direction and Protestants and what we might call seekers are intrigued with the idea of talking The Practice of Spiritual Direction someone who promises to listen and to try The Practice of Spiritual Direction help them with their relationship with God. The book mentioned in the last question gives a very long answer to this question. Short answer: I explain to those who come for spiritual direction that I want to help them with their relationship with God and that, as a result, I ask them to pay attention to those times when they are in contact with God or trying to be in contact with God and to tell me what happens in those times. I also focus on their desires in relation to God. Once they get the hang of paying attention to their experience and talking about it, I then help them to discern figure out what is of God in their experience, and what is not of God. I tend to see people once a month. I suppose that the focus on the relationship with God and on the experience of that relationship is particularly Ignatian, but it may not be exclusively Ignatian. And he seems to want the director to pay attention to the experience of the one making the Exercises and to help the person discern. Moreover, he presumes that the relationship develops over time. I was trained as a clinical psychologist, but over time have given myself solely to spiritual direction and the Spiritual Exercises. I see the difference as having to do with the focus of the sessions. Counseling and psychotherapy focus on the difficulties people have The Practice of Spiritual Direction their personal and professional lives as a result of behavior patterns that have developed over time but which are not helpful now. Spiritual direction focuses on what happens when a person attends to the relationship with God. Both types of help at least with those forms of counseling and psychotherapy called talking therapies rely on the desire of the person coming to the session for some help. I tend to think that it may be the Holy Spirit who is the source of this desire in both cases, whether the person knows it or not. I had, from my early years as a Jesuit, had an interest in Ignatian spirituality. My interest in psychology had something to do The Practice of Spiritual Direction that other interest, I believe. In my second year at Weston, in the fall ofour province started a series of weekend workshops led by Dominic Marucca, S. At the first weekend the penny dropped when I realized that I could use the skills of listening and conversation I had learned at the University of Michigan to help people talk about The Practice of Spiritual Direction experience of God. I was ecstatic. At that same weekend five other Jesuits and I began discussing a center for Ignatian spirituality which developed into the Center for Religious Development which The Practice of Spiritual Direction Provincial approved and which opened in the fall of The purpose of this center was to give spiritual direction, train spiritual directors and do research and writing on spiritual direction. In conjunction with Weston School of Theology we offered a school-year-long practicum for people with some experience as spiritual directors. The program lasted two semesters. I have never looked back. I find the work of spiritual direction challenging and invigorating and a great joy. And why not? God is never boring. God is so surprising, so creative and so desirous of our friendship. I have come to realize that God has promised us only that he will be with us; God does not promise success, health, The Practice of Spiritual Direction long life; but he has promised that he will be with us through everything life throws at us. Such fidelity over centuries brings tears to my eyes. What a gift he gave the church in that book! I have also been privileged to share great joys and great sorrows with many people as they move closer and closer to God. And I also have the grace to be able to continue this work even into my eighties, and for as long as my faculties continue to function helpfully for others. I feel as though my work is prayer, and that is a great grace indeed. Finally, since God is God, I am constantly surprised by joy. The biggest challenges came in the beginning, I think. I made all the mistakes of any beginner, allowing my concerns to get in the way The Practice of Spiritual Direction listening. For instance, the first time I directed some people in an eight day retreat, I had ideas for each day as to what texts might be helpful, what themes might come up, etc. Of course, these got in the way of my listening to what the retreatant was looking for from God. However, when people suffer intractable problems or persistent dryness in prayer, then I have to remind myself, or be reminded in supervision, of my need to trust in God and to keep to my belief about what my role is as a spiritual director. Another challenge is to care for everyone who comes for spiritual direction. All of us have our likes and dislikes, but if I cannot come to some liking of a person, I will not be able to be of The Practice of Spiritual Direction help to him or her. I have been surprised how often such prayer works. I would first find out why they are thinking of trying spiritual direction to get some idea of their motivation. If I sensed that the reason had to do with a desire to develop a deeper relationship with God, then I would give them the names of some possible directors. I would tell them that they should try it out with someone for a few sessions and then ask themselves how they feel and whether they are getting some help with their relationship with God. The typical setting is some kind of office space or room that is private, but also public, at least in the sense that others could see in. The latter caveat has been introduced since the abuse crisis. The format is informal. Some directors use a candle or some other symbol; some begin each session with a prayer. After the usual greetings that make people feel at home, I usually ask how things are going. Since I have set the focus as the relationship with God, this is usually where we start, namely with The Practice of Spiritual Direction has been happening in that relationship since the last time we met. We converse about the experiences of the directee. I ask questions that facilitate a reflection on these experiences and on what is of God in them. As The Practice of Spiritual Direction session winds down, we talk about the next steps the person will take in the relationship The Practice of Spiritual Direction God. When the directee is satisfied that he or she knows where to go next, we finish. I think I answered this question when I answered the first one. I believe that purpose is to help another to develop a deeper relationship with God. All of us can get untracked in the relationship with The Practice of Spiritual Direction at any stage of life. Every image of God we have is an idol, but some are more true to who God is than others. In fact, I think that God is constantly showing us the inadequacy of our images as we deepen our friendship with God. I guess that something similar happens in any close friendship; there is always something new to learn about anyone since we are mysteries to ourselves as well as to others. But God The Practice of Spiritual Direction really Mystery itself. So relating to God means constantly giving up our mistaken notions and images of who God is. Perhaps when we do see God face to face whatever that meansI have often said, we will finally know for sure that God is Mystery itself, but then we will be overjoyed that this is so, because then we will know that God is God, not just a bigger being than we. I am grateful to have been asked these questions. In this book he developed from his The Practice of Spiritual Direction experience a way of showing others how to help people The Practice of Spiritual Direction their relationship with God. I have come to believe that God has always wanted us human beings as companions and friends and as helpers in the great work of creation, which is to bring about what Jesus called the Kingdom of God.