Spiritual Life, Spiritual Direction: God in You, Part 3 of 5 Spiritual Life, Spiritual Direction: God in You, Part 3 of 5 ~~ In the third episode of five of the show Women of Grace: Spiritual Life, Spiritual Direction: God in You, Dan Burke discusses his conversion from the Jewish faith to Catholicism through Protestantism and … Read more
Spiritual Life, Spiritual Direction: God in You, Part 2 of 5 Spiritual Life, Spiritual Direction: God in You, Part 2 of 5 ~~ Dan Burke spent a week discussing his suffering, conversion and healing with EWTN’s Johnnette Benkovic on her show, Women of Grace. Dan captures the stages of the spiritual life in his award-winning … Read more
Spiritual Life, Spiritual Direction, and God in You — Part 1 of 5 Dan Burke had the pleasure of talking with EWTN’s Johnnette Benkovic on her show, Women of Grace. During the show, they spoke about the spiritual life and his award winning book, “Navigating the Interior Life.” Dan is also the founder of Catholic Spiritual Direction. In … Read more
Dear Father John, what is the difference between confession and spiritual direction? Confession and spiritual direction are like partially overlapping circles: they share some common characteristics, but their centers, their essences, are distinct. The Distinction of Confession The essence of confession is the sacramental grace that Christ gives to our soul through the ministry of … Read more
Can transference occur in Spiritual Direction? This is an interesting question but I’d like to separate it into two: Can transference occur in the spiritual life? Can transference occur with a spiritual director? First, let’s look at a definition of the term “transference”. Tranference is a psychological term that means “the redirection of feelings … Read more
Editor’s Note: Today, we are blessed to have Allison Ricciardi join our writing team. Allison is a licensed mental health counselor and has been a guest on the Mother Angelica Live and Abundant Life Shows on EWTN, as well as Johnnette Benkovic’s Women of Grace Show. Please welcome her warmly! What is the difference between … Read more
Can I Trust the Mercy Center Spiritual Direction Training Program? Dear Dan, I was searching for your spiritual direction training programs in my area and noticed an advertisement for the Mercy Center in Colorado Springs. Have you had a chance to evaluate them? Do you recommend them? Dear friend, the answer is yes I have … Read more
Spiritual Direction and Evangelization In the Holy Father’s latest Apostolic Exhortation “Joy of the Gospel” (Evangelii Gaudium) he takes time to remind us of spiritual accompaniment as a key part of evangelization (see paragraphs number 169 to 172). Pope Francis begins by noting the paradox of modern culture: on the one hand, people suffer from … Read more
Spiritual Direction Connection Teresa Tomeo’s “Catholic Connection” Show Dear Friends, As you know Teresa Tomeo has added a “Spiritual Direction Connection” to her show Catholic Connection. The segment will air every Friday at 9:50 am EST (US). Every week we will address a question from YOU about the spiritual life. If you have any burning questions, submit … Read more
“Offer it Up”: What Does it Mean? In this video, Fr. John Bartunek and Dan Burke talk about what it means to join in the redemption of Christ through suffering. If you are alive, you are suffering in some way. With this video you will gain perspective on that suffering and how you can use … Read more
The Bookmark Show The “Bookmark” Show: Dear Friends – This is a great interview with Dan Burke and Doug Keck on Doug’s Bookmark show. Dan expands on a number of key insights from his new book Navigating the Interior Life: Spiritual Direction and the Journey to God in this fast moving and interesting conversation with Doug. … Read more
Spiritual Direction on the Rise Picture this: A person, young or old, is practicing the faith yet naturally wants to grow in his or her relationship with Jesus and become closer to God. Can the faithful – or should they – turn somewhere for guidance? They can. After all, didn’t Jesus send the disciples … Read more
Spiritual Direction is often misunderstood, misused, or overlooked. To help unmask the intrigue and bring it out of obscurity, I asked three priests–Fr. Mitch Pacwa S.J., Fr. John McCloskey III STD, and Fr. Wayne Sattler –to share their thoughts on spiritual direction. I will introduce each separately, and then offer their reflections. Father Mitch Pacwa … Read more
Though much has been written on the topic of spiritual direction, modern wisdom is hard to come by. I was delighted to stumble upon a more recent treatment of the topic written for spiritual directors. Through Wind and Waves – On Being a Spiritual Guide by Francis Fernández-Carvajal is only the second book to make … Read more
Dear Dan, I noticed on your poll that there are a few people (apparently out of thousands) who don’t think they need a spiritual director. I have wondered if I am also in this category. I feel strong in my faith (I love my faith) and feel like I have clear direction in my life … Read more
Hundreds of you have read and responded with excitement about our new Spiritual Direction book club supported by our cast of amazing volunteers. A priest wrote in yesterday and asked an important question, “How do I participate?” Once you have registered, there are only three things to do, 1) Prepare, 2) Read, 3) Respond. Here’s … Read more
Dear Friends, For many of you, drinking from the pure wells of the Church has become a regular lifeline when unable to find a suitable spiritual director. As you know, spiritual reading is an essential element to any healthy life of faith. Inside or outside of spiritual direction, it is an absolute must if we … Read more
I was confirmed four years ago. I had a very powerful conversion and the first thing I tried to do was find a priest for a spiritual director. No luck. I did discover that not all priests are trained in spiritual direction. Every seminarian needs a director also and they would come first. The ratio … Read more
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