Spiritual Direction
The Rev. Michael Dean Vinson / Lent, 2023, Issue 6
"Christ has risen!” The Christmas Epiphany season has come to an end, as signaled by the Presentation of Christ in the Temple, which occurs forty days after his birth and is celebrated by the church on February 2nd as it has been since the 4th century. It is a feast that our Eastern brothers and sisters call hypapante, meaning 'The Meeting' of our Lord and Simeon, who, in encountering Israel's Messiah in the flesh, holding him in his hands, declares, "Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace according to thy word. For mine eyes have seen thy salvation" (Nunc dimitis). With Simeon, we have also encountered God by the incarnation of the Son; we have beheld the salvation of the Lord with our eyes.
Now begins a transition away from the festal towards the penitential. It is time to reorient ourselves with Christ, his passion, and Cross. Thus, the 'gesima' Sundays serve as a 'pre-lenten' time of transition into the forty days of Lent. Septuagesima is 70 days from Easter, Sexigesima 60, and Quinquagesima 50. Over these 'gesima' Sundays, Lenten preparation mainly consists of attending to prayer and Christian instruction with renewed vigor and determination. Contemplation and introspection serve us well as we seek for the Spirit to encourage and admonish us in the spiritual life of those things we must grasp more tightly and those which must be let go... or even put to death.
Every Christian needs a guide, a 'soul friend,’ a director of the soul. All of us, from the least to the greatest, are like the Ethiopian Eunuch, asking, "How can I understand unless someone guides me?” (Acts 8:26). We all need a spiritual director. In his book titled Spiritual Direction, Martin Thornton defines spiritual direction "as the application of theology to the life of prayer." Thornton goes on to say that "spiritual direction is concerned with religion, and intrinsically with nothing else. Religion is expressed in prayer, which is the ongoing relationship between men and women with God in Christ, given in baptism." Thomas Aquinas puts it this way: prayer is "loving God in act so that the divine life can communicate itself to us and through us to the world." St. Paul calls this "faith working through love" (Galatians 5:6). Spiritual direction, then, seeks to fulfill the command to love by guiding the Christian into greater intimacy with the Lord Jesus Christ.
If you haven't yet figured it out... I'm encouraging you to embrace and take the first steps in spiritual direction as an important piece of your Lenten disciplines: AS THE LORD LEADS YOU! A few considerations. First, spiritual direction isn't 'required' of any Christian! Here we look to the old adage: "All should, some may, none must!" Second, spiritual direction IS NOT COUNSELING in the modern sense; it isn't therapy. Spiritual direction is a positive enterprise, rather than a negative one, meant to propel the Christian further into a life of prayer lived in the light of the divine presence. In this sense, it isn't synonymous with 'pastoral care'’ which falls under the category of ordinary Christian charity, not spiritual direction. Third, a spiritual director can be the parish priest, but not in every case, though your parish priest should help discern and direct you to a 'soul-friend'. Fourth, spiritual directors are to be sought out and initiated by the client, not the other way around.
What steps should I take?
First, seek God in prayer, asking him to affirm the desire for guidance in the spiritual life. Then, set a time to visit with me or Fr. Templin. This will begin a process of 'diagnosing' your attrait, your natural spiritual propensities, inclinations, and attractants related to Christian piety and prayer. After concluding the necessary diagnostics, an approach to prayer and spiritual growth will emerge, which your director will guide you through. The frequency of meetings and other specifics will organically become clear through the process; however, the penitential seasons of Lent and Advent should compel a meeting with your director and serve as opportunities for assessment, adjustment, and encouragement. Last but not least, one should be prepared to commit to a minimum three-year relationship with his or her director. St. Benedict understood the monastery as a School of Christ specifically set apart from society as a place of continuous and advanced prayer and devotion to God. For us 'everyday monks, ' the parish is our school, where we learn to worship, pray, and love. Therefore, I encourage you to come forward, seek out guidance, and find a fellow traveler for the journey.
