book review: Margaret Guenther, Holy Listening

Book Review
Margaret Guenther, Holy Listening: The Art of Spiritual Direction, (London: Darton, Longman and Todd, 1992)



Margaret Guenther is Professor Emerita of Ascetical Theology at General Theological Seminary where she served previously as director of the Center for Christian Spirituality. Between the introduction and epilogue are four chapters. Spiritual direction is explored in terms of three metaphors: hospitality, teaching and midwifery. Chapter four deals with the area of women and spiritual direction. Guenther writes from the perspective of a woman (p.3), a teacher (p.4) and an Episcopal priest (p.4). I think that her background is particularly important because of her book’s rootedness in her own and her directees’ contexts.


Spiritual Direction as Hospitality


Guenther’s is ‘This is a book by an amateur, written for amateurs.' (p.1). This is a point she returns to in the epilogue where she says that love lies at the heart of the amateur’s work (p.145). Guenther repeatedly makes distinctions between the spiritual direction and other helping activities. She resists the ‘professionalisation’ of spiritual direction: ‘the peril lies in turning the directees – our guests ... into ‘cases’.’ (p.10). In doing so, I think Guenther secures spiritual direction within the context of the church – the family of God. However, she does so in such a way that the role of psychotherapy (and other related therapies) is valued but distinguished.


The book includes some of the ‘nuts and bolts’ of spiritual direction. For example, in this first chapter Guenther suggests that beginning with silence is appropriate (p.16). At the same time, the metaphor is gradually developed and its usefulness for spiritual direction spelled out. Direction offers a ‘safe space’ (p.14). The director concentrates her / his attention on the directee. Preparations are made. However, the metaphor offers a loose framework and there is freedom to offer observations which, while related, do not necessarily flow directly from the main idea. For example, Guenther’s comment that, ‘The director's task is to help connect the individual's story to the story and thereby help the directee to recognise and claim his identity in Christ’ (p.31) connects with the theme of hospitality (for hosts guests tell stories and explore each others’ lives) without, perhaps, being part of the core activity. The metaphor of hospitality underlines one of the differences between spiritual direction and psychotherapy and this is perhaps one reason why she begins here: ‘This willingness towards self-disclosure is one of the primary distinctions between spiritual direction and psychotherapy. The mutuality of the former is an essential characteristic of the relationship' (p.35).



Spiritual Director as Teacher


It seems to me that clarity is one of Guenther’s strengths. For instance, in analysing the discernment function of the spiritual director, she breaks the process down into two stages: perception and judgment (pp.44-45). While the listening role of the spiritual director does not immediately seem to fit the teaching metaphor, Guenther makes clear that she is following Thomas Merton’s facilitator-model of teaching and this brings coherence to her account.

Once more, spiritual direction is distinguished from psychotherapy since Guenther argues that ‘To know in truth ... is to allow one’s self to be known’ (p.58). I would have welcomed a little more of a theoretical framework for this assertion. Does the author have in mind a kind of Buberian or Barthian epistemology? Again, I think the metaphor works well for teachers allow themselves to be known as well as seeking to know their students. Guenther lists a number of characteristics common to both good teachers and good spiritual directors: they encourage play, they know their pupils’ / directees’ limits, they are hopeful, they educate for maturity, they ask good questions, they evaluate progress, they are vulnerable, they are themselves learners. I would have welcomed some biblical perspective on these attributes. For example, which of these characteristics do we see in the life of Jesus (or the Apostle Paul) – and how are they manifested? However, it may be unfair to have such expectations of a book of this length and I assume Guenther was very aware of what she could achieve (and not achieve) in such a work. The author does accept that the model of Jesus can be used in spiritual direction (p.72). Guenther is clear about the need for a holistic approach (p.79) and that spiritual directors must learn to be comfortable with silence, ambiguity and darkness (p.81). Both emphases seem to flow naturally from the author’s commitment to beginning from the directee’s actual experience.

Spritual Director as Midwife


The final metaphor explored is that of midwifery. This seems to me a very vivid and helpful image in a number of ways: Guenther spells out the connections. Firstly, she suggests – I think fairly convincingly - that God is described as midwife in Psalm 22:9-10. Guenther argues that midwives are involved at a more personal level than doctors and that childbirth is a fundamentally natural process (pp.89-90). The midwife works with not on the birthgiver (p.90). The process of birthgiving is compared to the process of bringing about a new life in the Spirit. There is a period of waiting (p.91); a stage of transition (p.103); and finally the birth itself. I think one of the strengths of this metaphor is the implicit suggestion that spiritual directors must wait for the timing of a natural process. Guenther’s critique of contemporary society as having a ‘quick fix’ culture is accurate and far-reaching, in my view. I think Guenther’s final point is also a significant acknowledgment of the centrality of divine activity in the process of spiritual direction: ‘For spiritual directors the Holy Spirit is the true director.’


Women and Spiritual Direction


I think Guenther strikes a fair balance by speaking as a woman and asserting female difference without seeking to achieve these objectives at the expense of men’s contributions: ‘I am convinced that women function differently as directors – not better, nor worse, but differently.’ Having said this, she is not afraid to point out that women may have advantages in the area of spiritual direction and that maternal or feminine imagery offer helpful perspectives. I was interested by Guenther’s description of women’s sin-configuration. She argues that women are more easily tempted by self-contempt than by pride (p.135). Furthermore, victims of incest and other kinds of sexual sin often have a distinctive spirituality in Guenther’s view. As ever, she is concerned with asking very grounded questions such as ‘‘Where was God when this was happening to you? Where is God now? Do you feel angry with God?’’
In conclusion, Guenther’s concern is that ‘the story gets told’ (p.149). Spiritual direction can enable the restoration of the directee’s story within the large Christian story. It is likened to the ‘living out of intercessory prayer’ (p.150) when the ‘holy listener’ waits for the directee’s encounter with the risen Christ. Guenther’s book is a very effective exploration of this encounter in terms of three rich metaphors together with concrete, practical advice and insights into the soaring potential of spiritual direction.