Guenther uses the images of the spiritual director as host, teacher, and midwife to describe the ministry of spiritual direction today. She pays particular attention to spiritual direction for women, and addresses such down-to-earth questions as setting, time, and privacy. The stories of real people bring the practice of spiritual direction alive. "In the pages that follow, I will attempt to describe the shape that spiritual direction might take for people of our time, aware that the subject is an elusive one. I am speaking to the beginner, those persons lay or ordained, with or without formal theological training, who find themselves drawn to this ministry. Perhaps they feel the stirring of their own unacknowledged gifts. Or perhaps they wonder about receiving direction, whether it is a ministry available to 'ordinary people' or reserved for the especially holy. I hope some dark corners will be illuminated and some questions answered."
Margaret Guenther is an Episcopal priest, spiritual director, and retreat leader. She recently retired as professor of ascetical theology at The General Theological Seminary in New York, where she was the director of its Center for Christian Spirituality. Her other books include The Practice of Prayer and Toward Holy Ground: Spiritual Directions for the Second Half of Life.
Part 1 Preface by Alan Jones Chapter 2 Welcoming the Stranger Chapter 3 Good Teachers Chapter 4 Midwife to the Soul Chapter 5 Women and Spiritual Direction
Even apart from its value as a book on the process of spiritual direction, Holy Listening is a delightful commentary on every Christian's spiritual journey. * Review For Religious * This excellent and wise book continues an important trend as the spiritual traditions of classical Christianity and other religions are translated into the idioms and situations of the modern world. This work is useful for those who are spiritual directors, directees, or those interested in issues related to spiritual growth. ... I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is easy to read yet filled with insight. Perhaps the best recommendation I can give it is to say that it has helped me in my own spiritual pilgrimage. -- Rev. Dr. Gerald A. Butler * Congregations * Because the author's sincerity and authenticity resound from every page, ... this work is bound to prove insightful and revelatory to the inexperienced as well as the experienced. It is earthy and practical, sensitive and contemplative. * Sisters Today *
