Introduction
This paper reviews Barry, William A., and Connolly, William J. (2009), The Practice of Spiritual Direction. The book is part of the Christian literature that explores the Christian’s spiritual journey as he or she moves toward and develops a relationship with God. Barry and Connolly (2009, 17) offer a clear understanding and basic knowledge of spiritual direction and allow the reader to explore and understand their own experience.
The concepts they explore are reflected in every Christian as they offer clarity and simplicity for those seeking to understand their relationship with God. This book review states that The Practice of Spiritual Direction is a good and competent source of knowledge that answers the major questions Christians have.
Review
Summary
Spiritual direction is a methodology for helping the person who wants to take their relationship with God to a higher level and continually develop it. The Practice of Spiritual Direction is a guide that spiritual guides can use to guide competently and explore the essence of the path to God. It is also a valuable resource for seeking Christians who choose to move toward and explore their relationship with God independently (Barry and Connolly 2009, 26).
The book offers information on the fundamentals of spiritual direction and its role and value to Christians. It reveals the specifics of the work of spiritual directors, suggesting that we examine our own experiences and take them as a basis for helping others. Based on this, the target audience is spiritual directors who want to improve their practice. In addition, the book will also be useful to people themselves who are looking for spiritual mentors or who want to develop a relationship with God on their own.
The book aims to affirm and define the role of spiritual mentoring in the life of the Christian who is exploring his or her role in the common cosmos. Barry and Connolly (2009, 114) seek to reach an understanding with the reader and show them the boundaries and directions in which spiritual mentors work. They also seek to show mentors exactly how the responsibility of accompanying Christians affects their journey to God and what positive results they derive from their work. Barry and Connolly (2009, 113) believe mentoring is a calling and want to help organize the practice. They argue that any journey to God is a dialogue between the seeking believer and the mentor who tells them which path to follow to find their center.
Analysis
Barry, William A., and Connolly, William J. are among the founders of the Center for Religious Development in Cambridge in the early 1970s. They are clergy members and have also practiced spiritual counseling so that one can speculate about their experience. Also, having been doing it for quite a long time, they have probably researched their experience and revised their work many times. Therefore, it can be argued that their work is credible and worthy in its genre.
In the book, the authors focus on several main areas: spiritual direction, how the relationship between Directee and God develops, and aspects of the relationship between the Director and Directee. According to the authors, spiritual direction is based on a person’s experience with God (Barry and Connolly 2009, 116).
The authors believe that the religious dimension of experience is central to achieving successful outcomes in the practice of guidance. The main conclusion of Barry and Connolly (2009, 82) is that spiritual guidance is an aid that allows one believer to help another find the presence of the mysterious Other called God. This view differs from the view that mentoring is about communicating ideas rather than transforming experience, but they are both sides of the same coin.
In developing the relationship between the Directee and God, the authors explore the full range of interactions between the Directee, the Directee, and God. Barry and Connolly (2009, 127) argue that Directors are not the creators of the relationship between the seeker and God. Instead, they only facilitate its development and gradual growth. They argue that the mystery of God and a lack of understanding of one’s own experience are significant obstacles to the work of spiritual directors, so they need to lead public seminars to enrich Christian knowledge.
Barry and Connolly (2009, 48) suggest that the guided do not understand the religious experience they are exploring because their perception of reality is not yet mature enough. At this point, they assert, spiritual guides must step in to provide growth between the present and the future and bring the guided to a new way of perceiving reality.
The relationship between Director and Directee develops well if both parties are willing to engage in dialogue and have religious experiences that change their beliefs. Barry and Connolly (2009, 126) link the dominant role of the mentor to opportunities to work with psychiatrists and psychologists who also offer ways to mentor and the role of supervision in finding the right path.
Not insignificantly, the authors acknowledge that not only is the mentor invested in developing a relationship with the person being mentored, but they are also invested. These interactions work both ways, and Barry and Connolly (2009, 118) point out that mistrust and prejudice on the part of directees interfere with achieving development. This idea is not revolutionary in Christian teaching, but the authors most clearly point out the two-way contribution to the centrality of God in the seeker.
The authors have traditionally resorted to using their experience as part of the evidence, which is generally a winning tactic given their many years of clergy experience. However, the length of the work raises the question of why contemporary ideas of psychology were not included in the book at the time of publication. In addition, the authors repeatedly explore the roles of the mentor and the individual but do not provide a substantive link to God. Attention is given to practices and pedagogy in some sense but not to the very concept of the mystery of God, which can become a stumbling block in the work of Directors.
Evaluation
It can be said that the authors achieved their goal as they uncovered the specifics of the interaction between the three agents, the seeker, the guide, and God. Barry and Connolly (2009, 127) identified the main reasons why their relationship is possible and established the nature of development, pointing primarily to the need to accumulate religious experience and personal reflection. In doing so, the authors argue that without a mentor, full enlightenment cannot be achieved and that the mentor becomes the primary facilitator in finding the center of encounter with God.
The authors offer a reasonably compelling perspective as they continuously integrate the personal experience into the text and strive to expose it in a multifaceted way, providing a multifaceted view of spiritual mentoring. This allows them to fully communicate their message about the critical role of the mentor in the believer’s progress toward God.
Among the book’s strengths is its low length, which allows it to hold the reader’s attention, and its clear division into three narrative strands. In addition, the text is written so that one part flows seamlessly into the next, but it can also be read in separations. Among the strengths of the evidence and persuasion is the authors’ ability to convey that spiritual counseling is a calling and should also be developed (Barry and Connolly 2009, 117).
While the authors do not make contradictory statements, they offer their own perspective on mentoring – through the lens of religious experience rather than ideas. Weaknesses include the low supportability of additional arguments other than Barry and Connolly’s experience, the lack of a broad view of mentoring, and the small role of psychology in organizing pedagogy in the clergy. This book is worth reading because it allows the reader to dive into the multifaceted relationship between Directors, Directees, and God and to draw conclusions about the purpose of their journey to God.
Conclusion
Thus, The Practice of Spiritual Direction synthesizes knowledge about the relationship between the mentor and the Christian seeking the way to God. Barry, William A., and Connolly, William J. rightly explore this relationship and conclude that both parties must work for the best outcome. While there are weaknesses and some inaccuracies, the resource is helpful, credible, and relevant to those just seeking to know their relationship with God and those who want to help them do so.
Work cited
Barry, William A., and William J. Connolly. 2009. The Practice of Spiritual Direction. San Francisco, CA: HarperOne.