Hajja Salesjana September October 2017

1 3 those which do not. Traditionally the skill is called discernment of spirits, since the goal is to discern movements arising from the good spirits (the Holy Spirit) from movements from evil spirits (the devil). In the discernment process, the environment should be one of contemplation and true sharing. Contemplation starts when a person stops being totally preoccupied with his own concerns and lets another person, event, or object take his attention. The following are some listening barriers which could hinder discernment. Diagnosing: ‘What your problem is’ Advising: ‘ What you need to do in this situation is...' Moralizing: ‘ A good Christian would look at it this way’ Debating: ‘I can’t believe you see it like that! Obviously, you don’t know’ Diverting: ‘Oh, that’s nothing. Wait till I tell what happened to me’ Being right: ‘No, that’s not how it is; let me explain the real facts to you’ Criticizing: ‘You are so stupid; I told you that’ Mind reading: ‘Oh, I just knew you were going to say that’. [Janet Malone, “ Listening with the Heart,”in Human Development, vol. 21, No 4 (2000)] Confidentiality - a hot issue! Creating a safe and gentle place where one can share intense feelings is essential. Confidentiality is a gift we can still give to people in a world with few secrets. A) Supervision Spiritual companions “who trust only in themselves and their own relationship with God, who do not seek spiritual direction or supervision for themselves, can do a lot of harm”. [Maureen. Conroy, Looking into the Well, Supervision of Spiritual Directors , Chicago IL, Loyola Press, 1995.] Having a supervisor is a vital relationship that the spiritual companion needs. Conclusion: A Spiritual Direction orientated towards Wholeness Spiritual Direction aims at helping a person reach wholeness. Jesse Trotter states that We are the cleverest of all animals. If, in fact, wholeness does threaten us, we can run from wholeness, which also beckons us, in every possible direction. We can ‘runaway forward’ into work, backward into tranquilizers, upward into fantasy, downward into depression, sideways into evasion and avoidance. All to avoid the wholeness for which something else in us so hungrily longs.[Jesse Trotter, Christian Wholeness: Spiritual Direction for Today (Wilton CT: Morehouse-Barlow Co., 1982), ix.] Embarking on a process of accompaniment entails facing up to the challenge of reaching this wholeness and moving towards the true source of life, God. In the articles which will be published later on, I hope to offer reflections on Don Bosco’s technique in spiritual direction and his practical way to wholeness.