Removal of Weeds Before Digging

Introduction and Definition of Spiritual Accompaniment

Nutt set out to define Spiritual Direction (Spiritual Accompaniment) and did not accomplish this.[1] However Barry and Connolly have a helpful definition,

We define Christian spiritual direction, then, as help given by one believer to another that enables the latter to pay attention to God’s personal communication to him or her, to respond to this personally communicating God, to grow in intimacy with this God, and to live out the consequences of the relationship[2].

This definition is in the Ignatian tradition which suits the Spiritual Accompaniment (SA) process I am entered into because the Spiritual Accompanist draws from the deep well of that tradition. There are other traditions of spiritual direction but for the purposes of this reflection the tradition of Christian and Ignatius Loyola will be considered.  Discarding the other traditions is not intending to negate their use, this is not blanket removal of weeds. However it is removing the things not needed for now which may fit the weed analogy somewhat.

Before the Manure There is Double Digging and Stones are Found

Preparation part one and challenges

Moons speaking colloquially suggests the first tool of spiritual direction is “taking it easy.”[3] And here I meet the challenge of the first number of meetings: I have no small talk, I am raw, bruised and hurting and I desperately need a safe place to lay out the issue/s. The challenge will be to not scare the Spiritual Accompanist with my story and at the same time lend my soul into the space for the possibility of divine healing by the third chair[4]/ Holy Spirit[5]. Using the gardening analogy it would be like putting the spade into soil and encountering a stone. The vulnerability of self is important to share, appropriately. Part of the discerning process therefore, in any encounter is how much of this wounded self-do I share? And will my sharing open wounds for the Spiritual Accompanist?

Before the Manure There is Double Digging

Preparation part two and excitement

This year is a liminal space: the person I am in September 2022 will not be the person who has hands laid on them in the apostolic tradition becoming an ordained minister in the tradition of the Methodist Church in Ireland, in June 2023. It is vital to capture this year through journalling, a deepening prayer life, a further movement to becoming the person God wants me to be. I am drawn to O’Murchu’s fine account of evolution where he states at the beginning of his journey, “This book feels like an expedition, into an unknown land, yet one that feels strangely familiar[6].” This resonates with me on the journey of ordination; I have been along a similar road when I was commissioned by the Conference of the Methodist Church in Ireland into circuit ministry and the title of “The Reverend Susan Gallagher.” Similar to O’Murchu, it feels recognisable and yet there are differences as O’Murchu outlined for him. Later he strongly indicates, “Our failure to attend to this expansive vision may well be the major cause of the alienation and estrangement that we often experience in our daily lives.[7]” With a view to unfulfilling estrangement; journalling and reflecting critically is essential. The development of the interior life through a liminal period is the crucible moments and it is important to capture those moments. Using the gardening motif when there is to be fruitful crops the platinum standard is to double dig; to bring nutrients from the sub soil into the top soil and to check once more for weeds and stones. The ground is familiar but is going through a change.

The devil/ the inner judge[8]/ the policeman[9]/ the negative force will and has tried to formulate a different endpoint during these few months: A spiritual injury resurfaced, a new tactile injury and further God given insight into my biological family increased my understanding of self[10]. McGrath poses the question, “So what is the importance of narrative for spirituality?”[11] Although his own answer to this is a placating shallow illustration it is essential for me to know who I am, where I have come from, where I have been, to whom I belong and who belongs to me to truly appreciate a life in Christ as a beloved child and God the Father’s segullah.[12]

Getting Ready For Manure, Checking For Weeds

Preparation part three and visioning

The SA journey is held in a sacred space. Bogatsu states,

Authentic sacred spaces are not just for us to feel at peace, but are for us to hear the instructions of God for our lives and for us to walk in obedience so that we are able to fulfill God’s plans and purposes for our lives.[13]

As I imagined the space we (the Spiritual Accompanier and I) would be inhabiting, I wondered what he would make of me. I reflected on this pondering on the concept of his listening to me as we listening to the Holy Spirit. The room I envisioned was old fashioned, almost like a musty office with stale pipe smoke aroma but where in that space the meeting would take place I saw light and this helped prepare my bruised psyche. I reflected on the possible words I might use and the words that might come back to me. I got a feeling of gentleness and responded poetically:

Words

Words can heal a nation and tend to

 a child’s cries.

Words can caress a heart’s shadow and

Comfort the dying.

Words can be a beach of hope illuminating

The path of each sentence.

Words can feed the hungry and

Clothe the naked.

Bringing joy to pull away from

The deep well of pain.

Words can pierce the night sky and

Bring thankfulness for the “other”

Words of gratitude fill the air

And can express our wonder

At the beautiful souls that

Inhabit this space:

Words of wholeness

Words of depth

Words of holding silence

Words of holding

Words of praise

Thanks be to God.

Alongside the need for a sacred space is a need for readiness; Louf says “For our heart, our true heart, is asleep; and it has to be woken up, gradually-through the course of a whole lifetime.”[14] SA differs from counselling, therapy and coaching because the focus is on the relationship each participant has with God. I do not need someone to fix my problems. I need a sacred space where the room is held in the divine so healing may occur. Getting a heart ready for an encounter with the divine is not done lightly, there is prior knowledge of wounds being open for a season that may reopen. No amount of weeding can prepare a soul for being laid bare in holy moment of challenge and comfort. However the prior knowledge that the work is necessary does help to prepare the ground ready for the work of the Holy Spirit.

Composting Manure Takes Time

Preparation part four and a spiritually disciplined life

As already stated, Moon’s “taking it easy” is a tool in the Spiritual Director’s tool kit. Relationships take time to build and divulging too much of my narrative to begin with might burn the meeting much like raw manure can burn grass. Composting manure takes time, the older the manure the better the results. In my life the journey I have with the spiritual disciplines, as Willard describes “such things as solitude and silence, prayer, simple and sacrificial living, intense study and meditation upon God’s Word and God’s ways, and service to others.”[15]

Preparation to meet the Spiritual Accompanier, begins with one of the spiritual disciplines; prayer. My routine is set; each morning I awaken at dawn in summer months and pre-dawn in winter months, between 4.30 and 7 am. A walk shakes off slumber, followed by morning spiritual disciplines of prayer, scripture reading, silence, journalling ending with prayer. Louf continues, “prayer is the abundance of the heart.”[16] On the mornings of a SA encounter my prayer has been; what would you like me to attend to in the session today? The prayer before the first meeting I got the word ‘open’ and took that to mean be attentive to the open things and being open within. I also took it to mean be honest and open to the crucible moments  in the session, do not hide who I am and receive the wisdom from the Spiritual Accompanier with grace. Equally becoming aware of things closed off and closed to me.

Filling In

Final Preparations and driving with silence

After all the soil preparation the ground is put back together ready to receive seeds. One of my peers says when a person approaches the group “come, sit, we’ve been waiting for you.” It is so invitational, inclusive and for me, speaks into the gardening analogy for this preparatory work. As if my whole being as it traversed to Dublin for the meetings was saying, “ok the groundwork is done now we wait for the seeds to develop.” Travelling to the meetings has become a form of preparation for me because of the distance. Usually when driving I have an audiobook on and a notepad at my side to write a word or thought that comes as I commute. A decision was made prior to the first journey to travel with silence. With silence as opposed to in silence because I had a holy anticipation that I would hear from the Lord somehow. The silence was held, the pace was slower than the motorway speed limit and my soul was refreshed and later I reflected on this time poetically:

With Silence

(to be spoken/read as noises)

Purring engine

Swish swoosh swish

Turn right in 1 kilometre

Purring engine

Swish swoosh swish

At the roundabout take the 3^rd exit

Purr… shh shh shh

You were always mine first

Shh shh shh

In 500 metres you have reached your destination

 I was bringing to the meeting my 2022 awareness of a family matter and how I wanted to bring mercy and grace to the relationship but it was too new for me to cope with alongside an un-named tactile injury event earlier this year. I was on the new section of road above Naas and my Satnav still thought I should be travelling at sixty kilometres an hour and it struck me that maybe I should; be travelling through this life at half the speed of the world and I might grasp a holy moment. It was in this frame of mind, half speed ready for the seed to grow in the prepared soil, that I entered into the sacred space[17].

1787 words

Bibliography

Barry, William A. and Connolly, William J. The practice of spiritual direction. New York: HarperCollins, 2009.

Bogatsu, Gibbon. “Creating Authentic Sacred Space.” in Kaleidoscope: Broadening The Palette In The Art Of Spiritual Direction, edited by Ineda P. Adesanya, 41-53 New York: Church Publishing, 2019.

Louf, Andre. Teach Us To Pray: Learning A Little About God. Chicago: Franciscan Herald Press, 1975.

Louf, Andre. Grace Can Do More: Spiritual Accompaniment And Spiritual Growth. Minnesota: Liturgical Press, 2002.

Luft, Joseph and Ingham, Harry. “The Johari Window, A Graphic Model Of Interpersonal Awareness.” Proceedings of the Western Training Laboratory in Group Development. Los Angeles: University of California(UCLA), 1955.

McGrath, Alister E. Christian Spirituality: An Introduction. Oxford: Blackwell, 1999.

Moons, Jos. The Art of Spiritual Direction: A Guide To Ignatian Practice. Dublin: Messenger Publications, 2019 Translated by Annie Bolger, Derrick Witherington and Jos Moon. eBook  Accessed 09/01/2023 at 07:35 https://www.scribd.com/read/483218774/The-Art-of-Spiritual-Direction-A-Guide-to-Ignatian-Practice.

Nutt, Maurice J. “Soul Care: A Brief Historical Overview And Nature Of Spiritual Direction.” in Kaleidoscope: Broadening The Palette In The Art Of Spiritual Direction, edited by Ineda P. Adesanya, 3-19 New York: Church Publishing, 2019.

O’Murchu, Diarmuid. Evolutionary Faith: Rediscovering God In Our Great Story. Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 2002.

Turner, Jacci.  “The Importance Of Taking Off Your Hat While Offering Spiritual Companionship.” Accessed 10/01/2023 at 07:10 https://www.sdicompanions.org/the-importance-of-taking-off-your-hat-while-offering-spiritual-companionship.

Willard, Dallas. The Spirit Of Disciplines: Understanding How God Changes Lives. New York: Harper Collins, 1988. ix

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[1] Maurice J. Nutt, “Soul Care: A Brief Historical Overview And Nature Of Spiritual Direction.” in Kaleidoscope: Broadening The Palette In The Art Of Spiritual Direction, edited by Ineda P. Adesanya. (New York: Church Publishing, 201), 3-19

[2] William A. Barry and William J. Connolly, The Practice Of Spiritual Direction. (New York: HarperCollins, 2009), 8

[3] Jos Moons, The Art Of Spiritual Direction: A Guide To Ignatian Practice. (Dublin: Messenger Publications, 2019) Trans. Annie Bolger, Derrick Witherington and Jos Moon. eBook  Chapter 3 First tool – taking it easy https://www.scribd.com/read/483218774/The-Art-of-Spiritual-Direction-A-Guide-to-Ignatian-Practice

[4] Jacci Turner, “The Importance Of Taking Off Your Hat While Offering Spiritual Companionship,” accessed 10/01/2023 at 07:10 https://www.sdicompanions.org/the-importance-of-taking-off-your-hat-while-offering-spiritual-companionship/

[5] For example Acts of the Apostles 1:2, 2:33, 10:44, Romans 5:5 and crucially 1 Corinthians 6:19. (NIV)

[6] Diarmuid O’Murchu, Evolutionary Faith: Rediscovering God In Our Great Story. (Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 2002), 7.

[7] Ibid 20

[8] Also Jungian negative animus, Freudian super-ego, Ignatian false spirit and more.

[9] Andre Louf, Grace Can Do More: Spiritual Accompaniment And Spiritual Growth. Minnesota: Liturgical Press, 2002), 99.

[10]Joseph Luft and Harry Ingham, “The Johari Window, A Graphic Model Of Interpersonal Awareness”. Proceedings of the western training laboratory in group development. (Los Angeles: University of California, Los Angeles, 1955).

[11] Alister E. McGrath, Christian Spirituality: An Introduction. (Oxford: Blackwell, 1999), 119.

[12] סגלה Segullah – treasured possession. Comes from Exodus 19:5, Deuteronomy 7:6, Deut 14:2, Deut 26:18 and Psalm 135:4. An example: “On the day when I act,” says the Lord Almighty, “they will be my treasured possession. I will spare them, just as a father has compassion and spares his son who serves him.  Malachi 3:17

[13] Gibbon Bogatsu, “Creating Authentic Sacred Space.” in Kaleidoscope: Broadening The Palette In The Art Of Spiritual Direction, edited by Ineda P. Adesanya, 41-53 New York: Church Publishing, 2019), 46.

[14] Andre Louf, Teach Us To Pray: Learning A Little About God. (Chicago: Franciscan Herald Press, 1975). 7

[15] Dallas Willard, The Spirit Of Disciplines: Understanding How God Changes Lives (New York: Harper Collins, 1988). ix

[16] Andre Louf, Teach Us To Pray: Learning A Little About God. (Chicago: Franciscan Herald Press, 1975). 7

[17] Gibbon Bogatsu, “Creating Authentic Sacred Space.” in Kaleidoscope: Broadening The Palette In The Art Of Spiritual Direction, edited by Ineda P. Adesanya, (New York: Church Publishing, 2019). 41-53