Yesterday, I started meeting with my new spiritual director for the first time. I recently decided to stop seeing my former spiritual director because I was having some doubts as to whether I could trust him anymore. It was a bit sad and a hard decision to make, but I think it worked out for the best.
My meeting with my new spiritual director yesterday went very well. I felt like he gave me some very practical things to do to overcome my struggles with chastity, such as doing something every week that I really look forward to. He said this is important because if I don’t look for stimulation in healthy ways, I’m going to look for it in unhealthy ways like masturbation. In addition to finding some type of activity that I can really look forward to each week, my spiritual director urged me to get involved with a men’s group here in the area. I had been thinking about getting involved in this group for some time now, and I think I’m going to try to clear some space in my schedule so I can make it to the meetings.
I also got some really concrete direction about how to structure my spiritual life. I was really grateful for this because my last spiritual director seemed hesitant to answer my questions about how to prioritize prayer, spiritual and scriptural reading, and attendance at Mass. Yesterday, my new spiritual director said I should try to get to Mass about three times a week, instead of twice weekly like I am doing during most weeks. He also gave me a pamphlet about spiritual and scriptural reading, which said that I should read one chapter from the Bible each day and do five to 15 minutes of spiritual reading. He even gave me a new book to read.
I was really grateful to God for my meeting yesterday. I hope that my relationship with my new spiritual director will continue to bear fruit in my spiritual life.
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