A Community of Ignatian Spiritual Directors in Aotearoa New Zealand
Who We Are
Learn more about our values and the services we offer.
The Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius are a gentle and purposeful set of reflections and prayers designed to help people deepen their relationship with God and become more attentive to the movements of the heart in everyday life. Rather than being a course or a book to read, the Exercises are an experience—usually undertaken over time with a spiritual director—which invites participants to pause, listen, and notice where they feel drawn toward greater love, freedom, and meaning. Rooted in imagination, Scripture, and honest self-reflection, they offer a welcoming space to explore one’s desires, discern life choices, and discover God’s presence in all things, with warmth, compassion, and practical wisdom for living fully. They can be completed either in a 30-Day format in silent retreat mode, or in daily life over a period of about 30 weeks.
Spiritual Direction
Help given by one Christian to another which enables that person to pay attention to God’s personal communication to him or her, to respond to this personally communicating God, to grow in intimacy with this God, and to live out the consequences of the relationship.
William A. Barry, S.J., and William J. Connolly, S.J. in The Practice of Spiritual Direction.
Ignatian spiritual direction takes an optimistic view that affirms the goodness of the world while remaining aware of the reality of evil, and is both contemplative in nature and oriented toward service. This tradition is carefully adapted to the unique personality, personal history, and spirituality of the individual receiving direction, and it depends on an atmosphere of mutual respect and openness. It also seeks to uncover the deepest desires of the human heart, using methods that help identify inner movements, reflect on them, and understand both their origins and the directions in which they lead.
Supervision of Spiritual directors is an essential regular contemplative opportunity to assist directors learn about themselves and therefore learn about the mystery of God in all things. Supervision is therefore the encounter in which the supervisor explores with the supervisee who the supervisee is as God’s beloved and the impact of their understanding on those they accompany in the ministry of Spiritual Direction.
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