An interview with Archbishop Naumann on Spiritual Direction and a New School For Spiritual Direction

I recently had the opportunity to interview with his Excellency Archbishop Naumann of the archdiocese of Kansas City, Kansas for Register Radio on an important work going on in his archdiocese to train spiritual mentors. Because of the time constraints of the show we had to cut it down quite a bit. Below you will find the content of the longer interview.

Archbishop Naumann has a deep commitment to the spiritual welfare of those under his care and has demonstrated that commitment through tangible and significant means of catechesis and formation that I hope inspires other diocese and laypeople to pursue the same. I have had the opportunity to review the content of a number of the courses provided by the School of Faith and I highly recommend them, particularly to those who believe they are called to provide spiritual direction. Here’s the transcript of the interview:

Archbishop Naumann, welcome to the program.

Thanks Dan, it is good to be with you.

Archbishop, Pope Benedict has consistently encouraged the faithful to pursue spiritual direction during his pontificate. On his recent visit to the Teresianum he went as far as to recommend it “not only to all those who wish to follow the Lord up close, but to every Christian who wishes to live responsibly his baptism, that is, the new life in Christ.” I have two questions related to the Pope’s comments. First, what exactly is spiritual direction, and second, why do you think the pope is so strongly recommending it to all Christians?

Spiritual direction is accessing a spiritual guide who can help you grow more rapidly in your spiritual life than you could on your own. It is going to someone who has training and expertise in guiding a person through the spiritual life, helping them see the opportunities for growth and holiness and then charting with them a plan to do that. It is really somebody that accompanies you on your spiritual journey and serves as a guide. Just like a personal trainer for your physical well-being can help you get in shape more quickly, so too a spiritual director is a trainer in the spiritual life.

Regarding the Pope’s recommendation of spiritual direction to all, I think the Holy Father has a pastors heart and he realizes that the aim of, the goal of the Church, is to help people draw close to Jesus and to grow in relationship to the Lord in holiness. And, for all of us, not just for priests, consecrated, or religious, spiritual direction can be a great help to anyone that is serious about really growing closer to the Lord and learning how to better pray and build a spiritual life.

It is interesting that the Pope says “not only to all those who wish to follow the Lord up close” which seems to be a reference to priests, consecrated, and religious, but really, this should be the desire of every Catholic – to follow the Lord up close. I think he is encouraging all Catholics to do what is prudent, what can help all Catholics get closer to Christ more quickly; and that would be to have a spiritual director, spiritual mentor, or guide in the spiritual life.

Around the time the Pope was speaking these words, a new school opened in your diocese for spiritual mentors – can you tell us about that? What was the impetus behind this effort?

I hope the impetus was the Holy Spirit, not necessarily a brain child of mine. But it developed because of the unique ways we have been blessed in the Archdiocese. We have a group that has really helped us with adult catechesis called the School of Faith. They originally began their efforts at the University of Kansas at the St. Lawrence Catholic Campus Center.  At that same center, some years ago, we were able to attract a new religious community called the Apostles of the Interior Life. They were a complement to this catechetical program because the program was opening people to the beauty of the truths of our faith and creating a desire for them to want to know the Lord more. The charism of the Apostles of the Interior Life is spiritual direction so we had these young people who were primed to pursue their spiritual development and then we were able to support them with spiritual directors.

Then, the School of Faith wanted to broaden their offerings beyond the St. Lawrence Center to reach more adults and I specifically asked them if they could help with the formation of our Catholic school teachers. As they did this, then we had a greater number of people looking for spiritual direction. Because we only had six of the members of the Apostles of the Interior Life, we were limited as to how many people we could support in spiritual direction.

I asked the Apostles if they would consider helping to train more spiritual directors in order to increase the availability of spiritual direction to meet the demand.

Their school opened in May?

Yes, they had their first gathering in May to start a two and half year process. Individuals come for an entire week for catechetical training, personal spiritual development, and the training in how they can help others that they would accompany in the spiritual life. Four times during the course of the year they will come together for a full week, in between these times there are online materials that they work through. The school doesn’t provide the full training that the Apostles of the Interior Life has for spiritual direction (they have graduate degrees from universities in Rome). Still we believe it will be enough to be able to provide sound mentoring to those who are trying to be able to grow in their spiritual lives.

I hear that the response has been great. How have people responded to the spiritual mentoring course offerings? Did the courses generate a lot of interest?

We were hoping we could get at least thirty people to launch the effort in order to make the economics of the school work. We were thrilled when we had over sixty come and we had to put a cap on the number of attendees.

Archbishop, in some informal research that I have done on the topic of spiritual direction and the interest out there I have had 6,000 people respond to a simple question, about their perspective on spiritual direction. Almost 2,000 responded that they are in a spiritual direction relationship. Over 4,000 indicated that they wished they were in a relationship or that they were yearning for a deeper relationship with Christ and wanted and understood that a director might help them to achieve that. Do you have any ideas or encouragement for people about how to find a spiritual director or mentor in other diocese?

That is a great question. The numbers don’t surprise me. As a pastor you hope that you can create a hunger in people to want this fullness, this abundant life that Jesus talks about that is really the fruit of a strong rich relationship with the Lord in prayer. For finding a spiritual director, I would encourage people first of all to start with their pastor to determine if he himself is willing and able to help depending on the size of their parish and his workload. Your pastor may also be aware of other resources. If there is a monastery in your area often times the monks or in the case of sisters, they may be equipped to do that. If there is a retreat center near you often times they will provide directed retreats and they might have a list of potential spiritual directors as well. These are some of the ways that I would encourage people begin looking. They could go to your website, your blog as well probably. [Archbishop was referring to my blog, Roman Catholic Spiritual Direction]

Thank you, that’s a good plug. I’ll have to add the information that they can find out more tips on how to do that [I created an index you can find here.]. It is a challenge sometimes to find a director. But we do understand that our priests are overloaded. Sometimes, is it not true that in confession we can ask our priests for practical advice can’t we?

Absolutely, I think that in most cases priests would welcome that. It is an advantage if you can have a spiritual director who also can be your confessor. This is a great blessing. Regular use of the sacrament of penance or reconciliation is one way that you can find a lot of good help and guidance.

Archbishop, thank you so much for joining us here on Register Radio. Thank you for what you are doing in the Archdiocese. It is a great encouragement to hear of the resources you are providing to train spiritual mentors. From what I hear as well, people can come to your school from outside of the state to get training?

Yes, about two-thirds of the participants are from our area and a third are from all over the country. We hope we can assist other dioceses in this way as well.

Archbishop as we close can you give us your priestly blessing?

May the blessing of God descend upon all of our listeners and remain with them forever. Amen

To find out more about faithful catechesis go to www.SchoolOfFaith.com. To learn more about the Apostles of the Interior Life click here.

Spiritual Guides, Spiritual Directors, and Spiritual Mentors – What’s the difference?

Q: Dear Dan, What is the difference between a spiritual director or mentor? I have heard the terms used interchangeably… are they the same thing?

A: Good question. Depending upon the source of training of the spiritual director, there are different types or titles of those who offer spiritual direction. For instance, a number of movements in the Church offer training for lay people so that they can provide spiritual direction. These organizations often make a distinction between ordained (men) or consecrated (men and/or women), referring to them as “spiritual directors,” and laypersons who might be called “spiritual guides” or “spiritual mentors.” The distinction is usually a reflection of the level of training and education possessed by the one providing the guidance. When these distinctions are made, it is likely that those with the title “Spiritual Director” have received a level of formation that is higher than those who might be called “Spiritual Mentors” or “Spiritual Guides.” 

It is important not to get caught up in the specific titles. Nor would it be appropriate to assume that someone with a lower level of formation would be less equipped to help you with your spiritual life. Spending time with another soul that is aggressively pursuing Christ and has some experience that exceeds yours can be very beneficial. The goal is to understand and pursue Christ in the process regardless of the specific titles that may or may not be applied to the individuals available to help you do so.

PS: This post is an excerpt from Dan’s upcoming book on Spiritual Direction and Spiritual Growth. If you would like to be personally updated on the progress of this book or to have Dan speak at your parish or Catholic group, send an email to RCSpiritualDirection@gmail.com.

Other Posts on Spiritual Direction:

• Spiritual Direction Index
• Spiritual Direction is NOT a Boss-Employee Relationship
• Spiritual Direction is NOT Spiritual Friendship or Spiritual Mentoring
• Spiritual Direction is NOT a Catholic Self-Help Program
• Should My Confessor and Spiritual Director be the Same Person?
• Spiritual Direction is NOT Confession
• Spiritual Direction is NOT Psychological Counseling
• Spiritual Direction is NOT Wandering Around With a Spiritual “Companion”
• Spiritual Direction is NOT Just About Prayer… or Virtuous Action
• Spiritual Direction is NOT a One Time Emergency Room Event
• Spiritual Direction IS…

Should my confessor and spiritual director be the same person?

Q: Dear Dan, Should my get spiritual direction from the priest who regularly takes my confession? I don’t know if he would be interested but I wanted to ask about the appropriateness of this approach before I ask him. Is there a down side?

A: As with most questions we receive, yours is very encouraging. The first level of encouragement comes from your regular commitment to confession. The second is that you are answering the call to deepen your faith through spiritual direction!

The answer to your question is, it depends. It is ideal for spiritual direction and confession to happen at the same time. Why? Because the essence of confession is to deal with our sins (our most prominent and problematic flaws). If we have a regular confessor, this then affords him the ability to see the heart of our struggles in a way that is uncommon when spiritual direction and confession happen with different people. It is also more common to feel comfortable with discussion about our sins in the context of confession than it is with a layperson. The final point worth noting here is that good confessors often make good spiritual directors.

The down side of combining spiritual direction and confession is that in the present state of the Church, most priests don’t have the time. This brings us to a compromised situation. However, some may know that in his younger years, Pope John Paul II had a lay spiritual director. Holiness and wisdom in the church are not in any way limited to priests and religious.

So, if your confessor is helpful and offers spiritual direction, that would the best option.

Other Posts on Spiritual Direction:
Spiritual Direction Index
Faithful Priests are Too Busy – What can I do?
Spiritual Direction is NOT Confession
Spiritual Direction is NOT a Boss-Employee Relationship

Docility in spiritual direction – why it is a good idea to follow your director’s advice

I have a bit of my own foolishness to share with you today. In my book on spiritual direction (scheduled to go to print late next year through Emmaus Road Publishing) I offer the following advice regarding docility to our spiritual directors:

Authentic docility is an essential ingredient in any successful spiritual direction relationship.  What is docility?  Docility is a humble readiness to follow God’s will for our lives.  This is sometimes expressed in the willingness to listen to and follow imperfect counsel from an imperfect person, and at times, even when we disagree or don’t completely understand.  It is critical to remember that we are in spiritual direction because we recognize that the human condition requires outside counsel to grow.  The fact that we are finite fallen creatures requires that someone help us to see the areas of our souls that we cannot see without help.  Even if our director is wrong on a particular matter (assuming the direction is not something sinful), we will most assuredly benefit from heading down paths that we would not have chosen on our own.  This simple exercise of taking unfamiliar paths will reveal things to us that we would have never been able to see without having been prompted to do so.

This past week I had to swallow the sometimes challenging medicine from my own cabinet. I sought direction regarding a specific challenge I was having in prayer and was disappointed when advised to purchase and read a book that covers ground that I have practiced and written about for some time.

As I walked out of the session, I was frustrated and wondering if I had made the right decision to seek direction from this particular priest. My pride was also wounded as he obviously was not aware that I was well beyond what he asked of me. I walked through the many reasons I should side-step his guidance. Then I remembered the bit of advice that I had offered above and in response to this uncomfortable memory, I reluctantly resolved to obey his direction.

I ordered and received the book he recommended a few days later. That day I began a slightly cynical but eager reading with the weak concession that God just might use this situation to answer my prayer for wisdom and clarity on the matter I wrestled with. As I read my smug irritation resurfaced, “Confirmed. Been there, done that, moved past it…” Still, with slight curiosity and resolution of docility in tact, I began to modify my morning prayer routine according to the book and his advice.

Following the recommended approach, the morning of this writing I decided to select familiar material from the reading of the day out of the treasure of Divine Intimacy by Fr. Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen O.C.D. The subject matter was again familiar but struck me in a way that it had not in the past. The Holy Spirit was clearly speaking to me about what I should pursue as a spiritual discipline for the coming year. My spiritual pride melted into gratitude and a delightful humiliation (at least for the moment).

The moral of the story: If we ask God to guide us through spiritual direction, we need to do what we are told. If we do, God will work in and through that obedience to help us to Him. If we don’t, we will likely miss his promptings and the blessings that would have come if we had followed.

Faithful priests are too busy… What do I do? How can I find a spiritual director?

Q: Dear Dan, My director is a wonderful, caring person but is also quite a bit less inclined to follow the magisterium than I am. I wish I had the opportunity to see a faithful priest from time to time. I have tried hard to find a priest willing to provide me with spiritual direction (especially now, as I am going through some severe moral crises and sufferings); however, I have been turned down repeatedly because they are too busy to meet with any individuals, especially if it would be for more than one brief meeting. This appears to be a serious problem: if a priest is too busy to give spiritual and moral guidance to a faithful follower who is facing grave hardship, then that priest is TOO busy. Why do priests seem to regard spiritual direction as an unreasonable burden?

A: I would begin by saying that not all priests regard spiritual direction as a burden. Many priests that I know consider it one of their main priorities. In fact, after celebrating the sacraments and preaching the Word, it is one of the best ways that a priest has to help others. And perhaps herein we find one possible reason for your experience that priests just don’t have time: they may have many Masses to celebrate (especially on Sundays) and multiple confessions to hear, especially if we reflect on the fact that most priests help out in at least one other parish than their own on a regular basis. When you throw in the preaching that must be prepared, the time begins to add up. The biggest burden for the priest, however, is usually parish administration. Before being ordained, he probably does not realize the amount of time this will pilfer from his apostolate and, in many cases, how much worry it will cause. All of this may leave him wary about taking on more and more stable commitments. But enough about reasons or excuses; there are many more than I mention here – objective as well as subjective ones.

The fact remains that spiritual direction is a vital help and you have not been able to  find a priest director. This must be very frustrating. You are not alone in this challenge.

Aside from giving you insight into the burden most priests carry,  another way I can think to assist you is to point out a few options for finding a director that you may not have considered. Here are a few ideas:

• Your Diocesan Office: There are several types of leads you can find by calling your diocese. First, they can point you to those known for spiritual direction in your area. Second, they can also point you to religious orders or retreat centers in your area. Also, don’t hesitate to venture beyond your own diocesan boundaries if the list of options runs too short. Don’t hesitate to consider a well-trained and experienced lay person as an option as well.
• Priests/Confessors in Your Parish or Surrounding Parishes: If you have found a good confessor, someone who has been particularly helpful to you with advice or dialogue during or after confession, don’t hesitate to ask them one simple question: “I would be grateful if I could follow up with you on this matter in the near future; can I call you for an appointment?”
• Faithful Catholic Affiliation Groups: If you have groups in your diocese like Catholic Scripture Study, Catholics United for the Faith, ENDOW, Walking with Purpose, or other solid groups, begin attending their meetings and connecting with people who take their faith seriously.

An important thing to remember is that this might be a long process and if you are called to it, you need to maintain your commitment for as long as it takes. Our God knows your needs and desires to bring you closer to himself, and he will do so as long as you keep striving and stumbling towards him. Sometimes the painstaking search for an orthodox director is just as important to the process as spiritual direction itself.

A semi-shortcut through this maze can be found in the many faithful movements and orders within the Church. Those that have maintained a solid grip on magisterial faithful Catholicism often provide means for their members to deepen their faith in many helpful ways, including spiritual direction. Essentially, when approaching these organizations we are looking to adopt a rule of life. That is, we are looking for a specific spiritual path that can help to focus our spiritual disciplines and practice of virtue. Often these organizations follow the fruitful paths of the saints who founded them (like Saint Francis and the Franciscans) or those who played significant roles within them (like Saint John of the Cross in the Carmelite order). Obviously, becoming a third-order or lay Carmelite or Franciscan is a serious commitment. However, for those who take their faith seriously, these commitments have benefits that far outweigh any related challenges.

To be clear, it is not necessary to become a cloistered nun or a hermit to reap the benefits of these beautiful gifts to the Church. Most of them have lay organizations for people just like you. A few good examples of more recent spiritualities that have emerged in the Church are  Apostles of the Interior Life (www.apostlesofil.org), Opus Dei (www.opusdei.org), and Regnum Christi (www.regnumchristi.org). The constitutions or canonical provisions of these and many more are approved either by the Holy See or local bishops, and the direction they provide for the spiritual life can be of enormous spiritual value. You can contact these organizations via their Web sites to find information about activities in your area.

Spiritual direction is making a comeback in the Church, and seminary formation programs are rediscovering its tremendous value. Hopefully, little by little the challenges that we are facing in this area will be a thing of the past. Don’t get discouraged. The obstacles you are facing might be the very thing you need right now to deepen your faith. Christ is at work in you. Yield to that work and continue to strive to know him.