Many people underestimate the importance and value of spiritual direction, and having a spiritual director. It's such an incredible grace to have The Lord grant to you the assistance of a spiritual director, and to hear The Lord speak through this particular director.
It is difficult for some people to locate a director or confessor that is a good "match." From my personal experience, I had a spiritual director and after one meeting I decided that he wasn't the one that The Lord willed for me to consult. I could just tell that we weren't going to get very far. Our spiritualities were very different. My search for a holy director continued, and after many months (over a year), I was granted a holy and wise spiritual director, whose spirituality I shared and embraced. I cannot tell you the amazing advice and help I have gotten from this holy, yet newly ordained priest. It is no doubt of mine that this priest is simply a "screen," as St. Faustina writes in her diary (DIARY 1729, DIARY 1308), and that the Lord hand-picked this priest for me and my spiritual journey.
Opening up to another human being about our most inner thoughts and desires; about our temptations and our dreams; what we feel the Lord calling us to do and how we are failing Him, can be scary! But the graces and advice that we receive from our Spiritual Director and/or Confessor much outweigh our inhibitions about the meeting.
It's so beautiful that we as Catholics have been given the amazing gift of priests - men who selflessly give their whole lives to the Lord to heal and save souls! And we literally encounter Christ through them in the Sacrament of Confession and in opportunities of spiritual direction! It's amazing how the Lord works through them!
I made a video some time ago about Spiritual Direction. Check it out (But please excuse the extremely ridiculous beginning)!
Thanks for reading, and God bless!!
~SSWW
Oh my goodness this is so true!!! I was recently in that "search" for a holy spiritual director. I met with a priest that I've known for a few years but after that first meeting I felt as you felt, I knew he just wasn't the right one. But after patiently waiting and praying for guidance God picked out a holy priest for me that is just wonderful! He has been a priest for 5 years.
ReplyDeleteThe Church is amazing in giving us so many tools to help us on this journey to Eternal Life!