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SPIRITUAL DIRECTION

feeling that one now lives in a shadowy place, often discon- in which they sit while they remain open to what God may
nected from God, this has more in common with the pro- do or reveal, rather than closed by a pre-existing paradigm
cesses which Saint John of the Cross identified in the life that stymies the conversation.
of those undergoing what he termed “the dark night of the
soul” (The Ascent, 189–91; and The Dark Night, 377–80). What Is the Unique Contribution of the
The classical images drawn from the biblical narrative of Spiritual Director to a Person “in Recovery”?
desert and exile might also be suggested as a way of under- Occasionally a person will approach a spiritual director
standing this place of recovery. There is, however, a positive with the hope of being rescued from his or her situation,
outcome when paradigms and even elements of them are particularly if the trauma is still raw and the person is still
compared with others (rather than uncritically adopted). being swamped by emotions. The mismatch in expecta-
The porous nature of the theological walls within the spiri- tions between the two can be accentuated when the spiri-
tual direction community and the enriching cross fertilisa- tual director, with the best of intentions, has the spiritual
tion which occurs between the different traditions enables directee sit with the very emotions and hard place from
us to gain a vantage point from which to critically assess which the spiritual directee would prefer to escape. The
our current paradigms and practices. role of the spiritual director is to be emotionally and
The proposed paradigm highlights that those “in recov- deeply present to the spiritual directee’s experience and
ery” come acknowledging that their painful experience or not to try to organise it; the person’s feelings will be cha-
acute trauma is real and has affected them, which is good otic, and his or her experience of God may move back-
news for the person who has come alongside to accom- wards and forwards within the place of recovery between
pany them, but differs from Kübler-Ross’s stages of grief a sense of God’s presence and God’s absence. The spiri-
which begin with the person denying (in reaction) what tual director’s role is to offer the assurance that what the
has occurred. Paradigms, for good or ill, are only descrip- spiritual directee is experiencing is a normal reaction and
tive and are shaped by the social, theological, and cultural that there is nevertheless hope, but not necessarily the
context that give rise to their formulation. When they are reclaiming of what has been lost.
removed from that context or become virtually prescrip- The unique contribution that a spiritual guide can
tive, whatever the tradition that the spiritual director is bring to a person in the post-trauma phase of disruption
working from, two things often result. Those seeking is a well-articulated theology of suffering and evil which
guidance feel judged by the spiritual director’s paradigm, accounts for the place and cause of trauma, whatever
unspoken or not; and they may feel, quite legitimately, the person’s faith tradition. In this role as a teacher of
that they are being pushed or expected to move from one theodicy, the spiritual director’s role is not a passive one,
stage onto another to hasten restoration and recovery. The even as she or he sits still and listens deeply. This theol-
last paradigm does not require movement out of the circle ogy may not be in the foreground of the conversation
of “recovery,” but rather views this place as a possible gift between the spiritual director and spiritual directee, but
from God, a time during which individuals can re-examine will certainly inform what the spiritual director says or
their life and a place where God can be experienced anew, does not say in relation to where the trauma is placed in
albeit a different experience from what they may have the spiritual directee’s world. I have noticed that those
enjoyed in the past. This place of recovery, for both spiri- seeking to recover from their trauma (when it has been
tual director and spiritual directee, can be a liminal place relatively recent) are rarely able to process complex,
theological explanations of the cause of evil because of
terms of the Christian Scriptural understanding of the condition of
the intensity of the emotional disturbance and inability
redeemed humanity, we are “recovering sinners,” who, like “recover-
to concentrate for an extended period. Nevertheless, the
ing alcoholics,” have experienced salvation from sin and the power
subject of theodicy may be raised by those seeking to
of death, yet live in the awkward situation of waiting for our salva-
deepen their understanding of what has happened and
tion to be fully revealed with the coming of Christ (Rom 8:18–19;
where they are located at an appropriate point. This
2 Cor 4:10–11; 1 Pet 1:7, 13; 4:13).
conversation can lead to a fruitful examination of their
40 Presence: An International Journal of Spiritual Direction