Perspective on Spiritual Guidance

Spiritual guidance offers a faith-centered and confidential conversation in which you can become more attuned to God’s presence. You might come to spiritual guidance to reflect deeply on your experiences or to integrate spirituality into your daily life.

Distinct from counseling, the goal of spiritual guidance is not to solve life’s problems, but rather to increase awareness of how God is already active in an individual’s life. Spiritual guides are trained and experienced in helping others with their spiritual lives.

Before engaging a spiritual guide, it is helpful to reflect on your expectations for the experience:
• Is it essential that your guide have a background in a particular faith tradition?
• Would you feel more comfortable talking with a male or a female?
• How often can you meet with your spiritual guide?

In spiritual guidance sessions, it is essential to trust your instincts and to remain open. Your guide may introduce new methods of prayer or forms of expression, such as journaling or drawing. They will ask you to speak honestly and they will be responsive to your unique spiritual path. Wherever you are in your spiritual journey, guidance can help you notice and respond to God’s presence, deepening your connection to the sacred.

Community is key

Community is essential to Benedictine life. At Holy Wisdom Monastery, we put an emphasis on creating community in everything we do. Creating community informs the way we share Benedictine spirituality with others. It leads how we have structured our oblate community and the way we have invited members of Sunday Assembly to take responsibility for its life together. In community, we connect, listen and obey one another, we consider what is better for the other rather than better for oneself, "supporting with the greatest patience one another's weaknesses of body or behavior, and earnestly competing in obedience to one another." (RB 72:5-6)

A Message That Resonates

The Benedictine tradition lives through the centuries as testament to the strength and applicability of its message. The Rule of Benedict highlights the importance of a balance of daily work and prayer. The purpose of work is to provide service to others and an opportunity for personal development. A commitment to a balanced life is the backbone of Benedict’s document and this message still resonates among those who seek to incorporate spirituality into their everyday lives.