During a session, the Director helps the Directee talk about their experience of God, in prayer and in life. The Directee is encouraged to explore their relationship with God so that they can learn to be more attentive to him. Many people find it difficult to notice God’s actions in the circumstances of their everyday life. Yet, in the depths of our souls there is a longing for that intimacy with him (the conscious awareness of his presence and love).

There are always three persons involved in a direction session, the director, the directee and the Holy Spirit. A director does not “direct” as much as assist the person in learning to be aware of the unique way the Spirit is moving in a person’s life, the images of God that we hold, and the wounds that can be healed. A Spiritual Director can help a person be aware of how one is feeling
toward God at any given moment, and develop the freedom to respond to God’s invitations. The freedom we have in responding to God is God’s greatest gift to humanity and what makes us truly unique in creation.

For on-going spiritual direction, you and your spiritual director will agree on a convenient location and time for meeting, usually once a month for an hour. Everything discussed during the meeting is completely confidential.

• Help you to identify and trust your own experiences of God.
• Help you to become ever more aware of God’s presence in your life and more responsive to God’s leading.
• Help you to notice more clearly God’s movements and promptings in your daily life and prayer.
• Help you to integrate prayer and spirituality into your everyday life.
• Help you notice, own and share with God, your struggles, joys, hopes, and pain.
• Help you to allow God’s love to lead you toward change, and into a life of acceptance and hope.
• Help you to be sensitive to interior changes within yourself and the effects these changes have on your relationships.
• Help you to discern and make difficult choices.

A Spiritual Director is someone who has gone through extensive training and formation in the art
of Spiritual Direction. Kathy Oberreuter, Director of Faith Formation received her training and
certification through the Institute of the Transfiguration, Archdiocese of Dubuque. Spiritual
Directors are encouraged to attend to their own personal spiritual life by engaging in ongoing
education, confidential supervision, and regularly meeting with their own spiritual director.

We define Christian spiritual direction as help given by one Christian to another which enables
that person to pay attention to God’s personal communication to him or her, to respond to this
personally communicating God, to grow in intimacy with this God, and to live out the consequences of the relationship. (William A. Barry, SJ and William J. Connolly, SJ, Center for Religious Development, Cambridge,Massachusetts,USA)

Spiritual direction, an ancient ministry of the church, is a relationship in which one person assists
another, or others, in attending to God’s presence and call.

Spiritual direction is being a companion to someone in his or her spiritual life. Other ways of
describing spiritual direction include holy listening, spiritual friendship, and sacred journeying.

Please call or email Kathy Oberreuter if you have any questions or would like to schedule a time
to visit with her. Cluster Office: 563-927-4710 or email: [email protected].