book review: Barry and Connolly,

Book Review:
William A Barry & William J. Connolly, The Practice of Spiritual Direction, (New York: Seabury Press, 1982)


First published in 1982, The Practice of Spiritual Direction was written by two of the six Jesuit founders of the Center for Religious Development in Massachusetts, USA. The book has three parts and a total of twelve chapters. Part one serves to introduce spiritual direction; part two focuses on the process of spiritual direction; part three addresses the question of how one becomes a spiritual director and how one can develop in this role.



Part One


As might be expected, the Preface seeks to set the book’s core issue as well as situation the area in contemporary society. I think one of the strengths of the book is its clear focus and this emerges in its first pages. The authors will not address the question of what people’s spiritual lives should look like, but rather what they are actually like in practice (p.viii). The centrality of religious experience is developed in chapter two where Barry and Connolly refer to Peter Berger, Karl Rahner and Bernard Lonergan for a theoretical framework, whereby theology begins ‘not with the God who reveals, but with the human being and his human experience’ (p.19). In a short review of this kind, it is clearly not possible to pursue the theoretical questions raised here. In broad terms, I think human experience is a valid starting point whether or not we accept Berger’s approach in its totality. As the authors observe, the ‘shift to interiority’ has been a widespread theological trend in recent times.

 Part Two


Barry and Connolly, as I mentioned above, are very clear that the relationship between directee and God is at the centre of spiritual direction. They emphasise the dialogical nature of the spiritual relationship and discuss obstacles to the interaction of the directee with God. The integration of emotions into our prayer life is seen to be a very positive development. One issue on which I was not wholly convinced was their separation of spiritual direction from other ministries such as moral guidance. Barry and Connolly insist that, although moral guidance is a valid and necessary ministry of the church, it should be exercised separately from spiritual direction (p.43). In a later chapter, they discuss the (presumably imagined) case of a married woman who is verging on adultery. They propose that, ‘It is laudable to want to prevent infidelity in marriage, but spiritual directors have to leave that purpose to others’ (p.142). The authors obviously want to be absolutely clear about the focus of spiritual direction but I think this proposal goes too far in separating this ministry from others in the church. It seems to be based on the assumption that directees will be in relationship with others who could offer this moral guidance but this is not always the case. I wonder if this is an area in which the authors have been too influenced by secular models of therapeutic relationships. I applaud their concern to define spiritual direction distinctly Christian and I suggest that this means that it cannot be compartmentalised in such a way that moral guidance is excluded in certain pressing circumstances (such as the imminent threat of adultery).


I find the emphasis on contemplation very helpful. This is defined as ‘an experience of, transcendence – that is, of forgetfulness of self and of everyone and everything else except the contemplated object’ (p.49). The authors discuss two obstacles to contemplation: ‘the prior categories that often make it next to impossible to see and hear any ‘other’ in his or her or its own right’ and ‘our tendency to look inward rather than outward’ (p.48). I think one of the strengths of this book is its rootedness in real experience combined with a plausible theoretical framework. For instance, in this section, Barry and Connolly give two simple questions which the director can ask: ‘Do you listen to the Lord when you pray?’ and ‘Are you telling him how listening to him makes you feel?’. The inclusion of concrete examples such as these (as well as much longer example dialogues) gives the book a very practical dimension.



The authors are concerned to investigate obstacles to the development of people’s prayer lives. They address the issue of resistance where something within the directee refuses to co-operate. Resistance can manifest itself in ‘discouragement, boredom and depression’ (p.81) or a ‘constantly cheery, emotionally unnuanced experience of prayer’ (p.81). Human beings organise their experience in conceptual frameworks and the serious disruption of these can cause anxiety. We need such frameworks but they can also prevent us from developing. Barry and Connolly offer a significant and very practical insight when they say that ‘traditional spirituality’ may not help us to move forwards because it can set the bar too high, so-to-speak. Instead, the authors speak of the need to inch forwards in order to experience transformation (p.97).



The subjective focus of the book again becomes clear in the chapter on evaluating religious experience. The authors observe that many people ‘have a touchstone experience of God’ (p.103), according to which they judge other experiences. This may not be a very satisfying criterion to the systematic theologian but it seems to me practical and realistic. On the other hand, Barry and Connolly also discuss the fruits of the Spirit as described by the Apostle Paul in Galatians 5:22 which, they claim, ‘come about not singly, but together’ (p110). In discussing people’s openness to change and difference, the authors offer Jesus Christ as a supreme example: ‘This experience of the reality and uncontrollability of the Other reaches its peak in the experience of Jesus as a person who cares for others and for the world’ (p.111). This criterion raises the question of whether a stronger christological approach might not be both possible and beneficial. As I have said, I accept the need for a subjective focus but I think that the model of Christ could be applied more consistently. For instance, the Gethsemane prayer seems to me worth exploring in the context of spiritual direction.



Part Three


A fairly demanding list of requirements for spiritual directors is proposed: maturity, ‘surplus of warmth’; ‘love for people as they are’; knowledge of the Bible, modern theology, the history of spirituality and modern psychology (pp.123-133). The authors strike a sensible balance between the natural and supernatural aspects of spiritual direction. They suggest spiritual directors borrow ‘with gratitude concepts and practice from the psychological fields’ but without compromising the distinctness of spiritual direction from other helping relationships.



Barry and Connolly demonstrate an awareness of psychotherapy in their discussion of ‘disturbances’ which can interfere with the director-directee relationship. In their discussion of ‘transference’ and ‘countertransference’, they bring out the implications of the distinctive character of spiritual direction: ‘in spiritual direction all transference reactions of directees should occur in the relationship with the Lord, not in the relationship with the director’ (pp.162-3). Chapter eleven applies the now familiar approach to the subject of director supervision: ‘The purpose of supervision is the becoming of a spiritual director.’



In conclusion, I think The Practice of Spiritual Direction is a very good introduction to this subject. It is clearly rooted in the experience of spiritual direction and so addresses practical issues. The book seems to me firmly situated in both contemporary psychotherapy and theology. It has a clear focus which brings helpful definition to the subject. While engaging with other disciples, Barry and Connolly confidently affirm the spiritual nature of this helping relationship and avoid importing procedures from secular models in an uncritical way. I have reservations about the compartmentalising of spiritual direction. I think that separating it too much from other ministries of the church (such as moral guidance) could cause significant problems and be difficult to defend on ethical grounds. While I agree with the focus on subjectivity, I think that the pattern of Christ’s life offers extremely helpful insights for spiritual direction. I am not convinced that spiritual directors should not focus a little more on normative examples of prayer such as in the lives of Christ and the Apostle Paul. Overall, though, I found this a very helpful, thorough and informative work.