Spiritual Direction is an ancient tradition within the historic Church whereby an individual seeks to grow closer to God with the help of another person who is capable of helping them hear the Spirit within.  It is about listening to God with the desire to know and do God's Will, and grow in Love of God and Charity toward self and others.  It can take various forms depending upon the director and directee.  In recent years spiritual direction has been known by several names or descriptions, such as spiritual journeying, co-journeying, soul-friendship, soul-mentoring, or spiritual-mentoring.  Spiritual direction has been a tradition within the Orthodox and Roman Catholic Church since the beginning of the Church, regardless of the name that was used for it in various parts of the world.  Soul-friendship was also a sacred tradition among the pagan Celtic people, and the concept of soul-friendship was readily baptized into the Christian Faith in the early Church among the Celtic people.  The Celtic monks combined this tradition with the sacrament of Penance as a normal practice, and influenced the early Church's ritual of the sacrament, changing it from a public confession and penance once before death, to a private exchange between the penitent and confessor, and done more frequently than once before death.

Today, spiritual direction has been rediscovered by more of the laity within the Catholic Church, and newly discovered by many non-Catholics in growing numbers.

This is one area of spirituality where Christians are united, i.e., in the desire to grow closer to God and have that close relationship affect their daily lives.

HOW does it work?

Before beginning spiritual direction, the director and directee talk together about their practical expectations, and their personal approach to spiritual direction.  They may agree to try the spiritual relationship for a set time, then to evaluate it before committing to an ongoing relationship of spiritual direction.  In this manner both will feel comfortable enough to continue together.  If the match is not a beneficial one, it is understood that the directee is free to seek another director.  We will try to help him or her do this so the directee is not left feeling alone.

Both Joseph Grenier and Cait Finnegan are trained spiritual directors with years of experience.

Joseph received training in the NY Archdiocese program for spiritual direction.  He has been a spiritual director for the past 36 years.

Cait received her training at Oasis Ministries for Spiritual Directors.  She has been a spiritual director for the past 11 years.

Both are members of Spiritual Directors International, as well as the regional chapter of SDI.

Spiritual direction is best done in person, however many spiritual directors have used the traditional letter, and today e-mail and telephone are the equivalent.   Much depends upon the seriousness with which it is approached, and the sincerity with which such exchanges occur.  It may be less than the perfect method, but it does work.

If you would like to add spiritual direction to your current discernment process, know that they and others are available to you.

To talk with either one of them, or to schedule an appointment, call 570-595-2705 or 570-424-9407 or e-mail GoodTidings@aol.com for general information or RevCait@goodtidingsministry.org or BishopJoe@goodtidingsministry.org for anything personal.