The Practice of Spiritual Direction
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- Create Date：2022-01-17 06:53:57
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：William A. Barry
- ISBN：0061652636
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Summary
The Classic Work on Helping People Become Closer to God
Fathers Barry and Connolly see the work of spiritual direction as helping people to develop their relationship with God。 In thinking and practice they have absorbed the insights of modern psychotherapy， but have not been absorbed by them。 This highly practical book reflects the authors' experience at the Center for Religious Development in Cambridge， Massachusetts， where spiritual direction is available and where directors are trained。
Fathers Barry and Connolly see the work of spiritual direction as helping people to develop their relationship with God。 In thinking and practice they have absorbed the insights of modern psychotherapy， but have not been absorbed by them。 This highly practical book reflects the authors' experience at the Center for Religious Development in Cambridge， Massachusetts， where spiritual direction is available and where directors are trained。
Reviews
Nicole Wilson
，
Helpful for reflecting as a spiritual director
Rachel
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Really solid theoretical intro to spiritual direction。 This book did a great job defining terms and getting to the heart of the purpose of direction- facilitating a deeper relationship with the Lord。 I'm especially thankful for the chapter on contemplative life。 Even though this book is a bit dated， I still found plenty of relevant insight here。 Really solid theoretical intro to spiritual direction。 This book did a great job defining terms and getting to the heart of the purpose of direction- facilitating a deeper relationship with the Lord。 I'm especially thankful for the chapter on contemplative life。 Even though this book is a bit dated， I still found plenty of relevant insight here。 。。。more
Loretta
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Fantastic resource for everyone accompanying others in their walk with God。
Christine Hiester
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3。5。 My goal is to read all of the varied perspectives and philosophies on Spiritual Direction。 Though SD is not only a Christian practice， this is an explicitly Christian book。 The authors do give a nod occasionally to the experiences of others in different traditions， and stress the trust in God inherent in sitting with someone as a companion。 Barry and Connolly have a lot of good things to say， especially in the latter half of the book when they get into the interpersonal dynamics of the SD r 3。5。 My goal is to read all of the varied perspectives and philosophies on Spiritual Direction。 Though SD is not only a Christian practice， this is an explicitly Christian book。 The authors do give a nod occasionally to the experiences of others in different traditions， and stress the trust in God inherent in sitting with someone as a companion。 Barry and Connolly have a lot of good things to say， especially in the latter half of the book when they get into the interpersonal dynamics of the SD relationship。 。。。more
Shannon
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If this book wasn’t required reading for my training program， I wouldn’t have read it。 It took me nearly three months to finish it， but I did find the last section to be the best section。 There was a lot of repetition from other books in the first two sections， but I did find the description of a director and directee as being in an alliance together a good one。 Not a book I would recommend but ultimately useful。
Dawn Grabs
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 The first chapter or two were difficult because it was more theory。 The rest of the book is very helpful though for how to deepen your relationship with God and help others do this。
Summer Green
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Practical and thorough book on Spiritual Direction from defining it to fostering the relationship between director and directee。 It's a deep dive into the nuts and bolts。 I previously read this book in 2016 as a lay director in training。 Now in a formal training program， this book is a much welcomed guidebook for looking at spiritual directing with a magnifying glass。 This will be a book that I go back to over and over for practical help， course correcting， and problem solving as a Spiritual Dir Practical and thorough book on Spiritual Direction from defining it to fostering the relationship between director and directee。 It's a deep dive into the nuts and bolts。 I previously read this book in 2016 as a lay director in training。 Now in a formal training program， this book is a much welcomed guidebook for looking at spiritual directing with a magnifying glass。 This will be a book that I go back to over and over for practical help， course correcting， and problem solving as a Spiritual Director。 。。。more
Steve Watson
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Ch。 2"In the modern world where unbelief has become or is rapidly becoming 'the natural and normative condition，'believers have two options。 One is to retreat into smaller and smaller ghettos of 'true believers; who reinforce one another's 'beleaguered faith。' The other is， for the Christian， to go too the heart of Christianity。 （For those of other faiths it is to go to the heart of their faith。） That heart is the。 experience in faith， hope， and love that Jesus is my savior and the world's and t Ch。 2"In the modern world where unbelief has become or is rapidly becoming 'the natural and normative condition，'believers have two options。 One is to retreat into smaller and smaller ghettos of 'true believers; who reinforce one another's 'beleaguered faith。' The other is， for the Christian， to go too the heart of Christianity。 （For those of other faiths it is to go to the heart of their faith。） That heart is the。 experience in faith， hope， and love that Jesus is my savior and the world's and that I want to respond to him。" （18）Ch。 3"Spiritual direction is help with the development of one's relationship with God。。。。 Directors do not create relationships between God and their directs; they try to foster such relationships。" （31）Ch。 4"What does a spiritual director do？" （1） empathetic listening （2） paying attention （3） affirming （4） assisting in clarification （5） raising questions when the direct wants them， and （6） helping the direct to recognize the affective attitudes that influence his or her attitude to God。 （47）In learning to contemplate God: "They would benefit more from spending time at first in some activity they enjoy that has a contemplative aspect to it。" （53）Ch。 6"Traditional Christian teaching on spiritual life has often spoken of movements of the spirits。 In his Rules for the Discernment of Spirits， Ignatius of Loyola describes characteristic movements of the 'good spirit' and the evil spirit。' A major props of the 'evil spirit' is to thwart the movements of the 'good spirit' toward God。" （86）"Since God is semper maior - always greater - one can expect that relating to God will mean being open to continuous novelty and thus continuous change of images。 Spiritual idolatry could be seen as the unwillingness to let God be other than one's present image。" （93）"Resistances often crystallize around some kind of secret: There is something I don't want God， or my director - or frequently enough， myself - to know about。 The resistance begins to occur when the 'secret' gets close to the surface of awareness。" （104）"Directors should use direct and nontechnical words with people。" （106）Ch。 7"If we recognize that discernment is， infamy， nothing more than being able to recognize and admit differences， we can appreciate both its simplicity and its value。" （109）"Often enough， such dullness and distance occur （in prayer） because important affective attitudes are not being expressed。" （111）（In prayer） "Ignatius is not alarmed at the prospect of sadness or upset; it is unruffled self-possession that bothers him。" （113）Conclusion"Those who are familiar with the Exercises often speak of a 'First Week' or a 'Second Week' dynamic。 In a language that seems more clearly expressive of the actual experience of retreat ants， we would refer to the 'First Week' dynamic as that stage when directs are desirers of， and struggling against， God's willingness to love and save them， warts and all。 the great achievement of this dynamic is the freedom to receive love， salvation， forgiveness from God。 The 'Second Week dynamic represents the struggle of Christians to take on the values of Jesus， identify with him， and care for what he cares for。 the achievement is companionships with Jesus， their freedom to give or to serve as Jesus gave and served。" （206） 。。。more
Andy
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Very helpful overview on the practice of spiritual direction within the framework of a Christian worldview。
Adam
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"Spiritual direction is a helping relationship， but the help offered is more like that of a companion on a journey than of an expert who， before the journey begins， advises what roads to take and answers the travelers questions" （145）。 In this now classic book， Jesuit authors William Barry and William Connolly offer a very good overview of the practice and challenge of spiritual direction。 They cover a lot of ground - from the centrality of religious experience in Christianity today to the impor "Spiritual direction is a helping relationship， but the help offered is more like that of a companion on a journey than of an expert who， before the journey begins， advises what roads to take and answers the travelers questions" （145）。 In this now classic book， Jesuit authors William Barry and William Connolly offer a very good overview of the practice and challenge of spiritual direction。 They cover a lot of ground - from the centrality of religious experience in Christianity today to the importance of regular supervision for the individual spiritual director （and everything in between）。 This book is accessible and useful; it can be read as an introduction for those considering spiritual direction， a manual for those undergoing training in spiritual direction， and a guide for seasoned practitioners in the art of spiritual direction。 In "The Practice of Spiritual Direction" the authors reiterate one thing over and over again: spiritual direction is focused on the directee's personal relationship with God experienced affectively through prayer。 This is not counseling; it does not seek to resolve a directee's personal problems one by one or help him or her to come to grips with dark secrets and twisted childhoods。 Problems will be dealt with and issues will be overcome， but only through the relation between God and the directee。 A spiritual director is not present to give advice， teaching， or solutions。 He or she is not a psychoanalyst on the one hand or a guru on the other hand。 A director is like a midwife， drawing out from each directee that which already exists。 As a midwife， a director asks provocative questions that reach to the heart and allow a directee to manifest thoughts， feelings， and desires directly to God。 I read this as part of a spiritual direction training program。 While not as eminently practical and useful as Maureen Conroy's work， this serves as a very necessary overview and foundation for the practice。 。。。more
Hans
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Very hulpful and stimulatingThis book is very helpful and stimulating to a beginning spiritual director like me。 It provides a mirror to reflect on， and grow in one's experience。 Very hulpful and stimulatingThis book is very helpful and stimulating to a beginning spiritual director like me。 It provides a mirror to reflect on， and grow in one's experience。 。。。more
Tamara Murphy
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In Barry & Connolly’s Practice of Spiritual Direction I was struck with encouragement that spiritual directors should possess a kind of love the authors called a “surplus of warmth” in order to foster relationships with the various personalities and life circumstances。 I appreciated the additional insight to that surplus of warmth as the three attitudes: commitment， effort to understand， and spontaneity。 The attitude of spontaneity as defined by the authors felt especially encouraging to me as I In Barry & Connolly’s Practice of Spiritual Direction I was struck with encouragement that spiritual directors should possess a kind of love the authors called a “surplus of warmth” in order to foster relationships with the various personalities and life circumstances。 I appreciated the additional insight to that surplus of warmth as the three attitudes: commitment， effort to understand， and spontaneity。 The attitude of spontaneity as defined by the authors felt especially encouraging to me as I’ve wondered about what it means to be myself in relation to those I direct: “Spontaneity means that spiritual directors are themselves， not controlled and inhibited by their role as spiritual directors， but able to express their own feelings， thoughts， and hopes when expressing them will be helpful to directees。 Without spontaneity， ‘commitment and effort to understand will appear cold， impersonal， and stereotyped’。”Another favorite quotation that describes so well the qualities of a spiritual director that I’d hope to describe me:“The kinds of men and women most likely to engender trust in others are those described in the same study as developed persons。 They are not perfect， but they are relatively mature。 They show signs of having engaged in life and with people。 They are optimistic， but not naive， good-humored， but not glad-handers。 They have suffered， but not been overcome by suffering。 They have loved and been loved and know the struggle of trying to be a friend to another。 They have friends for whom they care deeply。 They have experienced failure and sinfulness - their own and others' - but seem at ease with themselves in a way that indicates an experience of being saved and freed by a power greater than the power of failure and sin。 They are relatively unafraid of life with all its light and darkness， all its mystery。”Barry and Connolly offered some helpful insight into the realm of entering into prayer with those who may experience God， prayer， church， and spirituality in ways that differ from my own experience。 They recommend that spiritual directors possess a knowledge of diverse Christian religious experiences in a posture of empathy and awareness of non-Christian religious experiences in order to “transcend。。。personal absolutes” and remain open to a “sense of wonder” toward the capability of God to communicate with people through a variety of experience。In this way， I’m becoming less fearful of the more abstract terms I’ve read in my study of spiritual direction。 For example， the following explanation of God as Mystery felt helpful to me:“The Mystery we call God is just that - mystery; not mystery in the sense of an unknown， but eventually knowable， stranger， but mystery in the sense that God is too rich， too deep， and too loving to be knowable and is， therefore， God。 Spiritual directors can be only helping companions to those who travel the way of such a God。” Another paragraph I found especially helpful as I consider offering spiritual direction as a wife of a parish priest was Barry and Connolly’s description of “working alliances” and “conflicting loyalties” in chapter 9。“Spiritual direction， therefore， explicitly acknowledges what is often only implicit in other forms of pastoral care: that the directees' desire for more life， more integration， more union with God is grounded in the indwelling Spirit and that God is an active Other in the relationship。 The working alliance is thus grounded in mystery and explicitly acknowledges that the way， too， is mystery。” 。。。more
A。J。 Mendoza
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Barry and Connolly do a wonderful job diving deeper into the idea of leading someone into finding God in their experiences and using those discoveries to develop one's union with him。 This is a must read for anyone wanting to become a spiritual direction， seeing as how our authors clearly line out who a spiritual director is and who a spiritual director is not。 Utilizing a variety of ancient Christian writings， psychoanalytic philosophy， and modern experiences， Barry and Connolly show their educ Barry and Connolly do a wonderful job diving deeper into the idea of leading someone into finding God in their experiences and using those discoveries to develop one's union with him。 This is a must read for anyone wanting to become a spiritual direction， seeing as how our authors clearly line out who a spiritual director is and who a spiritual director is not。 Utilizing a variety of ancient Christian writings， psychoanalytic philosophy， and modern experiences， Barry and Connolly show their education and expertise throughout every page。 I will warn you。 This is not a book to discover "format" for one-on-one or group scenarios。 It is a "why" book and not a "how"。 Thus， this book is not to be taken by itself， but instead can be the field lines in which the game is played， so to speak。 。。。more
Trey Kennedy
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This book has a great Biblical and spiritual background to providing insight on Spiritual Direction。 It’s focus is on fostering Relationship with God， which is really what Faith itself is all about。 In fact， there are many insights on prayer and becoming closer to God in this book that I would recommend it， at least Part II of it， to people other than Spiritual Directors。
Rob
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A Solid BlendGreat mix of history， theory and practice of spiritual direction。 Appreciated the fictionalized dialogues as a means to contrast different approaches。
John Buchanan
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Top shelf。 Written by people who have had long experience in the work of spiritual direction。 Realistic and frank; it feels as if the authors have nothing to prove。
Erika
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So many thoughts。 I will be delving into this。
R。 Waas
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It is a simple reading and interesting book。 It a handbook for the anyone who would like to be Christian Spiritual Directors。 it is not a book with heavy academic theories but a book with practical real life experiences of the authors。
Luke Hillier
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I have begun a new position this year， and in that role I am able to offer some spiritual direction to the team members that I work with， and my own spiritual director suggested this book as a helpful and exemplary introduction into the practice。 I found it to be just that！ Although at times it leaned a bit on the formal and/or instructional side （particularly the beginning， which introduced the history of spiritual direction， and the final chapters that were focused on the elements of the relat I have begun a new position this year， and in that role I am able to offer some spiritual direction to the team members that I work with， and my own spiritual director suggested this book as a helpful and exemplary introduction into the practice。 I found it to be just that！ Although at times it leaned a bit on the formal and/or instructional side （particularly the beginning， which introduced the history of spiritual direction， and the final chapters that were focused on the elements of the relationships directors have with directees and supervisors）， I largely found this book to be really richly written。 I was grateful for the attention to beauty that seemed to carry through， subtle but still present and in that way elevating it from being a more straightforward read。 I found a great deal of wisdom within its pages that have not only been formative for helping me to understand and shape my fledgling practice of offering spiritual direction to others， but also on a personal level deepened and enlivened my own spiritual life。 。。。more
Marc Schelske
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Deeply thoughtful and practical。 Focused on the specifics of spiritual direction as it's one unique ministry， but very applicable to all pastoral care。 All pastors ought to read this one。 Deeply thoughtful and practical。 Focused on the specifics of spiritual direction as it's one unique ministry， but very applicable to all pastoral care。 All pastors ought to read this one。 。。。more
Adam Shields
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Short Review: I am considering going to formal training to become a spiritual director。 Because I am who I am， I decided to read widely about spiritual direction as part of the decision making process。 This is a classic （originally published in 1982）。 The authors are Catholic， but it is widely ecumenical in language and approach。 The first two chapters are describing what spiritual direction is and what is supposed to accomplish。 The rest is instruction for spiritual directors。 This is the most Short Review: I am considering going to formal training to become a spiritual director。 Because I am who I am， I decided to read widely about spiritual direction as part of the decision making process。 This is a classic （originally published in 1982）。 The authors are Catholic， but it is widely ecumenical in language and approach。 The first two chapters are describing what spiritual direction is and what is supposed to accomplish。 The rest is instruction for spiritual directors。 This is the most helpful book written for spiritual directors I have read so far。 A slightly longer review is on my blog http://bookwi。se/the-practice-of-spir。。。 。。。more
Jeremy
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This is the book I've been looking for！ All the books on spiritual direction I've read to this point have been rather vague and abstract， which is understandable given the nature of spiritual direction。 However， I've been wanting to read about the practical aspects of what spiritual direction looks like。 This is that book。I would not recommend this book to anyone who isn't currently pursuing the contemplative aspect of the Christian life as the book will likely be either uninteresting or even of This is the book I've been looking for！ All the books on spiritual direction I've read to this point have been rather vague and abstract， which is understandable given the nature of spiritual direction。 However， I've been wanting to read about the practical aspects of what spiritual direction looks like。 This is that book。I would not recommend this book to anyone who isn't currently pursuing the contemplative aspect of the Christian life as the book will likely be either uninteresting or even off-putting。 。。。more
Vina
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I'm not sure what I'm missing， with everyone else loving this book。 I did really like the introduction。 I'm not sure what I'm missing， with everyone else loving this book。 I did really like the introduction。 。。。more
Elysha
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This is a very meaty book。 Most of the pages I dog-eared or marked up。 The bibliography is enormous and has tons of additional books I intend to read。
Steve Gambino
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One of the best books I've read on this subject。 One of the best books I've read on this subject。 。。。more
Lori Neff
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Excellent resource for those new to the concept of spiritual direction。
Anne Roat
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I use this as a textbook and my adult students really like it。
Mason Wren
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One of my favorite books on the practice of spiritual direction。 Very helpful and thorough。
Amy Beth
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This book is written to explain how to become a spiritual director， but it is just as informative for the person who wants to improve in prayer。 The essence of the book is that becoming close to God is like any relationship--it takes time， authenticity， and communication。 As in other relationships， periods of closeness will be intermingled with times when we pull away for many reasons。 The best solution is to realize what our blocks are and to talk to God directly about them。
Schwiedessen
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