Common Questions
What is Spiritual Direction?
Spiritual direction helps you become aware of God’s action in your life by exploring your spiritual journey with a trained listener and soul companion. This is done in a loving, open manner, with a spiritual director who gives support and feedback in a safe, confidential, and nonjudgmental place. You tell your sacred stories, grow in your understanding of God, and sift through life’s experiences to find a place of healing, hope, freedom, and transformation.
Who is it for?
If you find yourself:
- searching for God in your life
- questioning your faith, God, or traditions
- seeking a deeper connection with God
- discerning important choices
- longing for something more
- feeling stuck in your prayer life
then spiritual direction might be helpful for you.
What does a session look like?
As a listening and supportive companion, a spiritual director opens a space for you to hold a sacred conversation about your personal encounters with God. There is no set agenda, so each session is unique to you and your spiritual care. The role of the director is to help point to the work of the Holy Spirit, the true spiritual director in your life.
The sessions last one hour and people typically meet once a month, but the frequency is flexible. You can seek spiritual direction for as long as you would like. For some, spiritual direction is helpful during a time of discernment or for a season of life. For others, it becomes part of on-going soul work and self-care.
Is it like coaching or counseling?
Typically, conversations with counselors and pastors revolve around specific life events, questions, or issues where someone is seeking advice or help with a problem that needs to be solved. Spiritual direction, by contrast, focuses on the movement of the Spirit in your daily life and offers help in noticing God’s guidance throughout your situation, season of life, or time of discernment. It is not a “quick fix” but rather a subtle and gentle understanding of and encounter with the presence of God.
What does it cost?
Some people – especially affiliated with religious orders – do not charge for spiritual direction, and you can sometimes find them by contacting a local order or retreat center. For those that do, the going rate for trained spiritual directors is between $50-$125 an hour.
My rate is $50 per session.
What Others Are Saying
“Marie helped me find God’s love. Even in my past, when it seemed He wasn’t there, she helped me see that He was all along. Even now, He’s giving me autonomy (unlike my family of origin, church, husband) to find my way and to find Him. It’s not therapy, but it felt like it in the way that my growth was slow, but after a year, I could look back and see much growth. I think part of the process was that Marie listened so well and was so kind and accepting of me that it was healing just to have a witness to my experiences.”