Spiritual Direction: A New Ministry at Sacred Heart Villa

Are you interested in exploring a closer relationship with God in your life at this time?

Are you longing to explore a closer relationship with God, rekindle your prayer life or learn how to pray?

Are you discerning a particular decision or vocation in your life?

Are you longing to integrate spirituality into your daily life, identify and trust your own experiences of God?

Are you searching to discover how to live out your Christian call to
service?

The Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus are now offering Spiritual Direction to individuals who:

• desire to explore a closer relationship with God in the midst of a busy life
• are discerning a particular decision or a call to God’s service (discernment process)
• seek to deepen their prayer life or learn how to pray
• are noticing interior movements toward or away from God

What is Spiritual Direction?
Spiritual Direction is an interpersonal relationship in which one person helps another to reflect on his/her unique life experiences in the light of the Gospel and Christian wisdom. In the midst of a busy life, many people find it difficult to notice God's action in their daily affairs. Yet at the deepest level of our lives, we long for more conscious experience of God's presence and love.

Spiritual direction will help you reflect deeply on the expereinces of your daily life, find God in all things, see work as prayer, recognize God in people, places and events of life. Through Spiritual direction you may come to realize how God's Spirit is truly with you every day and everywhere.

What Should You Look for in Spiritual
Direction?
Spiritual Direction is not really about being "directed," but it is about being encouraged to draw closer to God. Spiritual Direction will help you to:

• deepen your prayer life and help you to respond to God’s revelation as you experience it in the daily events of your life
• discern a particular decision or call in life
• notice God’s presence in your life and your prayers, to savor, to relieve and to respond to your experience of God
• share your struggles, pain, and gratitude with God

Spiritual Direction will not:
• give you a list of “shoulds” about how to live your life (the focus is not problem solving) or provide psychological counseling or therapy, although it may give helpful suggestions from time to time. Spiritual Direction is different from therapeutic relationships. Therapy mainly deals with problem areas and attempts to resolve issues. Spiritual Direction deals with finding and responding to God in all aspects of life.
Spiritual Direction invites you to relationship with God where you are in the faith journey.

What Is the Role of a Spiritual Director/Companion?
A spiritual Companion willingly journeys with you as you deepen your relationship with God; listens, encourages, challenges and prays with you as you freely share the movements of the Spirit in your life. A Spiritual Companion will care, empathize and help you to be open to the experience of God’s personal love for you.

What is the Basic Method of Spiritual Direction?
It is conversation to enable you to understand and express your own living of faith, hope and love, and to enable you to discern and respond to the experience of God’s presence and love. A contemplative atmosphere will help you notice how God’s Spirit is truly with you everyday and everywhere. Please, know that a Spiritual Director/Companion may request a fee for this service, however know that no one will be turned away because of finances.
Usually we meet for an hour once a month or every five weeks at mutually agreed time and at the place. After three sessions, we will evaluate the relationship. What is shared during the session is held in confidence.

How Do we Begin?
To discuss your expectations, answer any further questions and actually begin a Spiritual Direction, please contact:

Sister Grace Dike, SSHJ
(716) 284-8273
E-mail: or
www.shvilla.org