What Is Spiritual Direction?
Spiritual direction is a long-standing practice in the Catholic Church that has helped the faithful deepen their relationship with God and strengthen their commitment to living the Gospel. Spiritual direction is an ongoing, one-on-one relationship with a trained and experienced spiritual guide, called a spiritual director, who opens a conversation with the directee about their journey of faith, life of prayer, and relationship with God.
Please read through the questions below to learn more about spiritual direction at the Center for Spiritual Direction at Holy Family.
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New directees are invited to look through the bio pages for the spiritual directors who are offering sessions through the Center for Spiritual Direction. If a director is accepting new directees, there is an intake form on the bio page. To begin a relationship of spiritual direction with that director, simply complete and submit the intake form on the bio page. The spiritual director should contact you within a week to move forward.
If a spiritual director does not contact you within one week of submitting an intake form, please contact the Center at csd@holyfamilyretreat.org for assistance.
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Spiritual directors at the Center for Spiritual Direction typically receive formation in the art of spiritual direction through an outside entity. This process includes readings, structured classes, discernment, and supervision. Additionally, spiritual directors participate in ongoing continuing formation, including spiritual reading, workshops and seminars, and ongoing supervision.
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Sessions are scheduled between you and your spiritual director. Use the contact information on your spiritual director’s bio page to stay in touch and schedule future sessions.
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Spiritual direction usually occurs as a one-hour session, once a month. Frequency of sessions can be arranged between you and your spiritual director.
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The suggested offering for a one-hour session of spiritual direction is $75. Our payment page allows you to write in the payment amount. We appreciate the support of those who can be more generous, and we support the spiritual journey of those who cannot make the standard offering.
If your spiritual director is receiving payment for spiritual direction, he or she will determine the session rate based on your needs and their practices. You will pay them directly. The Center requests an additional offering of $10-$25 per session to support our operational and administrative expenses.
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The Center for Spiritual Direction endeavors to make spiritual direction accessible to all. Those who cannot make the standard offering of $75 may set their own payment amount for each session on our payment page.
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Most of our spiritual directors offer their services freely in support of the mission of the Center for Spiritual Direction at Holy Family. In these cases, please make payment for your session as an offering to the Center through our payment page. Since spiritual direction is intended as an ongoing, monthly relationship, it is possible to set up recurring, automatic payments through this page.
If your spiritual director is receiving payment for the sessions they conduct, you will arrange session rates and payment with him or her directly. Your spiritual director will guide you through this process and instruct you on how pay for sessions.
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Comfortable spiritual direction rooms are located at the Center for Spiritual Direction on the first floor of the Monastery Building at Holy Family Passionist Retreat Center. Entrance 5 is the closest entrance and is handicap accessible. Take the stairs or elevator to the first floor of the Monastery Building and turn left to go down the hallway toward the Center for Spiritual Direction.
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Yes. Please check your director’s bio page to see if they offer spiritual direction online via Zoom. The Center for Spiritual Direction makes Zoom licenses available to directors who request them so that they can offer online sessions. Online sessions are arranged between the director and directee.
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It sometimes happens that the relationship between a director and directee is not an ideal fit. Directors are trained to help directees discern if the relationship is meeting their needs and helping them grow. It is best to discuss this openly and honestly with your director. If you feel that you need to change your spiritual director, let your spiritual director know and begin the process of exploration anew.
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No. With spiritual direction, the focus is on the faith journey of the directee so it is not necessary for the director and directee to be of the same faith. Still, the Center for Spiritual Direction recognizes that directees may prefer a relationship with a director who shares and understands their spiritual heritage. This is why the Center endeavors to make spiritual direction accessible to the Catholic faithful. This goal exists within Holy Family’s genuine commitment to inclusion and hospitality, and we are proud to welcome both directors and directees from other Christian denominations as well as other faith communities.