Spiritual direction and deception... some thoughts.

God told me...

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I noticed Pat Robertson came out with his predictions this weekend, not unlike psychics are wont to do, only Robertson claims God told him - implying he has his knowledge from a higher authority...

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I think the fact that religious men and women claim such personal communications and messages from God is a pretty good sign that "faith has dwindled among the sons of men, empty follies they talk, each one with his neighbor." (Ps. 11) Modern men and women have "itchy ears" looking for religious novelty and revelations, along with signs and wonders, while neglecting the good they ought to be doing for their neighbor.

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Presumption of assumption.

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St. John of the Cross writes about such people who have a high regard for supernatural communications as "testing God" by their efforts - even when their spiritual directors, persuaded by their personal attachment to extraordinary revelations, ask the person under their care to to request some sort of spiritual knowledge. St. John says that God is displeased with such entreaties and does not even desire them. He points out that these people often act in accord with their revelations, and because of their attachment to the so-called prophecies, their faith is more rooted in these things rather than God.

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St. John writes, These souls "find natural satisfaction in them (revelations) and fit them naturally into their own way of thinking." Although "they often err exceedingly, and are taken aback at the unexpected outcome. Then doubts come to the fore concerning the divine origin of these revelations, since events do not come to pass as they were led to believe. (This is especially true of those who listen to such mystics and who placed their trust in their pronouncements.) They presumed two factors; 1) That the revelations were from God, since from the beginning they firmly adhered to them. Yet this adherence was probably due to their natural inclination towards them. 2) That since the revelations were from God, events would unfold according to their anticipation."

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Such people are easily deluded because God's revelations or locutions are not dependant upon natural understanding and do not always come to fulfillment according to human expectations, much less in accord with their literal sense. St John warns; "Though they (such revelations) may in themselves contain certitude and truth, they do not always have it in their causes and in our way of understanding them."

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Seeking spiritual direction.

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I would never presume to discuss the issue of spiritual direction as regards a person discerning a religious vocation, or one living in the religious state. Indeed, I have no capacity other than experience to discuss the subject even for lay people. Therefore, what I say here is strictly personal opinion and should be taken as just that.

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That said, a person ought to avoid spiritual direction from someone who claims to be a mystic; that is, one who claims to obtain direct knowledge from God or some saint in their (the penitent) regard, no matter if the person is a priest, a religious, or a lay-person. Alsso, one ought to remember that spiritual direction is not a matter of telling a person what to do, nor of trying to convince them to do this or that, but it is rather a mutual listening process with the purpose of guiding the soul to holiness. It is not therapy or psychological counseling.

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In fact, though priests today happen to be better educated than any other time in history, I believe few are qualified to be authentic spiritual directors in the traditional understanding of the process. Even if they have their degrees saying they are. I believe many newly ordained, no matter how pious and faithful to the Holy Father and Magisterium - in other words, orthodox - are ready to be spiritual directors in the classic sense. Of course they ought to be available for counsel and direction concerning the keeping of the commandments and living the ordinary ascetic life expected of a Christian, but rarely are they qualified to deal with such issues associated with so-called spiritual communications, much less mental disturbances or illness and its cause. (In such cases, other than acting as a confessor, the priest should refer the penitent to a psychiatric professional.)

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Ordinary means of spiritual direction.

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What I am really getting at is this, the average Catholic who prays daily and frequents the sacraments, hardly needs or requires a spiritual director, simply because most direction is received through homilies, confession, spiritual friendships and spiritual associations, as well as good reading from approved sources.

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Many times, especially in the case of emotionally needy persons, and those who happen to be very impressionable - male or female, young or more mature - one can be attracted to a particular priest on account of his outward piety, attractiveness, and/or sensitivity in dealing with penitents. The penitent, albeit of good will, can easily deceive herself that their attraction is purely spiritual, and therefore harmless. I think younger priests need to be especially cautious here, as does the penitent.

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Mutual admiration.

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Many people who have grown accustomed to spending much time in prayer, reading many spiritual books, imagine themselves saints already and seek a spiritual director who suits their fantasy and taste, flattering their progress in the spiritual life, long before virtue is proven, or prayer is more than an occasional interior consolation, and so on. Many of us lay people imagine ourselves to be very holy if we spend a few hours a week in adoration, attend daily Mass, or recite the Liturgy of Hours on a more or less regular basis.

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If we happen to have led wicked lives in the past, or have come through some great temptation or trauma, and experience the least hint of a remarkable conversion, even an experienced priest can think we are holy and very special. That is unfortunate, because then spiritual direction can become a pretext for mutual admiration and approval - a sort of spiritual recreation, rather than helping the soul enter the narrow way that leads to life.

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Two things to think about.

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"Never take a man for your example in the tasks you have to perform, no matter how holy he may be, for the devil will set his imperfections before you." - John of the Cross

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"Perfection does not lie in the perfections the soul knows it has, but in the virtues our Lord sees in it. This is a closed book, hence one has no reason for presumption, but must remain prostrate on the ground with respect to self." - John of the Cross

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Note: All thoughts from John of the Cross are taken from his Collected Works. It should be remembered that St. John wrote primarily for contemplative cloistered religious, hence his counsel should be digested accordingly for lay-people, conscious of their completely different lifestyle and state in life. Try to imbibe the aroma or spirit of his writing, rather than drinking in the literal interpretation. And do not forget, I am not qualified to interpret his work, but I am simply writing from my personal understanding. The contemporary soul ought to be wise as a serpent even under the care of a spiritual director.

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I recommend reading, "Spiritual Direction and Meditation" by Thomas Merton, as well as anything by Fr. Dubay on spiritual direction, before searching for a director.