As discussed on the Meetings page, spiritual direction is a very specific need, and my schedule only allows regular meetings with a handful of people. Strictly speaking, long-term, ongoing spiritual direction is about your relationship with God and requires serious daily prayer. The spiritual director helps you to recognize and respond to God's work in your life.
Although I have been receiving spiritual direction for eight years, I have only taken one course in spiritual direction and do not have a certification; I am making myself available for direction as part of my ministry as a priest and campus chaplain.
In my experience, most people do not need actual, ongoing spiritual direction but rather spiritual guidance and conversation, which can be repeated but not ongoing. Due to the intensity of what spiritual direction demands from the directee and the director, I can only take on a handful of people and am currently at capacity, and I cannot take on any more ongoing directees without seriously limiting my availability to the wider student body.
A Calendly link can be found below, but future meetings can be determined between the director and directee at each appointment.
Requirements for Spiritual Direction:
Read Spiritual Direction and Counseling: Similarities and Differences - This document should help you clarify the purpose and meaning of spiritual direction.
An initial meeting - During this meeting, we will discuss your hopes for spiritual direction as well as my expectations. Here we will determine if this will be a good fit for you. How do you believe spiritual direction can help you? Have you reached a point in your spiritual journey where you feel additional help is needed or desired?
Serious, daily prayer - Although what this looks like differs from person to person, the expectation is that a directee will have an established daily rhythm of prayer. I am not looking for perfection, but, the more serious your daily prayer is, the more fruitful this journey can be. It is especially important to engage in meditative and contemplative prayer (as opposed to rote or vocal prayers).
A desire to know the Lord more deeply - Spiritual direction is not about getting answers from a seemingly wise mentor but rather about reflecting on your relationship with the Lord accompanied by a fellow disciple who can listen and help you reflect on your spiritual journey. Although problems in your life and particular questions will arise from time to time, this is not the primary purpose of spiritual direction.
Be available to meet every four to six weeks - Directees should commit to meeting every four to six weeks for fifty minute sessions each time. This can be done in person or via software like Zoom or Google Meets.