Tending the Holy

Description

"God is mystery," writes Norvene Vest in the Introduction to Tending the Holy, "and every form of religion is an effort to respond faithfully to the mystery of God by whatever name. The Divine breaks through into human experience in many ways, and humans respond variously to the awesome experience of God." And those various responses are what the contributors to Tending the Holy document.

In this provocative and cutting-edge collection readers are given the opportunity to see what spiritual direction looks like--and what questions are asked--through a variety of lenses. From an examination of the spiritual direction relationship in the Evangelical Christian tradition, to Buddhism and Hindu ones, to the better-known ones of the Benedictines, Carmelites, and Ignatians, and finally, to the contemporary lenses of feminism, Generation X, the institutional perspective, and even one based on the natural world and the spirituality of St. Francis, this collection explores unexplored territory. Tending the Holy is an important resource for spiritual directors and pastoral counselors.

Contributors include: Shaykha Fariha al-Jerrahi (New York); Ven. Tejadhammo Bhikku (Sangha Lodge Buddhist Monastery, Australia); Chrisopher Key Chapple (Loyola Marymount University); Rabbi Zari Weiss (Seattle, Washington); Sr. Marian Cowan, CSJ (Sisters of St Joseph of Carondelet, St. Louis, Missouri); Lisa Myers (La Canada, California); Dr. Michael Plattig (University of the Capuchins, Germany); Sister Katherine Howard, OSB (St. Benedict's Convent, St. Joseph, Minnesota); John H. Mostyn, CBC (Rome); The Rev. Dr. John Mabry ( San Francisco); Norvene Vest (Altadena, California), and The Rev. Dr. H. Paul Santmire (Watertown, Massachusetts).

The Spiritual Directors International Series – This book is part of a special series produced by Morehouse Publishing in cooperation with Spiritual Directors International (SDI), a global network of some 6,000 spiritual directors and members.

Sujets

• Comparative Religion
• Philosophie et théologie
• Religion

Informations

• Publié par: Church Publishing Incorporated
• Date de parution: 01 novembre 2003
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780819225542
• Langue: English

Extrait

Tending the Holy
A SPIRITUAL DIRECTORS INTERNATIONAL BOOK
Tending the Holy
Spiritual Direction Across Traditions
EDITED BY NORVENE VEST
Copyright 2003 by Norvene Vest
Morehouse Publishing, 4775 Linglestown Road, Harrisburg, PA 17112
Morehouse Publishing, 445 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Morehouse Publishing is an imprint of Church Publishing Incorporated .

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher.
Unless otherwise noted, the Scripture quotations contained in the text are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Cartoons in CHAPTER ELEVEN: The Care and Feeding of the Gen-X Soul by N.
Graham Standish.
Cover design by Trude Brummer
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Tending the holy : spiritual direction across traditions / edited by Norvene Vest.
p. cm.-(Spiritual directors international series)
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 978-0-8192-1918-3
1. Spiritual direction. I. Vest, Norvene. II. Series.
BV5053.T45 2003
261.6 1-dc21 2003002705
Printed in the United States of America
09 10 11 12 13 6 5 4 3 2
Contents


I NTRODUCTION
I. WORLDWIDE FAITH TRADITIONS
C HAPTER O NE : Making a Cup of Tea
Some Aspects of Spiritual Direction within a Living Buddhist Tradition Tejadhammo Bhikku
C HAPTER T WO : The Sufi Path of Guidance
Fariha al-Jerrahi
C HAPTER T HREE : The Guru and Spiritual Direction
Christopher Key Chapple, Ph.D .
C HAPTER F OUR : The Place on Which You Stand is Holy Ground
A Jewish Understanding of Spiritual Direction Zari Weiss
II. CHRISTIAN SPIRITUAL TRADITIONS
C HAPTER F IVE : How Ignatius Would Tend the Holy
Ignatian Spirituality and Spiritual Direction Marian Cowan, CSJ
C HAPTER S IX : From a Graceful Center
Spiritual Directions for Evangelicals Lisa A. Myers
C HAPTER S EVEN : Freedom to Souls
Spiritual Accompaniment According to the Carmelite Tradition Michael Plattig, O. Carm .
C HAPTER E IGHT : Seeking and Finding God
Love and Humility in the Benedictine Tradition Katherine Howard, OSB
III. SPECIAL SPIRITUAL PERSPECTIVES
C HAPTER N INE : The Spirituality of Nature and the Poor
Revisiting the Historic Vision of St. Francis H. Paul Santmire, Ph.D .
C HAPTER T EN : Transforming Institutions
God s Call-A Director s Response Jack H. Mostyn, CFC
C HAPTER E LEVEN : The Care and Feeding of the Gen-X Soul
John R. Mabry, Ph.D .
C HAPTER T WELVE : In the Image of Godde
Feminist Spiritual Direction Norvene Vest
N OTES
A BOUT THE A UTHORS
Introduction


The framework for this book was stimulated in large part by the evocative language used by Spiritual Directors International in their mission statement: Throughout human history, individuals have been called to accompany others seeking the Mystery we name God. In this time, Spiritual Directors International responds to this call by tending the holy around the world and across traditions.
God is indeed Mystery, and every form of religion is an effort to respond faithfully to the mystery of the sacred by whatever name. The sacred breaks through into human experience in many ways, and humans respond variously to the awesome experience of the holy. In this book we present a range of perspectives from which the holy is tended, multiple ways in which people accompany others whose lives reveal the presence of the sacred. Our authors represent five religious traditions as well as contrasting points of view within the broad lens of Christian tradition and ongoing practice.
Those who seek the Mystery and those who accompany them are united in the conviction that the sacred is somehow present within creation, and that humans are invited to be engaged with the mysterious presence here and now. That common ground-seeking the Mystery, tending the holy-is by no means widely shared in the twenty-first century. More and more people live as if the sacred were absent or unimportant, as if seeking the holy within daily experience were merely a luxury for those who do not have more pressing responsibilities. For example, we need look no further than the increasingly narrow legal interpretations of the U.S. constitutional requirement for separation of church and state. Intended originally to protect the practice of all religious expression, it is now used to prevent public acknowledgment of the divine presence. Consciousness of ultimate Mystery has been edged aside for many who find themselves defined by too many things, too little time, and a desperate desire for order and control in a world that seems chaotic. In such a time, it becomes ever more important for those of us who do share a sense of the necessity of human engagement with ultimate reality to listen to one another with our hearts, even and perhaps especially when our approaches and our ways of speaking differ.
While the holy may increasingly be seen as absent from ordinary public experience, the longing for some form of spirituality seems to be increasing. We know that demand is rising for books on spirituality and for classes in spiritual direction, even as there is corresponding confusion about what those terms mean. The purpose of this book is by no means to move toward a defining consensus, but even as we explore multiple perspectives about tending the holy, we find common ground.
The first ingredient for the soil of this common ground is found in the sense of being drenched in God, or surrounded by the hints of the sacred. Those who tend the holy or spiritual directors, whatever they call themselves, are people who seem almost unable to turn away from the Mystery. We find life to be empty without an ongoing relationship with the more. Something beyond ourselves and somehow bigger than we are keeps calling us forth. Thus, we find human life itself to be more than a mere container for discrete individuality; human mastery is of less interest to us than exploring the possibilities involved in surrender to the unknown. Indeed, we might almost say that one of the primary reasons for seeking spiritual direction is the longing for a place to speak about and to the holy. All the authors here, whatever their perspective, write from the conviction that Mystery exists as a haunting presence for us and that engagement with Mystery brings fullness of life.
Mystery, of course, is mysterious-not a puzzle finally to be solved, but a wonder at which to marvel. The divine nature is intrinsically intangible, elusive, never subject to confinement by thought or word or by any of the five senses. On the other hand, Mystery is somehow always present in the midst of sensory reality. Holiness is not only a quality of God; it is shared by all creation and often found in places once thought to be secular -in matter as well as in spirit, in body as well as in mind, in working life as well as in the church, temple, or mosque. Our contributors show us some ways to attend to the signs of the holy from a number of standpoints.
The second ingredient of this common soil is the importance of perspective. Spiritual directors in general, and our contributors in particular, know that life with Mystery is not primarily about a single experience, however ecstatic that moment, but is rather about meaning that emerges from ongoing experience and reflection. As we accompany others and seek companions ourselves, we see helpful, important patterns that unfold only as more and more of the tapestry is woven. In particular, we begin to notice that our momentary thoughts and our overflowing emotions may not be very sound guides to what is truly important. With such companions we learn to recognize forms of blindness that are characteristic of our particular temperaments so we can be released from dependence on involuntary but habitual reactions and their limitations. Each of our authors has a special way of describing encounters with limitation and the movement toward genuine inner freedom, but all share the goal of helping the seeker to a wider perspective.
The third and final ingredient common to all our authors is that the seeker s experience with Mystery is expected to have some consequences in his or her life. If it is authentic, the growing relationship with the sacred that emerges from the companionship of spiritual direction will influence the seeker s way of being in the world. In a certain sense, spiritual direction or tending the holy is always an applied art; it is directed toward a transformed life. For that reason, many of our chapters offer specific though anonymous examples of individual and institutional change made in the small increments of ongoing companionship in the Spirit. I am particularly grateful to those of our authors who have shared parts of their own unfolding life experience as guides to what is possible.
The chapters that follow give examples of how different faith traditions tend the holy, accompanying others in seeking and perhaps naming or engaging Mystery. As you read each chapter, you might want to ask yourself: How is the holy envisioned or approached from this perspective? What form does spiritual direction take? What are seekers encouraged to attend to and look for? How is deepening maturity gauged? Other questions and perhaps answers may occur to you as you read that will help in your own