DIREZIONE SPIRITUALE. – Assistance habitually provided to an individual soul, usually in connection with sacramental Confession, in order “to lead it along the ways of God, teach it to listen to divine inspiration and respond to it, suggest to it the practice of the virtues suited to the situation in which it finds itself; with the aim not only of preserving it in purity and innocence, but of making it advance in perfection and holiness” (N. Grou, Manuel des âmes intérieures, Paris 1895, p. 109). S. Gregorio M. considered s. d. “the art of arts.”
I. NATURE AND OBJECT
Although the name spiritual direction is sometimes understood to mean any form of interior spiritual assistance, there is a clear difference between spiritual direction and pastoral direction, which is intended to form the souls entrusted to the care of a spiritual pastor, as well as sacramental direction.The object of spiritual direction, in fact, is everything pertaining to spiritual formation. It therefore goes beyond the accusation of faults, since it seeks the cause of sins in character, temperament, acquired habits, temptations, and imprudence, while attending to the possibility of remedying them, so as to strike at the root of the evil. It concerns the virtues to be practised, the spiritual exercises capable of enriching the soul with grace, as well as vocation and the graces of state, and finally the « gratis datas » graces and the call and ascent to perfection: « proprie intelligitur in ordine ad perfectionem, non ad simplicem vitam christianam tantum » (De Guibert, op. cit. in bibl., p. 167).
A spiritual director, or master of the spirit, is one to whom a soul habitually entrusts itself, revealing to him its entire conscience, so that he may direct it, instructing and encouraging it, along the way of perfection; this may take place either within confession or outside it (cf. de Guibert: op. cit. in bibl., p. 167, n. 184; E. de la Reguera, Praxis Theol. Myst., II, 8, q. 1, n. 17).
Spiritual direction must be limited: 1) to presenting the plan of perfection according to the design prepared by Jesus Christ and interpreted by the Saints in their lives; 2) to determining the paths of perfection that are most practical and most suited to the strength and character of individual subjects; 3) to ensuring constant progress in perfection;
4) to pointing out the difficulties encountered along the path of perfection and establishing the most suitable means of avoiding them. R. Plus (op. cit. in bibl., pp. 15-28), defines the limits and aims of spiritual direction still more precisely: « spiritual direction has a triple object: to enlighten the spirit, to assist the will, to console in affliction ». It must enlighten the spirit by revealing to the soul God’s designs for it; « especially when it is a question of discovering and determining one’s state in life, or of making important decisions, or of submitting a method of prayer to examination, or of practising one penance or another, a guide is supremely valuable » (cf. F. Strowski, St François de Sales, p. 48). It must strengthen the will, supporting rather than leading. Many, especially women, believe that consoling in affliction is the sole or principal aim of spiritual direction. From this error arise many abuses, « the need to have oneself noticed and to hear words that soothe, interminable letters, or visits excessive both in length and frequency » (Plus, p. 28).
II. NECESSITY
The necessity of spiritual direction is based on a real need of the soul (Plus, p. 30 ff.; de Guibert, p. 186). Indeed, the Church has repeatedly condemned doctrines unfavorable or opposed to spiritual direction; thus in the condemnation of the Americanist doctrines (apostolic letter Testem benevolentiae, 22 January 1899): « externum magisterium omne ab iis, qui christianae perfectioni adipiscendae studere velint, tamquam superfluum, immo etiam minus utile reicitur ».The reason for this would be that « ampliora atque uberiora nunc, quam elapas temporibus, in animos fidelium Spiritus Sanctus influit chariamata cesque medio, nemine docet arcano quodam instinctu atque agit » (Denz-U, n. 1970). Against this doctrine, which is closely akin to the doctrines of Protestantism, Leo XIII teaches that God « homines plerunque fere per homines salvandos decrevit, ita illos quos ad praestantiorem sanctimoniae gradum advocat per homines eo perducendos constituit ».
The necessity of spiritual direction for attaining perfection, once the exaggerations of certain theologians such as L. Boccardo (op. cit. in the bibliography, I, p. 181), who maintain that the use of spiritual direction is necessary for all souls whenever it is not truly impossible to obtain it, and of others who, on the contrary, deny a general necessity for direction, admitting only its usefulness (Ami du clergé, 1921, p. 427), have been avoided, may be summarized as follows: 1) Spiritual direction is the ordinary and normal means by which God usually leads souls to perfection. « We find—observes Leo XIII in the apostolic letter cited—the very origins of the Church marked by a celebrated manifestation of this law; although Saul... had heard the voice of Christ himself... he was sent to Ananias... This was always practiced in the Church: this is the doctrine unanimously professed by all those who throughout the centuries distinguished themselves in learning and holiness » (cf. G. B. Scaramelli, Direttorio ascetico, I, treatise I, a. III, c. 1; besides Act. 9, 6, 17, he cites II Reg. 3, 9).
Moreover, both beginners and those who are advanced in the spiritual life are exposed to the danger of subjective illusions, and they always need encouragement and light, whether in a state of spiritual aridity or in order to cultivate more effectively the gifts of the Holy Spirit and respond with generous and constant docility to divine inspirations. Therefore, when spiritual direction can be obtained without extraordinary effort and sacrifice, it is not lawful to despise such assistance, supplied to us by Grace, without grave temerity and harm to the soul. The degree of this usefulness and necessity may vary, and does vary, simply with the changing of various factors, such as the degree of spiritual life attained, one’s state in life, extraordinary circumstances, and the abundance of mystical gifts.
« Persons who are in an extraordinary state have greater need than others to be guided, and must never trust their own lights » (Écrits spirituels du vénérable Libermann, Paris 1891, pp. 355-56).
III. HISTORY OF SPIRITUAL DIRECTION
It has not yet been studied exhaustively. The correspondence of St. Cyprian, St. Jerome, St. Augustine, St. Basil, and very many other Fathers provides ample material for such a study.As regards Christian archaeology, in 1880 at Bath, England, a lead tablet bearing cursive writing was discovered (E. W. B. Nicholson, Vinicius to Nigra, a IVth cent. christian letter, written in South Britain, and discovered at Bath, now deciphered, translated, and annotated, London 1904): the letter, written by a certain Vinicius, probably a priest, to Nigra, a married woman, offers brief but wise counsels on spiritual direction (A. Baudrillart, Vinicius à Nigra. L'original d'une lettre de direction écrite il y a seize cents ans, in La quinzaine, 12 [1905], pp. 243-46).
Spiritual direction has its earliest manifestations in Eastern monasticism, in the practice prescribed for young monks of manifesting their faults to their elders, in order to receive counsel from them (Cassian, De coenob. instit., V, 2: PL 7, 12). Important references to spiritual direction and its necessity, with regard to monks, are found in St. John Climacus (Scala paradisi, grad. IV, 5-12: PG 88, 680-81); Cassian (Collationes, coll. 11, chaps. 1-13: PL 49, 526-42); St. Basil (Reg. brevus tractatae, 227: PG 31, 1233); St. Gregory the Great (Dialog., 1, 1: PL 77, 153); and St. Bernard (Serm., 8 De Diversis, 7: ibid. 183, 546), who insist on the necessity for religious novices to have a master « qui docest, deducat, foveat vos », since without such direction they are liable to lack discretion.
St. Catherine of Siena, through her letters, served as spiritual director to the « bella brigata », that is, the circle of friendly souls and disciples gathered closely around her. Gerson mentions the usefulness of spiritual direction, especially for mystical souls (Epist., contra praed. defens., in Opera omnia, I, pp. 80-82). The treatise De vita spirituali (part 2, chap. 1) of St. Vincent Ferrer deserves particular mention.
St. Teresa inculcates the necessity of a good spiritual director for souls following extraordinary paths (Castello spirituale, Fifth Mansions, chap. 1; Vita, chap. 13); she also recommends one for devout nonreligious souls (Castello interiore, Third Mansions, chap. 11). In Cammino della perfezione she gives golden teachings on choosing a spiritual director and on how to open oneself to him. St. John of the Cross left fifteen spiritual maxims concerning the spiritual master and the direction of the spirit (H. Hoonaert, Oeuvres spirituelles de St Jean de la Croix, II, p. 153).
The author of Combattimento spirituale recommends, in chap. 19, opening oneself to the spiritual director. Battista da Crema directed St. Cajetan Thiene and St. Anthony Zaccaria; Philip Neri directed St. Camillus de Lellis, Leonardi, and Federico Borromeo; a Conventual Franciscan friar, Trebatio Marlotti della Verna, composed at Turin in 1590 Discorsi spirituali for the Direzione delle anime. But it was only from the sixteenth century onward that the practice of spiritual direction came to be generally recommended, both to people living in the world and to religious souls. Two causes contributed to this result: on the one hand, the practice of spiritual retreats, given prominence by the spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius, and the emphatic insistence of the early ascetical authors of the Society of Jesus; on the other, the counsels of St. Francis de Sales (R. Plus, p. 32 ff.).
In the seventeenth century, sound writers devoted attention to spiritual direction, including Alfonso Rodriguez (Pratica della perfezione e delle virtù cristiane, part 3, treatise 7), Alvarez de Paz (De vita spirituali, 1620, I, 1, 5, chaps. 12-13); Ludovico da Ponte (Guida spirituale, I, IV, chap. 2, n. 2), and G. Negrone, De necessitate magistri, chap. 3, nn. 33-34.
St. Francis de Sales was the first to promulgate the unavoidable necessity of spiritual direction for souls, since for him spiritual direction was « il consiglio dei consigli » (Introduzione alla vita devota, part 1, chap. 4):
The doctrine of spiritual direction in Salesius is scattered throughout all his writings. Subsequently, Father Francesco Guilloré should be noted as one of the most remarkable masters of spiritual direction; a considerable portion of his works deals with it, with particular regard to souls called to higher mystical states (La manière de conduire les âmes dans la vie spirituelle, Paris 1675). Fénelon, too, left sound guidance for the spiritual direction of souls, which he wished to base on love and to address to the heart rather than to the spirit (M. Cagnac, Fénelon, Etudes critiques, ibid. 1910, p. 337). Fénelon’s Lettres de direction (ed. 1902) are famous. Bossuet left, in his « Lettere di direzione », an excellent example of direction inspired by love and adapted to the needs of every soul (Correspondance de Bossuet, edited by Ch. Urbain and E. Levesque, 5 vols., Paris 1909-12); Jean Olier was an excellent master of spiritual direction; his maxims on this subject were collected by his disciple Louis Tronson (Il direttore spirituale secondo lo spirito di Giovanni Olier, Italian trans., Milan 1943). St. Alphonsus M. de’ Liguori offers sound references to spiritual direction in his moral theology and letters. W. Faber composed two celebrated works on spiritual direction: Grouth in Holiness (1854) and Spiritual Conferences (1859). Among the most recent figures, the following should be remembered as excellent masters of spiritual direction: Gay (cf. B. Du Boisrouvray, Mgr Gay, évêque d'Anthéodon, sa vie, ses oeuvres, Tours 1922, chap. 4, Le directeur de conscience), M. d’Hulst, L.-G. de Ségur, L. Beaudénon, W. Sandreau, and C. Marmion.
IV. LIMITS
In order to be useful and sound, spiritual direction must be kept within the proper limits of a “wise middle way which, while preserving for the Holy Spirit the primacy in the direction of consciences, avoids allowing all souls to fall into a harmful passivity and introspection, without thereby wishing to deprive them of the immense benefit of direction rightly understood” (Plus, p. 47).Primacy in spiritual direction always belongs to the action of the Holy Spirit, since, according to Olier, the director must resemble the star of the Magi, or St John the Baptist. “Spiritual direction is the discreet means of helping the soul to walk, and it will prove the better the more the soul, thanks to it, becomes capable of walking by itself. Assiduous and jealous direction is an absurdity, just as it would be for a mother always to carry her child in her arms instead of teaching him to walk” (F. Lippert; cf. Libermann, Écrits spirituels, Paris 1891, p. 260 ff.). The director must never impose upon a soul his own tastes and his way of viewing spiritual matters.
The spiritual director, in matters pertaining to his office, does not possess authority properly so called. Consequently, the person directed is not subject to the exercise of the virtue of obedience. Authors who, like St Francis de Sales, seem to insist upon obedience owed to the director understand such obedience in a broad sense (Vincent, op. cit. in BIBL., p. 408). That of the spiritual director is rather a moral authority, to which there should correspond on the part of the person directed a submission arising more from prudence and humility than from obedience. Thus the spiritual director is not merely a friend; he must be regarded, by virtue of his office, as possessing a certain superiority, as educator or teacher, to which there should correspond in the subject a genuine submission.
The attempt by the spiritual director to exercise too strict an authority over souls leads to their spiritual enervation and encourages their passivity, since “it is dangerous to turn direction into a superstition,” notes Faber (op. cit. in BIBL., chap. 18), who adds: “I have never heard of a person who, having a director, had to complain of being directed too little. The number, however, of those who have suffered from forced direction would fill the hospital of a considerable city.”
Excessive authority in spiritual direction was strongly criticized even in eminent directors, such as Fénelon (cf. R. Navatel, Fénelon et la confrérie secrète du pur amour, Paris 1914, p. 7 ff.); and, though unjustly, also in St Francis.
Therefore, although the counsels and norms of the spiritual director should be regarded as expressions of a prudent judgment, which one should normally follow, it is false to assert that everything said or ordered by the spiritual director is a most certain manifestation of the divine good pleasure concerning the particular circumstances of our existence (as Boccardo maintains, I,
p. 321); but the absence of true authority in the spiritual director is sufficient to refute this thesis. Olier’s letters on obedience to the director are interesting (letter 218, and letter 38). The spiritual director therefore cannot impose precepts properly so called, except in conditional form (e.g.: “if you do not do this, I cannot undertake, or continue, your direction”). In a particular case, having regard to the circumstances, he may declare what he considers to be God’s will, to whose judgment the person directed may prudently submit. For the direction of scrupulous, neurotic, and psychopathic persons, however, particular norms apply.
Reconciling the submission owed to the spiritual director with obedience to ecclesiastical or religious superiors is a rather delicate matter, requiring great prudence and composure on the part of the director.
In this matter, the errors of Molinos are well known; they were condemned in propositions 65–68 (Denz-U, 285), in which the right of ecclesiastical authority to inquire into and judge the manner in which someone directs souls was denied. In practice, in a possible case of conflict between the judgment of the spiritual director and obedience owed to the superior, the director may prudently declare that, according to the general norms of moral theology, a given precept is not binding; or, where the authorities have left the person directed free, the director may declare that an obligation exists in the particular case, but he cannot in any way exempt the person directed from the bond of obedience and authority.
When there is no true precept, but rather the execution of rules or orders that are indirectly binding, or “de bono meliori animae,” the judgment of the spiritual director may differ from that of the superior; but the spiritual director must bear in mind that, although he often has a deeper knowledge of the directed soul, the superior may know many circumstances of the person’s life that are unknown to the spiritual director, relating to his character, defects, and observance of religious life. Hence the spiritual director must exercise great prudence in order to avoid possible abuses by the person directed of his counsel.
Is obedience to the spiritual director to be rendered with regard to one’s vocation or choice of a state of life? Several spiritual directors make use of their authority to impose upon those directed their particular views concerning religious life, remaining in the world, and so forth. Boccardo (III, pp. 639–42) establishes that, in matters of vocation, the person directed must depend entirely upon the director and may only set before him the reasons he considers to be for or against choosing a particular state. The spiritual director may indeed prudently declare whether or not the person directed is called to religious, priestly, or married life, and whether he considers him more or less suited to such forms of life; he may also judge whether the motives put forward by the person directed are supernatural and sound, or weak and illusory; “but, once this has been established, it is not the director but the spiritual son himself who must be led to choose the final practical judgment: therefore it is God’s will that this form of life be followed” (de Guibert, p. 175).
Is a vow of obedience to the spiritual director advisable? It was practiced by several Saints, in order to secure greater merit and greater security in the spiritual life. The Church does not disapprove of it, but has made no pronouncement on the matter. The question may be considered by distinguishing various cases. In the case of incurably scrupulous persons, it is wholly inadvisable. They should be commended to passive obedience, but should not be permitted to make the vow. In the case of occasional scrupulous persons, from whom a prompt return to sound judgment may be hoped, the greatest prudence is necessary: the use of a vow may perhaps be for them a means of healing, but it is much more prudent to see whether submission can be obtained without the vow.
In the case of fervent souls, the spiritual director must never take it upon himself to propose it to the person directed. If the spiritual son spontaneously asks to make it, it should not be granted readily, and only within clearly defined limits, in order to avoid spiritual distress not only for the person directed but also for the director himself, who, by setting himself up as a superior, would assume before God responsibility for all the actions of the person directed. Theoretically,
one may ask by virtue of which virtue such a vow is binding. The answer is: by virtue of the virtue of religion, and not of obedience, because the vow does not serve to constitute a true superior.
The practice of binding oneself by vow not to change directors, or to keep all his teaching secret, or not to seek counsel from others, is particularly to be discouraged. All this is harmful to true piety. The case of St Joan of Chantal is famous in this regard (cf. St Francis de Sales: Epist. 221 and 223, in Oeuvres 1–12, pp. 277–283). For someone in the married state, a vow of obedience to the director is not to be recommended, except in special cases.
V. IL DIRETTORE SPIRITUALE
The office of spiritual director should ordinarily be reserved to priests alone, both with regard to the general economy of the supernatural and because of the easy connection between spiritual direction and Confession, as well as the greater preparation and aptitude that the priest possesses for this office. There are theologians, such as F. Guilloré (Secret de la vie spirituelle, I, 1, 8, 2-3) and L. Boccardo (I, p. 145), who wish the office of spiritual director to be reserved exclusively to priests. Nevertheless, one cannot ignore the fact that in the past there were luminous examples of this office being exercised by non-priests, such as s. Francesco d'Assisi, s. Ignazio di Loyola before 1537, etc. The Bernières-Louvigny (v.) was famous; in addition to his fellow hermitage members, he also directed laymen, monks, religious men, religious women, and priests. Therefore, with De Guibert, one may assert: «lex absoluta et universalis solis sacerdotibus omnino reservans directionem animarum statui posse non videtur» (p. 173, n. 190).The history of the ascetical life also records cases of women spiritual directors, although M. Viller observes (L'abrégé de la perfection de la Dame milanaise, in Revue d'ascétique et mystique, 12 [1931], p. 83), “it is difficult to admit that a woman can exercise the office of a true director without illusion.” S. Caterina da Siena stands foremost among these, and her «Lettere» are truly masterpieces of spiritual direction. Teresa di Gesù was the directress of her Carmelite communities; Isabella Cristina Bellinzaga was the directress of p. Achille Gagliardi and of other members of his Society of Jesus (cf. H. Bremond, Histoire littéraire du sentiment religieux en France depuis la fin des guerres de religion jusqu'à nos jours, XI, Le procès des mystiques, Parigi 1933, chap. 1, pp. 5-18). Relations of spiritual direction also existed between Madame Guyon and her director Fénelon (E. Masson, Fénelon et madame Guyon, ivi 1907). H. Lacordaire could write to Madame Swetchine at a sad hour in her life: «you are the first who have guided me» (M. J. Rouet de Journel, Madame Swetchine, Parigi 1929, p. 257).
Spiritual direction, because of the complex of theoretical and practical requirements governing the series of practical judgments that must guide the conscience being directed, presupposes particular qualities in the director.
Six principal qualities required in the spiritual director may be identified:
1) Holiness, since spiritual direction is, in a particular way, an act of cooperation with the action of Grace and the Holy Spirit; the director must see only God in souls. «We must first be full of God ourselves, if we wish to fill others with him» (Olier, op. cit. in bibl., p. 141); «the art of direction is a science not of study, but of prayer; not of speculation, but of love» (Bérulle, Memorial pour la direction des supérieurs).
2) Knowledge, above all theological knowledge, from dogmatics through ascetical and mystical theology, together with a sufficient understanding of the history and literature of spirituality, so that he may properly direct and regulate spiritual reading and be acquainted with the various opinions and solutions concerning problems. An extensive knowledge of the psychological and psychopathological disciplines will also be useful.
3) Supernatural prudence and sound judgment, strengthened by the gift of counsel, which the director must particularly ask of the Holy Spirit. Since he must lead the soul in correspondence with Grace, he must never impose upon it his own tastes and inclinations, nor guide it according to his own way of seeing things. A director who acted in this manner would often turn souls away from God's guidance and would frequently thwart God's Grace in them.
4) Experience, which he must derive both from the personal practice of holiness and from the multiplicity of forms of spiritual direction (G. B. Scaramelli, vol. I, treatise 1, art. 3, chap. 3, pp. 70-71, nos. 107-108).
5) A spirit of adaptability, together with the ability to provide spiritual direction that is appropriate and progressive. Since no two souls are identical in matters of spiritual direction, «the only truly absolute law is that there be no absolute law» (H. Bremond, Hist. litt. etc., IX, Parigi 1932, p. 368). «God's ways with souls are different, but no one can perfect himself except by following the way along which God wishes him to walk.» Directors must therefore devote themselves in a very particular way to discernment, so as never to lead souls except along the path proper to them.
6) Charity, «which is a supernatural and fraternal affection that makes him see in those he directs spiritual children entrusted to him by God himself» (A. Tanquerey, Compendio di teologia ascetica e mistica, C. V, a II, n. 544 A).
VI. METHOD
The spiritual director must know the soul under direction, its natural disposition, its natural gifts and defects, the good and bad habits acquired, its temperament and character, the sins committed, its temptations and inclinations, the present impulses of Grace, its present progress, heavenly favors, etc. He must wisely guide the soul in opening itself, avoiding every exaggeration or excessive loquacity, through suitable questions, requiring detailed accounts of its spiritual state, suggesting good formative reading, and encouraging introspection. The soul must be instructed gradually in the spiritual way, taking advantage of every opportunity.It is not necessary that in spiritual direction the director rely exclusively on the knowledge obtained from the soul, but he may also use certain information, even when acquired from external sources. In instructing the person under direction, one should not neglect to provide a general account of spiritual principles, demonstrating how the advice given is founded on dogma and experience, and prudently deducing principles for concrete practice.
He must also foster the good will of the person under direction by securing the practical execution of resolutions. At times it may be useful or necessary for the formation and progress of the soul to impose trials or humiliations, or to employ harsh measures, but these means must be used with the utmost caution. Although spiritual directors often assist and advise souls under their direction even in temporal affairs and matters, in order to procure their spiritual good, and, when dealing with women deprived of any other counsel (A.-M. Meynard, Trattato della vita interiore, I, Torino 1938, 11), nevertheless, since there are many dangers and disadvantages in this matter, directors are advised against doing so, except in truly extraordinary cases.
The director must avoid despotism, which imposes his own ideas or keeps the soul in a state of continual inferiority; vainglory and complacency in spiritual direction; loss of time and idle curiosity; weakness and human respect, which prevent him from directing with severity; excessive affection and familiarity; and attachment of the heart to the souls under his direction. A danger to be guarded against is illuminism, that is, the claim to direct souls by means of special lights.
The person under direction must avoid pusillanimity, false security consisting in attributing every responsibility to the director, laziness in willing and acting, vainglory and self-love developing through excessive talk about oneself, and excessive affection toward the director.
Whom should one choose as director? For many, the director is indicated by the ordinary and natural circumstances of their surroundings, such as, for many souls, the parish priest, the spiritual father of communities, etc. In certain particular cases, the choice or appointment may take place through a special inspiration from God; thus, the blessed Claudio de la Colombière for s. Margherita M. Alacoque.
Apart from these cases, the choice should ordinarily be made with freedom, humility, and discernment, carefully weighing the circumstances and the possibilities of implementation. It is well known that the CIC leaves broad freedom in the matter of spiritual direction.
It is advisable that the spiritual director be a single person; this does not exclude the possibility that the spiritual child may also seek advice from other prudent men in specific and particular cases. A multitude of advisers creates confusion in souls; this applies especially to those prone to anxiety and scrupulosity.
Once a director has been chosen, a soul may change him. At times this change is imposed by providential circumstances themselves; for example, if the director or the person under direction moves elsewhere, or if the director, because of lack of time, can give the soul under his direction only a very limited or almost no time, or can limit his direction to spiritual letters alone.
This change may also be advisable for intrinsic reasons; for example, difficulty in opening oneself to a particular director, provided that this is not merely temptation, timidity, or a spirit of pride; or the ineffectiveness of the particular direction, arising from the director’s theoretical or practical deficiencies. The change must be made prudently, without haste, after hearing the enlightened opinion of third parties.
But inconstancy and self-love must be carefully avoided.
VII. SPECIAL FORMS
1. The spiritual direction of women. This requires particular prudence and delicacy. “A creature of intuition, as she is, and of feeling more than of cool reason, woman finds herself exposed, perhaps more than man, to errors and exaggerations, to a lack of due deliberation,” particularly in spiritual matters (Plus, p. 120 ff.).Particular prudence is necessary because, as La Bruyère notes, women love to talk at length, and, under the appearance of obeying and being directed, they often love to indulge their own tastes, to command, and to direct the director: “They want,” says La Bruyère, “a director after their own fashion, that is, a director of whom they themselves are the directors, suggesting the way in which he must direct them.”
2. The spiritual direction of children. “To direct a child consists in initiating him directly and personally into the practice of the virtues and the reform of his bad habits. It is teaching him how he must become a perfect Christian, how he must correct himself of a particular defect that disfigures his soul, how he must acquire a particular way of thinking and a particular rule of conduct, required by his present situation. Through spiritual direction the child learns to make use, in his personal conduct and in his relations with his neighbor, of the graces received in Communion and Confession” (E. Poppe, The spiritual direction of children, Italian trans., Milan, p. 33).
The best setting for a child’s spiritual direction is Confession. It is particularly recommended that prayer, mortification (with special attention to modesty and purity), and the duties of one’s state be taken as subjects of direction. E. Poppe particularly recommends “dogmatic” spiritual direction as well, that is, spiritual direction founded on doctrinal formation, since a purely moral spiritual direction is not desirable.
If spiritual direction is an ordinary means of perfection for every adult Christian, it is an absolutely indispensable means for the child and the young person, as J. J. Rousseau also recognizes in Emile (book V). “A child, and even more an adolescent and a young man, will never arrive on his own, without a miracle, at the fullness of Christian life” (C. Gnocchi, op. cit. in the bibliography, p. 15). The broad and profound use of spiritual direction for young people encounters many obstacles on the part of confessors, owing to a lack of confidence in a good outcome and to an alleged lack of time; and on the part of young people, many of whom are unaware of it, are prejudiced against it, or do not properly understand its limits, often exceeding them harmfully and consequently becoming disheartened. In the child and the young person, the fundamental quality of a good method of spiritual direction is gradualness. In children and young people, particular care must be taken with formation in truth, moral conscience, and the will, educating in them the Christian personality, and finally educating them toward the fullness of Christianity. All spiritual directors are advised to read the chapter Young People in A. Grazioli, The Practice of Confessors in the Spirit of b. Cafasso (Asti 1945, pp. 139–44).
3. Spiritual direction by correspondence. — The ordinary way of imparting spiritual direction, which should always be used when grave reasons do not prevent it, is oral spiritual direction: “ergo - notes De Guibert (cap. IV, sect. 2, II, p. 193) - ubi haberi potest aque bona directio ore accipienda, avertendi sunt homines ab eadem per epistulas quaerenda”: the mere difficulty of changing directors or of opening oneself to another does not seem a sufficient reason for changing, except in particular cases involving difficulty in opening oneself.
Direction by letter, given to persons who have not previously met one another personally, apart from special enlightenment, should not be considered useful or effective, unless it concerns replies to particular questionnaires.
Occasional spiritual direction given by letter, if preceded by occasional oral spiritual direction, for example during a retreat, can only rarely be useful, unless it serves to complete directions already begun orally.
Epistolary spiritual direction may be useful in the particular case in which the director has already directed the soul for a long time, and it is facing particular difficulties, while the present spiritual director does not possess any particular aptitude for directing.
In epistolary spiritual direction, numerous dangers and difficulties must in fact be avoided, among which one must mention the considerable waste of time, not compensated by proportionate benefit, since the same result can often be achieved through other, less burdensome forms, and the difficulty of properly adapting the written reply to the state of the soul at the moment when it will receive the letter (Plus, VII, pp. 149–52).
Nevertheless, as Plus notes, there is an immense quantity of letters of spiritual direction. Some are doctrinal (Mons. D’Hulst), others more psychological (St. Francis de Sales), others more descriptive (Fr. Didon); some contain general counsels and serve a certain number of souls (St. Vincent De’ Paoli), while others have particular cases in view (such as the letters of Fr. De la Colombière to St. Margaret Mary. Plus, VII, p. 148). The Letters of Direction of Mons. D’Hulst, edited by A. Baudrillart, are celebrated.
Norms: 1) write with a view to the sole glory of God; 2) be sparing, since, as Marmion observes: “long, frequent letters of direction do more harm than good” (Letter of Nov. 1919, in the Vie, p. 264); 3) with women, do not indulge sentiment; 4) with women, personal confidences must never be exchanged.
4. The spiritual direction of priests. — Concerning the spiritual direction of priests, the teachings of b. Cafasso contained in Mons. A. Grazioli, The Practice of Confessors in the Spirit of b. Cafasso (Asti 1945), pp. 311–20, are most beautiful.
5. The spiritual direction of the mentally abnormal. Psychotherapy, as ancient as humanity in its empirical procedures, provides, as a modern science, valuable notions and methodological principles for the spiritual direction of psychopaths. In this direction, one must bear in mind the systematic classification of illnesses of the mind into general psychoses, which in their most acute forms can lead to the total loss of reason; circumscribed or systematized psychoses, in which only delusional ideas exist; and psychoneuroses.
Those affected by mental illnesses who are capable of spiritual direction are, evidently, only those who are not totally altered in their psychic life, even though they present considerable abnormalities. The spiritual director must proceed with each of them by adapting his direction to the psychic state of the person directed. He must persuade rather than suggest. De Sinéty (p. 130) believes that the spiritual director may sometimes also resort to suggestion in the spiritual direction of a psychically afflicted soul, but never to hypnotic suggestion. Persuasion nevertheless remains the royal road, because it respects freedom of spirit and alone offers all the desirable guarantees of efficacy and permanence. The confidence of the mentally ill person must be won through tireless patience, never showing haste or irritation at the patient’s reticence or prolixity, and never making ironic remarks about his infirmity.
For the general psychoses caused by exogenous intoxications (alcohol, morphine, etc.) or endogenous ones, or by unknown organic causes, particularly in manic-depressive states—that is, in agitated mania, depressive melancholia, and madness—the spiritual director will be able to do very little, because neither suggestion nor persuasion is effective; in general, time is wasted in struggling directly against a delusional idea, in attempting to revive a typical melancholic, or to calm a manic, resistance to persuasion being characteristic of such states. When the patient is one who feels persecuted or is a persecutor, an inventor or a pseudo-mystic, nothing is gained by discussing his fixed ideas; he does not even listen, and is incapable of believing what is said to him (De Sinéty, p. 130). In such cases the director should take care not to contradict or argue, but, by skillful efforts, to lead the mind on to other subjects.
The spiritual direction of psychasthenics, when they are not affected by psychosis, can achieve good results if properly conducted. The pathological character of their condition must be clearly explained to the sick, without frightening them, but by holding out to them the certainty of recovery, or at least of considerable improvement.
Scrupulous persons and neurasthenics are spiritually directed through persuasion and obedience. For hysterics, V. ISTERSMO.