“Take heart, rise, He is calling you.”
Mark 10:49
At Sacred Beauty, we know that beginning a relationship with Christ, walking in deeper intimacy with Him, or learning about Truth can move our hearts in many directions. Sometimes we feel excited about this new adventure, and other times we might feel intimidated or unworthy. Courage, daughter! Jesus is with you, and we are here to walk with you as you come to know Him more.
What is spiritual direction?
Spiritual direction is a prayerful conversation with a fellow pilgrim on the journey to Heaven. A director is a guide with a lamp to help you see and bread to nourish you on the way. Our ultimate nourishment and light comes from Jesus, but because of original sin, we can have a hard time hearing His voice and trusting His plan. That’s where a spiritual director comes in. Directors are there to help Christians know God’s voice and follow Him with deeper freedom and love.
In this sacred space, we can come to know, love, and serve God in new depths. During spiritual direction, the director will open in prayer and then invite the directee to share about what’s been happening in her relationship with God. Topics of conversation often include, but are not limited to the following: aids and blocks to encountering God in prayer, sacraments, daily life, and relationships; victories and struggles in living virtue; and practical tools for discernment and holy decision making.
Regular spiritual direction is typically 30 minutes - 1 hour every month, but you can also seek out spiritual direction for specific seasons of transition, discernment, or growth.
What does a Spiritual Director do?
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Speaks Truth with Charity
A spiritual director is someone who helps you understand the movements of your heart in prayer. It is the role of a spiritual director to speak truth with charity into the hearts of their directees as the Holy Spirit leads.
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Helps You Grow in Holiness
A good spiritual director helps a soul take on the heart, mind, body, and soul of Jesus. They are there to help you love the Lord with your whole heart, identify and remove obstacles, and equip you to be a saint.
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Aids in Discernment
Using St. Ignatius’ rules for discernment of spirits, the director participates with the Holy Spirit in helping the directee identify and receive the movements of the Holy Spirit, and to be aware and reject the enemy.
Expectations for Spiritual Direction
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Spiritual direction in particular is for people who already have an established prayer life and need a guide to sift through the movements of their heart to hear Jesus more clearly. In this space, the director is very receptive and docile to the Holy Spirit and the directee comes prepared to share the movements of her heart and how Jesus has been speaking with her.
Spiritual accompaniment is for people at any phase of their journey with Christ looking for a sister to come alongside them and help them to grow. In this relationship, the missionary will actively help the woman establish holy habits appropriate to her state in life. The woman can expect to learn how to pray and meditate with scripture, how to grow in virtue and experience daily conversion, and how to evangelize and begin to share the faith. -
The Holy Spirit is the ultimate Director of every soul. He is working to bear forth the life of Christ in you. At times, the Holy Spirit will lead you to a guide to accompany you on your journey and help you hear Him more clearly. This is what spiritual directions is all about - clarifying the movements of the Holy Spirit and helping a soul to follow Him on the path to eternal life. In spiritual direction, one has the space to talk about what’s moving in her heart regarding relationship with God. It is a very receptive space and only makes sense for the one who has a regular prayer life.
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Spiritual direction is not counseling. At times, rightly ordered integrated counseling and spiritual direction can look very similar, but it is important to note the differences. In spiritual direction, the focus is on Christ. The soul’s gaze is not within for the mere sake of sorting through wounds, thoughts, emotions, relationships or other experiences— important (and holy at proper times) as that may be. Rather, if the gaze is within, it is to let Christ lead us to encountering and relating our experiences to Him. In that space, Christ often heals and restores, but this is not the only focus of spiritual direction or our relationship with God. In the Christian life we certainly relate to God our own experiences, but we also worship Him and love Him for His own sake. Firstly, because we owe God obedience, and it’s good for us to be obedient to Him. Secondly, because a relationship is not one sided. God is inviting us constantly to know His heart and to enter more into His story. And in that space, we become who we are meant to be—daughters destined for eternal purpose in God’s kingdom. Spiritual direction is primarily about helping you navigate those dynamics. It’s not about fixing problems.
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Life with Christ, like any authentic relationship, takes work, dedication, and sacrifice to grow. Below are a few of the essential habits to fruitful relationship with God and necessities for a directee to make time for outside of spiritual direction.
1. Cultivate a disposition of humility and generous openness to growth.
2. Ask Jesus to be the Lord of your life every day.
3. Pick a concrete time and place to pray for at least 30 minutes each day.
4. Frequent the sacraments; Sunday Mass and monthly confession are the minimum.
5. Choose a spiritual book and a time each week to read for at least 45 minutes.
If these habits are not a regular part of your current spiritual life, then spiritual direction is not a fit at this time. Take heart, though, spiritual accompaniment is a wonderful place where you can grow. We are very willing to meet you as you are and come along side you to grow in holiness on your journey with Christ. See the spiritual accompaniment page at sacredandbeautiful.org or contact as at hello@sacredandbeautiful.org for more details. -
The day or two before your first session, take some time in prayer to reflect on how God has been moving in your heart, and notice what you would like to bring to spiritual direction. It can be helpful to glance through your prayer journal or ask Jesus what He wants you to talk about before coming. You do not have to be perfect or prepare at length. Come as you are. Jesus always has something to speak to you.
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Sacred Beauty is a ministry that relies completely on Divine Providence through the generosity of others offering prayer and financial support to bless women like you. Because of that, there is no set fee for spiritual direction. However, we are lay missionaries living in the world who rely completely on the generosity of others for our mission work and livelihood. With that in mind, we do ask that you prayerfully consider making a donation so that we can continue to offer these services full time and free of charge. The donate button at sacredandbeautiful.org will take you directly to Missionary Way where you can select “Sacred Beauty Spiritual Accompaniment” and make a donation.
“It is Jesus you seek when you dream of happiness. He is the one waiting for you.”
— Pope St. John Paul II
