For spiritual direction, it is important to understand that one assists people through, broadly speaking, three major phases of spiritual growth (see the three circles on the diagram). As a Spiritual Director, one may specialise in a particular phase or be more suited to helping individuals in a specific stage.
On the diagram, the Arabic numbers refer to the Mansions of St. Teresa of Avila. For a broad explanation of Spiritual Life, its journey and formation in Spiritual Life, please read this study (click here).
In any case, it is essential to recognise that there are three main phases in the journey of growth and sanctification. If one goes into details, it is easy to find divisions within each of these three phases. Broadly speaking they correspond to three different ways the Grace of God works in us. (For a more detailed approach to the workings of the Holy Spirit in us, please see this article.) Here are the three main broad phases the Spiritual Director needs to be aware of:
1 – Grey circle: This encompasses the period before the Second Conversion, covering mansions 0 to 3. St Teresa of Ávila does not speak of a “Mansion 0”, but she does refer to people who are outside the Castle of the Soul. Hence our use of “Mansion 0” (on the diagram, 0 needs to be included). Step “0” precedes the first conversion; it marks the entry into the Christian life. It implies: a change of life, conversion, renunciation of sin, reception of Catechetical Formation (OCIA), Fervour, the establishment of the foundations of a committed Christian life, Commitment in the Community/Parish.
Spiritual Life wise, during this phase, the individual receives an initial formation in the Spiritual Life, which corresponds to the fourth part of the actual Catechism. The person practises a general forms of prayer, leaning more towards meditation (reflecting on spiritual subjects and/or on the Scriptures). Prayer is rather Vocal Prayer (Mass, Divine Office, Rosary,..). This phase is characterised by the General Help of the Grace of God (see also in St. Thomas Aquinas), a grace that prepares us, supports our efforts to grow, and enables us to be ready to encounter Jesus. While the person genuinely believes in Jesus, the encounter has not yet truly occurred—or at least not in a clearer and more defined way.
There are persons who can have the above description and in reality belong to the next phase.
2 – Red circle: Its starting point is the Second Conversion—the Encounter with Christ, the intervention of the Holy Spirit. Jesus calls us to follow Him. Of course, the Call itself can be very subtle, and the help of the Church is needed here to discern and understand the newness of this stage). We start to have a personal relationship with Jesus. Here, the Spiritual Journey, strictly speaking, has started. This stage corresponds to Mansions 4 and 5 in The Interior Castle by St Teresa of Ávila. It involves reaching the Union of Wills (Fifth Mansions) or the purification of the senses (St John of the Cross).
The Particular Help of the Grace of God here starts to work. High moments, are followed by dry to very dry moments. It can alternate between “feeling” the Grace of God and “not feeling” anything, having serious doubts etc. Spiritual Formation here is very needed to help the person manage this newness, these changes, and know what to do in order to “ensure a steady growth”.
This phase leads us to implement in our daily life various elements that seem to indicate that we are leading a holy life. Of course, this “holiness” still has a Human Modality, as the roots of our being—the foundations of our actions—still need to be purified by God (See St. John of the Cross who explains this). The steady effort made after conversion leads to a kind of plateau or victory, where the lower part of our being no longer dominates the higher, rational and spiritual faculties.
At this stage, the person acquires a good rhythm of spiritual life, with a serious and holy commitment to the service of the Lord. Life here is markedly different, and the daily schedule includes a definite space for regular prayer.
3 – Blue circle: This phase is marked in its beginning by the great daunting turning point of deep, radical purification.
After it, the person belongs to a new state and a new reality: Spiritual Betrothal, Spiritual Marriage, a Possible Time for the Celebration, Intensification of the Fire of the Holy Spirit (a transition), Flares of the Holy Spirit, Participation in the Redemptive Mission, and Christian Death (of fullness of love).
It is important to clearly grasp the distinctions between the three major phases of the spiritual life. It is also essential to understand what each one involves—the goal that God seeks to accomplish, the means, the necessary discernment, and so on at each stage of the journey.
There are huge differences between one person and another. As we have just seen, there are different phases of growth. One cannot claim to be universal, i.e. capable of guiding all types of persons and all phases of growth. In addition, daily life struggles need to be taken into consideration. So too must the psychological capacity of the person (is the person suffering due to mental health issues, clinical conditions, etc.). We need to pay attention to all these aspects.
Also, the use we make of theoretical knowledge must begin with patience, discernment, and common sense. It is rather to be kept in the back of our mind, rather than brought directly into the conversation. What matters above all is to “listen to the working of the Grace of God in the person” and to try to help the person see it, and to help the person correspond to it. Patience and the capacity to listen—to both the human being and God at work in the person—are essential. Spiritual Direction is not about telling the person where he or she is on the journey, but rather about helping the person know what to do in order to remain faithful to the action of the Holy Spirit.
For the Directee: What is the use we can make of this knowledge?
Question: when we speak of “changes” and “turning points”, does it mean that they are perceived? Always perceived? Perceived in the same way? What use can we make of such knowledge? Do we personally have to check? Is this knowledge only or mainly for the use of the spiritual director? Is it really useful to dissect spiritual growth? Isn’t it rather to be kept in the shade and not interfere with the work of the Holy Spirit?
These in total represent a fundamental question which failed to receive enough attention in the general studies and teaching on Spiritual Life. It is a vast question because it implies many aspects. Some of these aspects are: does growth in spiritual life manifest itself? Do we discern it? Who is supposed to discern it? The person themself or the spiritual director? Isn’t the real spiritual life in our spirit and by definition our spirit is beyond perception?
Throughout two millennia many masters were inspired by God to tell us about the journey. Not only this, but as we saw above, the Bible itself is the first and main place where God, speaking to us and guiding us, is teaching us about the journey and its stages of growth. So if God did this and is teaching, but about spiritual growth, it means it is important for us to know it and to know about it. Knowing that faith is not a static reality in us, received in Baptism and staying unchanged till the end of our life, knowing that faith is, as the Lord puts it, a very small seed in the beginning and called to become a very big tree sets a clear goal in our life, nourishes our theological act of Hope, and therefore offers us a very powerful drive, giving us energy, determination and security. It offers us the meaning of our life: we understand then why we are here on earth and our struggles and challenges carry then a completely different meaning. Learning about the stages of growth shows us in a more concrete way that there is a real journey of growth which can be sensed, especially when needed, helping us on our journey.
Each stage is different, each one needs a different type of food and care. Why did St. Teresa of Avila write about the different stages of prayer (Autobiography, Way of Perfection, Interior Castle, etc)? Why did she write about the different stages of Growth (Interior Castle)? Because we are all called to grow and reach the fullness of our realisation (the perfect height of Christ (Ephesians 4:13)), because each stage needs a different set of advice, and at each stage God wants to givea particular type of grace, at each stage there are different challenges. On one hand it is a tremendous help for us. As I said it pervades our energy, drive, excitement, fervour and Act of Hope. On the other hand, a non-prudent and a non-wise use of it can certainly be “dangerous”. We can easily live in illusions, misinterpret our experience, lean on certain aspects and forget others, focus excessively on our growth instead of focusing on being faithful to Jesus and to the Holy Spirit at the stage we are at. Our spiritual ego, the old man, can interfere here very easily. Some consciences can be very scrupulous or uptight, perfectionist and lose sight of the right aspects and ingredients of spiritual growth. Projection is the main danger here. One can easily imagine that he or she has reached a certain point because he or she compared what he is reading with some of his experiences. But this is never enough, since the stages of growth are like a spiral and we grow, yes, but we return to a deeper and higher point in the circle than the previous one, but it remains the same point in the circle, therefore similarity is not enough. Discernment, real deep discernment, is not something we find in books, it comes rather from the art of receiving Spiritual Direction where we learn to listen to God, obey Him and learn to go deeper and start to see new things. Our eyes start to see.
So yes, on the one hand God inspired the authors of the Scriptures and the Spiritual Masters to tell us about the goal and the journey, but at the same time, since the essence of God’s work occurs in our spirit, i.e. beyond perception, so therefore we need to be very prudent and not to make assumptions. An excessive desire to know where we are on the journey of growth can turn out to be counterproductive. On the contrary, focusing on the advice given at each stage and implementing it, is an excellent practice. It cannot be stressed how important it is to ask advice.
Some changes are clearly perceived by the us, like for instance the end of the deepest purification. Strangely spiritual marriage is not! Entering into the participation into the Lord’s Passion is perceived.
Read Also
– Please read “Spiritual Growth”, from “I Want to See God”, Bl. Marie-Eugene (especially “B. Mystery of Growth”) It is an important caveat for the use we make of this doctrine!