I welcome your interest in spiritual direction and your desire to find out more about what it is.
My definition of direction is pretty simple: Spiritual direction is conversation with another person about your relationship with God, or the relationship you are hoping it is possible to have with God.
The idea of spiritual direction is based on God’s constant, never-ending desire for a relationship with each of us, revealed to us over time in all the events and surroundings of our lives. In meetings with a director, individuals have a chance to reflect on these experiences of God’s presence, talk about their attempts at prayer and reflection, and discern where and why God is calling them next.
I try to answer some more questions about spiritual direction that people often have on my FAQ page.
As for me, I live in central NJ (just outside of Princeton) and meet with people for spiritual direction at my parish and in other places, but I also am very used to direction via Zoom with people I have never met in person.
I am a permanent deacon at St. David the King Parish in Princeton Junction and have served in the diaconate for 30 years as a parish minister, including work in adult faith formation, RCIA, and marriage preparation. I am also a volunteer prison minister at FCI Fort Dix. Some of my homilies are available at lectionaryhomilies.com, if you want to get some sense of what I’m like.
My orientation to direction is in the Ignatian tradition, but I welcome people who don’t know anything at all about what that is (which is most people), and who are simply looking for some way to explore their relationship with God. I am also very open to individuals whose relationship with the church is ambivalent (or over), or from backgrounds other than Roman Catholic.
I received my spiritual direction training in a four-year formation program from Fairfield University, and I also have a certificate from the St. Raphaela Center in Haverford, PA in offering the Retreat in Daily Life (19th Annotation) form of St. Ignatius’ Spiritual Exercises.
I am married with three grown daughters and retired from a long career in the media industry, including as publisher of Commonweal. Years ago I got degrees from Princeton University and Columbia Business School.
Exploratory questions from people who aren’t at all sure about what spiritual direction is, or what you perhaps should be looking for in a director, are always welcome. I can be reached at [email protected].