Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Contemplative
Recommended Reading for Spiritual Accompaniment

Recommended Reading for Spiritual Accompaniment

Last updated on: March 5, 2018 at 12:32 am by Carl "Skye" McColman

Recommended Reading for Spiritual Accompaniment 2018-03-05T00:32:43-04:00 Carl "Skye" McColman

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

shutterstock_276803819 Spiritual direction, also known as spiritual accompaniment, is an essential ministry for anyone seeking to embrace contemplative Christianity. Not only is it a vital and beautiful ministry to receive, but many find meaning and value in providing this kind of soul friendship and guidance to others.

Recently a reader of this blog wrote to me and asked, “Do you have a list of books you recommend that discuss spiritual direction?” It has been over twenty years since my own formation as a spiritual director/companion, so my list of go-to books might be a bit dated. But here are five books I would recommend to anyone who is interested in the ministry of spiritual accompaniment, along with a couple of more recent books that I haven’t read but look really interesting.

Soul Friend

Kenneth Leech’s Soul Friend: Spiritual Direction in the Modern World would be the book I would keep if I could have only one title in my library on this topic. It’s dry and textbook-y, and perhaps the first chapter on “the present climate” is a bit dated. But it’s grounded in the Christian contemplative tradition, steeped in prayer, and insightful in its understanding that the ministry of spiritual companionship is prophetic rather than analgesic: it’s not a practice intended merely to make us feel good, but aims to help the directee become holy by the grace of God. Leech traces the historical background of Christian spiritual guidance to a surprising headwater: the Irish Church, where the old Gaelic concept of the anamchara or “soul friend” (made popular in our time by John O’Donohue) was borrowed from the indigenous Celtic tradition to inspire one-on-one mentoring and guidance in a Christian context.

The Practice of Spiritual Direction

As important as Soul Friend is to me, if I could keep two books on this topic, my second choice would be The Practice of Spiritual Direction by William Barry, SJ and William Connolly, SJ. If Leech represents the Celtic headwaters of spiritual companionship, then Barry & Connolly represent the Jesuits, who perhaps more than any other religious order have truly embraced the importance of one-on-one spiritual guidance. This perceptive and practical book explores not only the characteristics of how we individuals relate to God, but also considers the equally important dynamics that occur between the director and directed. This was the book that helped me to see that human beings seem to have an inherent ambivalence about God: we want intimacy with God, and yet we resist God. Spiritual guidance is a wonderful way to unpack that ambivalence, to help us move through our resistance to embrace the intimacy and union God offers us.

Care of Mind, Care of Spirit

Gerald May’s Care of Mind, Care of Spirit: A Psychiatrist Explores Spiritual Direction helped me to understand the often ambiguous line separating therapy from spiritual guidance. It really is an important issue: some people may innocently (or self-protectively) seek out a spiritual director when in fact their circumstances warrant the kind of therapeutic care that only a psychotherapist or professional counselor can provide. Therefore, it is incumbent upon a good spiritual director to be able to discern when this might be the case, and guide the directee accordingly. A person who primarily needs a therapist would likely find spiritual direction a distraction rather than a blessing. I suppose a similar dynamic could be at work from the other direction: some people may seek therapy when what they truly need is spiritual guidance! So perhaps May’s book would be helpful not just for spiritual guides but for mental health caregivers as well.

Women at the Well

Kathleen Fischer’s Women at the Well: Feminist Perspectives on Spiritual Direction was required reading “back in the day” because so many of the writers on Christian spiritual direction were men, and this book provided a vital women’s perspective, both for those giving and receiving direction. What I took away from it was the importance of not projecting the classic masculine spiritual exercise of “surrendering one’s ego” onto women, who — especially if raised with traditional gender stereotypes — might need a spiritual practice that is more affirming than self-denying. Perhaps some of the issues surrounding gender and society have changed in the thirty years since this book came out, but certainly the underlying message — that directors need to be cognizant of the deep ways that gender affects our spiritual lives — remains as important as ever, not only for women but for men as well.

Holy Listening

Another lovely book on spiritual companionship by a woman is Margaret Guenther’s Holy Listening: the Art of Spiritual Direction. Guenther uses metaphors such as hospitality and midwifery to celebrate a beautiful and gender-inclusive understanding of spiritual accompaniment. I read this during my formation as a spiritual companion, and at the time I thought it was overly gentle. But the older I get, the more I have come to realize that gentleness is a quality that a spiritual director could never have too much of!

The following two books I have not yet read, so my recommendation comes largely from the fact that these books have been recommended to my by colleagues I trust. But they are on my reading list, so I commend them to yours as well. Do check them out (and let me know what you think).

Grace Can Do More

Grace Can Do More: Spiritual Accompaniment and Spiritual Growth by André Louf, OCSO, provides a Trappist/Cistercian perspective on this ministry. Louf, who for many years was the abbot of a French monastery, offers insight not only from his lifetime of monastic formation but also considering the relationship between spiritual guidance and psychotherapy.

These days I’m very much interested in how contemplative spirituality (including the ministry of spiritual companionship) function in the parish or congregational setting; so naturally Gil W. Stafford’s When Leadership and Spiritual Direction Meet: Stories and Reflections for Congregational Life is of interest to me. Stafford is an Episcopal priest with a background both in parish ministry and as a college chaplain.

When Leadership and Spiritual Direction Meet

Perhaps this book would be most useful for those who are in leadership positions in their local church, but since in my experience many people with a ministry of spiritual guidance also tend to be active in their parish or congregation, this might be useful for directors as well. Stafford describes leaders/directors as “holy listeners,” “advocates of silence,” and “wisdom teachers.” Amen!

So there are seven books to get you started. I’d love to hear from readers: what do you think of these books? And are there other titles you think belong on a “must read” list for spiritual directors? Please let me know, either on social media or as a comment on this post. Thank you!

Enjoy reading this blog?
Click here to become a patron.

Living the Faith

spiritual accompaniment

spiritual companionship

Spiritual Direction

spiritual guidance

Previous Post

July 14, 2016

The Place of Joy in Christian Spirituality

Next Post

July 22, 2016 St. Benedict and the Prosperity Gospel

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Activism Announcements Art Books Catholicism Celtic Christianity Christian mysticism Christianity Contemplation Current events Etc. Family humor interfaith dialogue Interfaith Wisdom Interspirituality Lay Cistercians Living the Faith Meditation movies Mysticism Mystics nature Poetry Reviews Scripture silence Spirituality Uncategorized Writing

Select a Month February 2025 January 2025 November 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 March 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 August 2023 June 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 October 2013 September 2013 July 2013 May 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 March 2012 December 2011 September 2011 October 2010 August 2010 March 2010 September 2009 July 2008 January 2008 December 2007 September 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2004

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Which Christian denomination is known for the "Stations of the Cross"?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Methodist Baptist Presbyterian Catholic

Support this
Column