Dear <<First Name>> ,
 
Who needs Spiritual Direction?
 
Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth and the Life, and the Gospel is the roadmap for our life as disciples. Walking with Him, listening to Him, imitating Him is the surest way of reaching our destination, which is union with God in love. It’s a great adventure, but the road has many twists and turns, and as time goes by we come to realize that we need all the help we can get along the way.
 
The Scriptures, the Sacraments, and all the riches of the Church’s tradition, are sources of grace, light and healing. From the earliest centuries of the Church being guided by someone experienced in the spiritual life has been essential to one’s growth in holiness. The monastic traditions of both East and West emphasized the role of the spiritual father, or mother, who initiated their novices into the life of prayer and in the practice of charity, self-denial and conversion.
 
Regular spiritual direction is a school of humility and self-knowledge, without which I cannot discern rightly or know the will of God for me. It is a powerful means of revealing and healing my false images of God. Indeed, our capacity for self-deception in the spiritual life is endless! We are blind guides when it comes to ourselves! But God gives light through a humble disclosure of our inner life to a spiritual director, or confessor. “To go towards the Lord, we always need a guide, a dialogue. We cannot do it with our thoughts alone.” Benedict XVI 
 
Be encouraged, then to not neglect your own soul! The Holy Spirit is the true director of your soul, so ask him for a spiritual director, or mentor, if you don’t have one. It’s a great grace to be accompanied in our walk with God.
 
“In one’s life there will be no lack of shadows and also weaknesses. This is the moment for personal spiritual direction. If one speaks with confidence, if one explains one’s interior struggles with simplicity, one will always make progress, and there will be no obstacle or temptation that will succeed in separating us from Christ.” John Paul II