SPIRITUAL DIRECTION
In individual spiritual direction, I typically meet with a directee once a month for 50 minutes to an hour. Through asking gentle questions that invite reflection and making space for silence and prayer, I facilitate the directee’s conversation with God and with themselves, inviting them to a deeper, experiential knowingness of God’s presence and grace in their everyday life.
Recommended for: Anyone who wants to deepen their intimacy with God, who wants to develop discernment either for an immediate situation or over time, or needs to “reset” their relationship with God and prayer due to fatigue, disappointment, disillusionment, grief, or other stressors, or simply the desire for something “more.”
In group spiritual direction, I lead a small group of directees. I both provide direction and give people in the group the tools to direct each other, by teaching and modeling the skill of listening to and asking questions for the purpose of their spiritual formation.
Recommended for: Anyone who feels drawn to spiritual direction, believes they can thrive in a group setting, is comfortable being vulnerable with others, and is willing to practice contemplative listening and questioning. Group spiritual direction can also be more affordable than individual spiritual direction.
SUPERVISION
Supervision is a gift to both director and directees. Supervision provides an opportunity for directors to compassionately explore emotions, thoughts, and other responses that come up in us as we meet with our directees. Left unattended to, these responses can keep us as directors from being fully present to our directees. When we pay attention to them, we are able to notice what God might be saying to us through our experiences. Are we being invited to heal? To excavate a memory? To notice something about an old or new relationship? Or simply to celebrate a good thing that has happened and to feel joy?
Supervision is a key ethical practice for all directors. By inviting us to explore our responses in a nonjudgmental, supportive space, supervision keeps us free to do our work in a direction session. We are able to turn our attention to God and to our directee, without interference from our own stories, wounds, shadow sides, and unexamined assumptions and beliefs. Just as all directors need to be in direction, all directors need to be in supervision.
THE IGNATIAN EXERCISES – 18TH AND 19TH ANNOTATIONS
The Ignatian Spiritual Exercises were developed by St. Ignatius of Loyola. All Jesuit priests must undertake the Exercises at least twice in their lifetime, but they offer anyone who undertakes them a transformative experience of prayer, immersion in Scripture, discernment, and intimacy with God. While the Ignatian Exercises ask a lot of a directee – a commitment to time daily in Scripture reading, reflection, and prayer and a weekly meeting with a director – the rewards are incalculable.
I offer two versions of the Exercises. The 19th Annotation takes places over approximately nine months and requires a weekly meeting with a director, while the 18th Annotation is 11 weeks long and can be undertaken individually or as a small group. It also requires a weekly meeting with a director or with the director and the group.
The Exercises are divided into five “weeks,” but these are not chronological weeks. They are more like stages on a journey or movements in a symphony, with each stage or movement building on the one that came before.
Preparatory Week – Soaking in God’s love for you and all creation
Week 1 – Reflecting on the things that hinder us from fully loving God and others
Week 2 – Journeying with Jesus through his early life and ministry, coming to know, love, and serve him more deeply as an intimate friend
Week 3 – Traveling with our friend in his darkest days and crucifixion, becoming even more aware of his love for us
Week 4 – Experiencing Jesus’ resurrection and reflecting on God’s individual call to us to love the world as God does
Recommended for: The Spiritual Exercises are recommended for someone who has experience with spiritual direction and/or contemplative practices, who is mature in their faith and in spiritual disciplines, and yet feels drawn to go deeper. Some directees are seeking a specific discernment from the time; other directees come without any agenda except a desire to open themselves up further to God.
The shorter 18th Annotation is perfect for someone who has several months of availability, but not the full 9 months, or someone who would like to explore the shorter form of the Exercises, either on their own or as a prelude to discerning whether to go on to the longer form. The time commitment for the 19th Annotation is significantly longer. Along with the longer time frame, however, comes a much deeper engagement with God, the Scriptures, and practices of discernment.
Not recommended for: The Exercises in either form are not recommended for someone who is in the middle of transition or crisis or who is unable to sustain a routine of daily prayer and weekly spiritual direction over a long period of time. Also, if you do not have some experience in spiritual direction and contemplative practices, I recommend starting with monthly spiritual direction before proceeding to the Exercises.
If you would like to meet with me for a direction or supervision appointment, or to inquire about the Ignatian Exercises, please use this scheduling link.