Frequently Asked Questions

1. Q: How can I submit a question?
A: So that we can serve you well, please read this entire entry before submitting questions – thanks!
Each week we prioritize questions based on how interesting and relevant they are and how often they surface (among other criteria). Here are a few important notes about the goal and limitations of our efforts: The goal is of this feature is to answer questions that reflect the common struggles of our readers. Unfortunately, we do not have the capacity to answer specific personal questions that may only apply to you or to very few readers (i.e. should I take this or that job? etc.). Please note that because of the need to be efficient in serving the number of readers and questions we receive, this address is the only way to submit questions. RCSpiritualDirection@gmail.com. Also, if you regularly donate time, talent or treasure to our effort here, please put “DONOR” in the subject line along with a one line summary of your question. This will help us better prioritize your questions.
Thank you in advance for your questions and for helping us to serve you and His Kingdom!

2. Q: Why should I donate to this effort?
A: Help us reach and serve one million Catholics by 2012 with the life changing riches of Christ found in authenticCatholic spirituality!  The blog is just a small part of a larger effort to connect with on-line Catholics who desire to deepen their faith.  If you would like to know more, send an email to RCSpiritualDirection@gmail.com.  Please be sure to include your name, phone number, and the best time to reach you.  We look forward to speaking with you!

3. Q: Why do you moderate and screen comments on your posts?
A: First, spam has become a huge problem in blog post comments. So, to protect our readers from illicit comments or other unwanted content, we screen every comment. If your comment does not fall within these categories but was not included there may be many reasons for this. We are committed to all dialogue that is positive and constructive. Though we are fine with disagreement and critique (see this post as an example), and we are certainly imperfect, the purpose of this blog is not to provide a free-thought forum on spirituality. Instead, our aim is to promote a positive, affirmative, and magisterium faithful approach. If we feel any comments fall outside of these parameters, or are simply not helpful, argumentative, not constructive and/or interesting, we will not authorize them. Finally, without apology, we will edit comments if we feel that they are helpful but only in part. If in our opinion the comment is helpful, we will post it, if not, we won’t – pretty simple.

4. Q: How can I increase the likelihood that my comments get posted?
A: 1) Don’t violate the parameters mentioned in the answer to the previous question, 2) don’t attempt to soften Church teaching, 3) don’t argue with others – dialogue is good and desired but increased intensity or hostility is not, 4) don’t assume or demand that you have a right to be heard – you can start your own blog if you want free reign to say whatever you like, 5) be encouraging to those seeking to deepen their faith, 6) be brief – the longer it is, the longer it will take me to review it… sometimes if they are too long and don’t quickly seem helpful, we simply delete them, 7) be prayerful about your response, don’t assume technology is perfect and that you have been deleted on purpose. Sometimes folks ask me about a response and frankly I don’t remember it. This could mean that the reader didn’t submit the comment properly or that there was some glitch in the software. In the end, the goal in all of this is to build one another up in Christ and His Church, not to win arguments or use the comboxes as a soap box for ideas that are not in keeping with the wisdom of the Church.

5. Q: Does this blog reflect any particular spirituality?
A: Yes and no.  Our content reflects Carmelite, Ignatian, Carthusian, and many other rich spritiual traditions of the Church.  We will only provide content that is faithful to the magisterium of the Church and is benefitial to our readers. Other than that, it will reflect the spirituality of the writers themselves depending upon their individual perspective.

6. Q: What does “RC” stand for in “RCSpiritualDirection?”
A: RC stands for “Roman Catholic” as reflected in the name of the blog, “Catholic Spiritual Direction.”  When we searched for the name “CatholicSpiritualDirection” as a blog URL, it was unavailable, thus the need to use “RC” in place of “Catholic.”

7. Q: What is your perspective on eastern forms of spirituality in the Catholic Church?
A: The spiritual depth and riches of the Church are unfathomable.  These riches are particularly abundant in the writings of the doctors of the Church and are an inexhaustible resource.  The instinct to move outside of the Church to find answers for the spiritual life is not one that we share.

8. Q: What is your perspective on the magisterial authority of the Church?
A: We are committed to providing insight that is firmly and faithfully rooted in the magisterial authority and teaching of the Catholic Church. Christ has promised to lead and guide his Church – he has never failed to do so. A common absurdity in our time is for people to individually determine that the wisdom of the Church (as developed over thousands of years by the leading of the Holy Spirit) on a particular subject is a matter of personal judgement and that Catholics are free to cavalierly disagree based upon their five minutes of isolated thought. We don’t share or condone this kind of willful foolishness. Even so, we will entertain honest questions and struggles with Church teaching as long as they reflect sincere attempts to understand and submit to Christ and His glorious Church.

If you ever find anything on this site that contradicts the teachings of the Church, please don’t hesitate to let us know.

Blessings to you in your journey to God!