"The present popularity of spiritual direction is part of the whole search for inner meaning and personal fulfillment that our present age finds so attractive," writes Chester P. Michael, a Roman Catholic priest who has served as the pastor of four parishes in Virginia and as a seminary rector. He has devoted a substantial part of his priestly ministry to spiritual direction. Much of the material in this paperback has been adapted from his two-year course of study called the Spiritual Direction Institute. As the subtitle suggests, Michael is convinced that the depth psychology of Carl Jung is very relevant to this ministry of guiding, advising, and listening to those on a spiritual journey.
A good spiritual director is a person who is gifted with discernment, insight, and perception. He or she meets regularly with a directee to deal with the four areas of love: love of God, love of others, a proper love of self, and a love of nature. There is usually discussion of successes and failures in prayer, charity, ministry, discipline and even bodily care. Michael delineates the six steps on the spiritual journey as listening to God's call, experiencing a faith conversion, entering a covenant of faith with the risen Lord Jesus, celebrating in the faith community, receiving the consolations of the Holy Spirit, and receiving a commission to share the faith with others.
In one of the most helpful chapters, the author outlines the signs of spiritual progress, including among them greater gratitude to God, inner peace, a more positive attitude toward everything, self-control, generosity, longing for God, and changing old ways of thinking, acting, judging, and speaking. He also includes edifying material on spiritual direction for different levels of faith, for different temperaments, for contemplative souls, and how to deal with extraordinary spiritual phenomena.
