1

The Spiritual Direction in the Apostolic Exhortations: Pastores Dabo Vobis and Vita Consecrata.
Written by Fr T. Mariyathas, S.J. (Sri Lanka Province)

Introduction Spiritual Direction is the real need of the hour. The spiritual quest of Christians today is losing interest day by day and there arise a need to a spiritual renewal. Spiritual Direction is one of the greatest tools for this spiritual renewal and to discern the will of God in ones life. So the Christians, be it religious, priests or laity, need to seek Spiritual Direction and at the same time they are called to be spiritual guides or spiritual directors. This essay presents briefly the view of late Pope Blessed John Paul II in Pastores Dabo Vobis (PDV) which emphasizes the importance of Spiritual Direction in the seminary and the priestly formation and in their life and in Vita Consecrata (VC) which speaks of the same importance in the formation and in the life of the religious and consecrated persons. How do we understand the Spiritual Direction? There are number of definitions about the Spiritual Direction. However, I would like to give a simple and personal explanation (or description) to this concept of Spiritual Direction. I take the very words spiritual and direction. It is a direction pointed out towards the good spirit (Spirit of God) by a Christian to another Christian. In another word I would say, in the Christian context, it is a helping tool particularly given by one person to another in order to discern the good spirit and thus to discern the will of God for that particular one in that particular moment. Therefore the Spiritual Direction cannot be simply watered down to any type of help like material, financial, intellectual or psychological but it is a particular help to discern the will of God and gradually to grow towards ones spiritual perfection. The description I have give above is my own and based purely on my personal experience and understanding of the Spiritual Direction. In her book In Wisdoms Kitchen Eileen P. OHea speaks of Spiritual Direction in a beautiful prose form. She tries to bring to light a radical idea of a spiritual freedom and spiritual empowerment that Spiritual Direction induces in ones life. I see a lot of similar views in the Apostolic Exhortations Vita Consecrata and Pastores Dabo Vobis by the late Pope John Paul II. Eileen P. OHea literally compares the Spiritual Direction with and to the Incarnation, Passion, and Resurrection of Jesus who set the loose spirit by coming down and taking the form of humanity and by his mission, passion and resurrection empowered the wavering spirits. So in this similar manner, Spiritual Direction too induces in persons, spiritual empowerment and spiritual freedom. I would like to cite her prose-form description of Spiritual Direction here:
A word again puts me back together takes a spirit broken draws it from death to life. Long ago a Word spoken and a body broken arose visited places of darkness despair death setting loose Spirit. Today a word again descends into the hell of self-rejection setting loose spirit freeing it from lifes black holes1.
1

O. EILEEN P, In Wisdoms Kitchen, p.21

The indispensability of Spiritual Direction articulated in these Papal Apostolic Exhortations In Vita Consecrata the late Pope John Paul II encourages the consecrated persons to do vocation promotion in order that the mission entrusted by Jesus may be carried forward by the younger people who desire to serve the Lord with enthusiasm and love. However, the Pope lays importance on the Spiritual Direction as one of the suitable helps to promote vocation. He is of the view that the Spiritual Direction will certainly nourish the persons to respond to the love of the Lord in such a manner that they may become real disciples and apostles of the Lords Kingdom. Here I see personally and at the same time clearly the empowering aspect of the Spiritual Direction which I have pointed out in the previous paragraph. The Pope points out that when youngsters respond to the call of God there is an immense enthusiasm in their hearts to serve the Lord and the Lords people. However, as the time goes this fervor and enthusiasm may begin to diminish and the strong heart will begin to lose hope and interest. And as a remedy to this situation the Pope advises the consecrated persons to make use of this wonderful tool, the Spiritual Direction.
A primary responsibility of all consecrated men and women is therefore to propose with courage, by word and example, the ideal of the following of Christ, and then to support the response to the Spirit's action in the heart of those who are called. After the enthusiasm of the first meeting with Christ, there comes the constant struggle of everyday life, a struggle which turns a vocation into a tale of friendship with the Lord. In view of this, the pastoral work of promoting vocations should make use of suitable help, such as spiritual direction, in order to nourish that personal response of love of the Lord which is the necessary condition for becoming disciples and apostles of his Kingdom2.

Further, the Pope is of the view that Spiritual Direction is a great help to the persons who have begun the journey towards the holiness. It serves as a good tool to walk on the path of fidelity to the Gospel both during the formation as well as during the rest of their life to remain ever faithful to the loving Lord. It also serves as an indispensable tool for discernment of the spirits and to be aware of the movements of the good spirit in ones life. And if one is helped to become aware of these movements of the good spirit then one also will be enabled to respond to the Spirit with generous heart and fervor. The Pope exhorts that Confident and humble recourse to spiritual direction is of great help on the path of fidelity to the Gospel, especially in the period of formation and at certain other times in life. Through it individuals are helped to respond with generosity to the movements of the Spirit, and to direct themselves resolutely towards holiness3. Thus from the Popes exhortation we can infer the indispensability of the Spiritual Direction in the formation and life of the consecrated persons no matter what congregation or culture they belong to or whatever charism they may possess. In Pastores Dabo Vobis the Pope once again points out the importance of Spiritual Direction in the field of promotion of vocation. He is weighing the Spiritual Direction par with the pastoral work. Thus he gives an encouraging invitation to the Spiritual Direction. He further elaborates the necessity of Spiritual Direction recalling how in the Churchs tradition it has born much fruits and produced great harvest. Further the Pope cautions the persons concerned for the formation of the
2

Pope John Paul II. Apostolic Exhortation, Vita Consecrata (1996) n. 64 Ibid. n. 95

seminarians and candidates of priesthood not to confuse the Spiritual Direction with mere psychological help. This advice of the Pope must be taken into consideration very seriously. Because it has been noticed and it is also practiced commonly in certain seminaries and formation houses that the formators tend to replace the Spiritual Direction with psychotherapy or with any other mere psychological help.
From this point of view, the pastoral work of promoting vocations to the priesthood will also be able to find expression in a firm and encouraging invitation to spiritual direction. It is necessary to rediscover the great tradition of personage spiritual guidance which has always brought great and precious fruits to the Church's life. In certain cases and under precise conditions this work can be assisted, but not replaced, by forms of analysis or psychological help.(111) Children, adolescents and young men are invited to discover and appreciate the gift of spiritual direction, to look for it and experience it, and to ask for it with trusting insistence from those who are their educators in the faith4.

Here it should be noted how the Pope invites the children, adolescents and young men to discover and appreciate the gift of Spiritual Direction. He also encourages them to value this wonderful gift and to seek it in a volunteer manner from their spiritual guides. So the Pope is fully aware how the youngsters nowadays neglect this gift of Spiritual Direction and give less importance to it in their spiritual life. The Pope is also aware how those who are in charge of the formation of the candidates do not at times look into this important gift in order to impart it onto those who are under formation. So both the formators and those who are in formation are invited to experience this gift of Spiritual Direction in their spiritual journey towards the holiness and perfection. So from the exhortation of the Pope it becomes once again clear how the Spiritual Direction has become the need of the hour and how it has also become indispensable in the formation and life of both the consecrated persons and priests. The vital roles of Spiritual Directors or Spiritual Guides The late Pope John Paul II in his Apostolic Exhortation Pastores Dabo Vobis and Vita Consecrata not only speaks of the indispensability of the Spiritual Direction, he also gives a detailed information and instructions on how the spiritual directors or spiritual guides are supposed to play their important roles in forming the Christians who seek their help. In Vita Consecrata the Pope invites the consecrated elderly to be ever ready to be available and to serve as spiritual directors: More than in any activity, the apostolate consists in the witness of one's own complete dedication to the Lord's saving will, a dedication nourished by the practice of prayer and of penance. The elderly are called in many ways to live out their vocation: by persevering prayer, by patient acceptance of their condition, and by their readiness to serve as spiritual directors, confessors or mentors in prayer5. This invitation shows how spiritual direction is regarded as a valid and precious service that one can render to the Lord as one is called to serve in His vineyard even if one becomes old and physically incapable. In Pastores Dabo Vobis, the Pope speaks of the roles of the spiritual directors in many instances. He, so to say, demands the priests to devote themselves to the spiritual direction by both giving and
4 5

Pope John Paul II. Apostolic Exhortation, Pastores Dabo Vobis (1992) n. 40 Pope John Paul II. Apostolic Exhortation, Vita Consecrata (1996) n. 44

seeking for their own personal and spiritual growth. He says, Priests, for their part, should be the first to devote time and energies to this work of education and personal spiritual guidance: They will never regret having neglected or put in second place so many other things which are themselves good and useful, if this proved necessary for them to be faithful to their ministry as cooperators of the Spirit in enlightening and guiding those who have been called6. So the priests are called upon to set examples to other Christians by being faithful to their personal spiritual direction and by making them available to give with a spirit of generosity and willingness this suitable help to those who may seek it in them. The Pope lays very much emphasis on the chastity in celibacy of the priests and authoritatively sets certain criteria for it. Further he strongly calls the bishops, rectors and spiritual directors of the seminaries to establish principles and offer criteria and give discernment in this matter. So the spiritual directors, as far as the chastity in celibacy of the priests and seminarians concerned, have indeed a vital role to play along with the bishops and rectors. So the role of the spiritual directors is not simply listening to the hues and cries or the lamentations and difficulties of the seminarians, but they have to be in a position to help them discern the movements of the spirits and thus eventually help them to discern the Will of God.
The importance of a careful preparation for priestly celibacy, especially in the social and cultural situations that we see today, led the synod fathers to make a series of requests which have a permanent value, as the wisdom of our mother the Church confirms. I authoritatively set them down again as criteria to be followed in formation for chastity in celibacy: "Let the bishops together with the rectors and spiritual directors of the seminaries establish principles, offer criteria and give assistance for discernment in this matter. Of the greatest importance for formation for chastity in celibacy are the bishop's concern and fraternal life among priests. In the seminary, that is, in the program of formation, celibacy should be presented clearly, without any ambiguities and in a positive fashion. The seminarian should have a sufficient degree of psychological and sexual maturity as well as an assiduous and authentic life of prayer, and he should put himself under the direction of a spiritual father. The spiritual director should help the seminarian so that he himself reaches a mature and free decision, which is built on esteem for priestly friendship and self - discipline, as well as on the acceptance of solitude and on a physically and psychologically sound personal state7.

Here once again we see the invitation to both the spiritual director and the clients to genuinely engage in the giving and receiving of the Spiritual Direction in order to discern the will of God properly. It should be noted well how the Pope instructs the spiritual director not to impose his own views and opinions onto the client but on the contrary to help the client in such a way that the client reaches mature and free decision. Here is also another instruction to the spiritual guide to help the client psychologically too. So the spiritual director has indeed a multiple role to play in directing the persons spiritually. There is a call to the spiritual directors to a collective and united collaboration along with the bishops, rectors, superiors and professors in a formation house.

Pope John Paul II. Apostolic Exhortation, Pastores Dabo Vobis (1992) n. 40 Ibid. n. 50

5 The educational community of the seminary is built round the various people involved in formation: the rector, the spiritual father or spiritual director, the superiors and professors. These people should feel profoundly united to the bishop, whom they represent in their different roles and in various ways. They should also maintain among themselves a frank and genuine communion. The unity of the educators not only helps the educational program to be put into practice properly, but also and above all it offers candidates for the priesthood a significant example and a practical introduction to that ecclesial communion which is a fundamental value of Christian living and of the pastoral ministry8.

The unitary element is another important thing that the spiritual directors are called upon to keep in mind and work towards it as they serve in the field of Spiritual Direction. By working together with the other formators in this unitary manner the spiritual directors will also set an example to their clients and thus indirectly encourage them by their very lifestyle to live and to strife for the same unity.
While safeguarding the distinctions between internal and external forum, and maintaining a suitable freedom in the choice of confessors and the prudence and discretion which should be a feature of the ministry of the spiritual director, the priestly community of teachers should feel united in the responsibility of educating candidates for the priesthood. It is their duty, always with regard to the authoritative evaluation made by the bishop and the rector together, to foster and verify in the first place the suitability of the candidates in regard to their spiritual, human and intellectual endowments, above all in regard to their spirit of prayer, their deep assimilation of the doctrine of the faith, their capacity for true fraternity and the charism of celibacy9.

The Popes stern expression the prudence and discretion which should be a feature of the ministry of the spiritual director throws a lot of light to understand the qualification of the person who is called to serve as spiritual director. So the person who is called upon to be and serve as spiritual director has to be prudent and wise and well-experienced too and at the same time must possess the capacity to make right and sound judgments. In another word, the person has to be a prayerful, discrete and human in dealing and guiding the others spiritually; he or she has to be a person of God. Conclusion All in all, we have seen the general understanding of the Spiritual Direction with special reference to its empowering element in the field of spiritual journey. We also have analyzed briefly how the late Pope Blessed John Paul II has clearly and distinctly spoken and described about the indispensability and the need of the Spiritual Direction in the formation and life of the Christians in todays world. We have seen with the eyes of the Pope the different, multiple at the same time vital roles of the spiritual directors. Thus once again we can say by way of conclusion that Spiritual Direction is the need of the hour and it is an indispensable tool to discern the will of God.

Pope John Paul II. Apostolic Exhortation, Pastores Dabo Vobis (1992) n. 66 Ibid.

BIBLIOGRAPHY BARRY, William A. (2008 9th) Finding God in all things: A Companion to the Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius. Ave Maria Press, Norte Dame, 1991. OHEA, Eileen P. In Wisdoms Kitchen: The Process of Spiritual Direction. The Continuum International Publishing Group Inc., New York, 2000. Pope John Paul II. Apostolic Exhortation Pastores Dabo Vobis. 25 March 1992. Vatican City: Libreria Edirice Vaticana, 1992. , Apostolic Exhortation Vita Consecrata. 25 March 1996. Vatican City: Libreria Edirice Vaticana, 1996. TETLOW, Joseph A. Making Choices in Christ: The Foundations of Ignatian Spirituality. Loyola Press, Chicago, 2008. ---------------------------------------------------------------------BEE KOH, Lilian Lian. Ignatian Spirituality and Spiritual Direction. A Research Project submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the Spiritual Directors Training Programme of Spiritual Growth Ministries (www.sgm.org.nz).