The Big Book of Christian Mysticism: The Essential Guide to Contemplative Spirituality by Carl McColman

Author:Carl McColman
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Body, Spirituality, Christian Life, General, Religion, Mind & Spirit, Mysticism, Christian Theology
ISBN: 9781571746245
Publisher: Hampton Roads Publishing
Published: 2010-08-01T05:00:00+00:00

To finish this exploration of the importance of community, I want to briefly mention one other important dimension of spiritual relationship the most intimate form of community: the community of two.

Ever since Saint Paul provided mentoring to his young assistant Saint Timothy, Christianity has recognized the power of personal guidance as a tool for helping believers grow in their faith. This has also been true among mystics and contemplatives. Mentoring and guidance were important elements in the spirituality of the Desert Fathers and Mothers; in fact, one of the founders of European monasticism, John Cassian, traveled from Gaul (now France) to the deserts of Egypt to receive mentoring from the Desert Fathers (even today such a trip is not casually made; in the fifth century it was an arduous and dangerous journey). The Cloud of Unknowing, a fourteenth century manual on contemplation, was written by a spiritual director for his young directee. Margery Kempe, writing in the early fifteenth century, describes how she received spiritual direction from the reclusive Julian of Norwich. In sixteenth century Spain, Teresa of Avila provided spiritual guidance to John of the Cross, both of whom are now recognized as among the greatest of Christian mystics; in twentieth century England, Evelyn Underhill received mentoring from Friedrich von Hugel (in his day quite renowned for his writings on mysticism, although now his directee is more widely known than he is).

The experience of one-on-one mentoring or guidance in the spiritual life is far more intimate than the kind of religious education or faith instruction found in most church congregations, or even in small groups devoted to prayer and spirituality. The ability to turn to an elder for advice and guidance has, unfortunately, not always been readily available to ordinary Christians for many centuries, serious spiritual guidance was usually available only to clergy, nuns, or monks. But beginning in the midtwentieth century, interest in spiritual formation among lay Christians has increased, as more and more people have sought spiritual mentoring, not only from clergy, monks, and nuns, but also from other laypersons. This, in turn, has led to increasing numbers of Christians, both clergy and laypersons, taking on the role of spiritual mentor and providing guidance to those who are interested in a deeper life of prayer. As a consequence, many churches now offer training programs to help mature Christians develop the skills necessary to provide mentoring to others.

Of course, full-time priests and ministers who have also been professionally trained (and who work full-time for their churches) often provide spiritual mentoring to those who seek it. But not all priests and ministers have the time or the interest in such one-on-one guidance. Thus, personal spiritual mentoring is something that can happen in the most informal of ways, and some of the best spiritual directors may not necessarily have any official training at all. Whenever two people with a shared interest in the spiritual life come together for mutual support and encouragement, oneon-one spiritual guidance can occur. At its most

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