Importance of Spiritual Direction
"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 28:19). This verse has paramount value if you are asking what the Church is for. Most Christians misunderstand the whole point of the Church, which is to spread the Gospel as opposed to something to make one feel better about life. This mission extends to every person. There are many layers to this process, many moments of becoming what one was made to be, and one can't understand exactly what needs to happen within the self to make what we are called to, especially in light of our corruption. Moreover, not everyone has a degree in theology. This is where spiritual direction comes in. Spiritual direction keeps us humble, confident of the path we follow, and accountable in doing so.
Firstly, and perhaps foremostly, we like to think we have life all figured out no one would possibly have a better perspective than we. It is precisely the moment we feel we understand exactly what God has in mind and what He would want that we must severely question the supposed truth. In dialogue with the tempter and enemy, Eve assented to believing what God had in mind (Genesis 3:1-10). It was at that moment, the trust in Eve's heart shattered. Suddenly, existence itself was not trustworthy. This is objectively the wrong perspective. It takes lots of prayer and openness to receive the next step God invites you to, let alone God's whole divine and loving plan. Human intuition is not reliable in most circumstances, it is bound to come up with the wrong answer in this case. If there is one thing that Christianity asserts, it is that everything that is wrong now began to be wrong when man thought He understood completely. Let us get over ourselves and realize it is not even possible, for us to finally know what is best for us and that only God does.
Second, spiritual directors commit themselves to helping us find what God has planned for us. The key here is we are blind to what is best more often than not. Even authentic discipleship is only partially capable of moving you down the right path. By committing to the Lord's guidance, a spiritual director compliments what we experience in prayer, by putting things into proper language and giving us the extra interpretive key that we need to fully understand what God is doing and wants for us. Knowing what God has designed for our life in our spiritual vocation to the Spouse of our nature, our state in life vocation, and the other freedoms/calls we are given, respectively, we can act in a peace-saturated, confidence that what we do is God's will and is ordered to our salvation and that of others. This applies to small and specific choices as well as grand, life-determining choices.
Third, spiritual directors keep us accountable. Discipleship, which is a less intense form of spiritual guidance, does this somewhat as well but not in the same particular way. We need to be specific and intentional about how we love God, others, and ourselves. Without a particular understanding of what God wants in each of our relationships, our lives return to being egocentric. However, we are not our own, and our lives are not meant to be about ourselves, but about others (1 Corinthians 6:20). The more we keep ourselves accountable, the less we are tempted to interpret a given problem, trial, joy, or consolation as only destined for ruining/improving only our own lives. Moreover, if we truly believe in the Gospel, our lives will look different than those around us.
In conclusion, at the very least at the outset, having someone who understands the spiritual life guiding you is paramount. We definitely want someone whose life we find attractive and to be a whole person, because undoubtedly, we will come to be like them. We do not have what it takes on your own to save yourself, and very often we misunderstand Christ's command int he particular ways we apply them. The Gospel is not "show up to the sacraments and go on with life", but rather a transformation of one's life to be conformed to Christ rather than this age. After all, the scriptures say, "do not rely on your own insight"(Proverbs 3:5-6). It is rare that a Saint is given a supernatural ability to accomplish God's plan alone, without a director/friend, etc. as in the case of Joan of Arc, and they are usually martyrs. Life as usual is often an even greater struggle. All of the spiritual masters of Catholicism had spiritual directors. Are actually will to and searching for what God has planned for you or are you comfortable with whatever you think is best? How sure are you that you will be able to say to Christ on Judgment day, "We are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done" (Luke 17:10)?
Written by Carter Carruthers & also available soon at Missio Dei
From A Pillar of Wisdom":
Sometimes I’m unsure,
of the way I should go
and I wish I had me . . .
a pillar of light to show.
For my troubles and cares,
cloud up my vision
and I need God’s clarity
to make my decision.
Sometimes I’m hesitant,
deciding the best route
and I need God’s guidance
to clear up any doubt.
