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Putting on the Mind of Christ

How to Amend and Transform Our Automatic Behaviors "For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.” (Rom 7:15) Have you ever felt like St. Paul and said to yourself: "I keep doing what I do not want, and not what I want to do"? Is there a part of you that you just can't seem to change those automatic responses? Do you desire to grow in holiness, yet just find yourself stuck in a habit? This post is about how we can help ourselves, through the Lord's grace, to b

Discernment

5 min read

To Be Known: God's Desire for Us - Healing with Christ in the Present from the Past for the Future

The Eight Desires Examen Dr. Karen Shields Wright “ Our lives are shaped by the things we desire.” Thomas Merton “Our hearts are restless until they can find rest in you.” Augustine of Hippo Reflection- Desires and Wounds In the book Seven Desires by Mark and Debbie Laaser, they list seven desires, those deep yearnings found within the human heart. They are: to be heard and understood, to be affirmed, to be blessed, to be safe, to be touched, to be chosen, and to be inclu

10 min read

Spectrum and Diversity of Thought in the Spiritual Life

By Dr. Karen Shields Wright When asked an Evocative Question When I was new to spiritual direction, I found many of the questions my spiritual director would ask me, frankly, a bit odd. For example, one of the common contemplative evocative questions asked by a spiritual directors is: “ What is happening in you?” Where to begin and to even answer such an inquiry sent me into a quandary. “ In me ?” Why are they asking that ? What does that have to do with prayer ? Neverth

6 min read

The R's in Returning to the Rhythm of the Relationship

During a recent spiritual direction session, a directee shared her longing to return to a regular routine in her life—particularly in...

Prayer

2 min read

Prayer of Recollection: Part I Preparation and Considerations

Summary: The Prayer of Recollection – Preparation and Considerations This post introduces the Prayer of Recollection , a contemplative...

Prayer

1 min read

Mitigating Existential & Spiritual Distress: Part III Listening & Assessment Tools

Spiritual Direction in the Journey of Illness Person As Patient: Though I stand at heaven’s gate, holding onto a remembrance yet feeling far from it waiting for a miracle, within the chalice of pain I encounter God as my brokenness longs in longing to be redeemed from this immanent of experience. Person As Spiritual Director Caregiver: Traveling into the inner world of unknown darkness of another, I hold onto the light of life, keeping a vigil listening for the far off rumble

8 min read

Mitigating Existential & Spiritual Distress: Part V Human Development

Spiritual Direction in the Journey of Illness ERIKSON’S STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT My personal notes and notes taken directly or paraphrased from John Shea’s Illness and the Quest for an Adult Faith ( Spiritual and Psychological Aspects of Illness. Ed Beverly Musgrave et al.) Uncovering where is the person in their development is by listening within one’s narrative for key elements and what areas of ‘virtues’ to support. 1. TRUST VS MISTRUST Birth to age one Learn from your mothe

3 min read

Mitigating Existential and Spiritual Distress: PART II Signs & Symptoms

CAUSES, SYMPTOMS, SIGNS OF EXISTENTIAL & SPIRITUAL DISTRESS EXISTENTIAL & SPIRITUAL CONCERNS • Identity - unclear sense of who I am and how one fits into the world, conflicts between the self and different aspects of oneself as it relates to others (Relatedness). • Freedom - Blurred or confusing boundary between the experience of free will and the external forces and the complex array of alternatives (Autonomy). • Isolation -a longing need to feel and be conn

7 min read