Spiritual Direction in Dominican Tradition

176 Pages·1995·6.525 MB·English

by  Benedict M. Ashley

Spiritual Direction in the
Dominican Tradition
== — Integration Books
STUDIES IN PASTORAL PSYCHOLOGY,
THEOLOGY, AND SPIRITUALITY
RoBERT J. WICKS, GENERAL EDITOR
also in the series
Clinical Handbook of Pastoral Counseling, Volume 1, edited by R. Wicks,
R. Parsons, and D. Capps )
APdaostloersacle ntMsa riitn alT urTmhoeilr,a pyP arbey ntSst epUhnedne r TrSetarte ssa ndb y LaRrircyh arHdo f D. Parsons
The M. ArBtl anocf heCtltien ical Supervision edited by B. Estadt, J. Compton, and
The Art of Passingover by Francis Dorff, O. Praem.
Losses in Later Life by R. Scott Sullender
Spirituality and Personal Maturity by Joann Wolski Conn
Christointegration By Bemard J. Tyrrell
Choosing Your Career, Finding Your Vocation by Roy Lewis
Adult Children of Alcoholics by Rea McDonnell and Rachel Callahan
Pastoral Care Emergencies by David K. Switzer
Health Care Ministry edited by Helen Hayes and Comelius J. van der Poel
Surviving in Ministry edited by Robert R. Lutz and Bruce T. Taylor
Renewal in Late Life Through Pastoral Counseling by James N. Lapsley
Clinical Handbook of Pastoral Counseling, Volume 2, edited by R. Wicks and
R. Parsons
A Minister's Handbook of Mental Disorders by Joseph W. Ciarrocchi
Human Relationships and the Experience of God by Michael St. Clair
The P: sychology of Religion for Ministry by H. Newton Malony
The Doubting Disease by Joseph W, Ciarrocchi
Spiritual Direction in the
Dominican Tradition
Benedict M. Ashley, O.P.
Integration Books
paulist press / new york / mahwah
Cover design by James F. Brisson.
i t: Kenneth C. Perry, ST. DOMI NIC by Thoma. s M. McGlynn,
gorvo:nzzree,p ?:i’crle. :c:lated on Providence College Campus, Ist casting: Madonna del
Arco, Naples.
Copyright © 1995 by Dominican Community, Chicago Province
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or trar.lsmilted in any form
or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopyu_lg. ref:tr)rdlng or by
any information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from the
Publisher.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Ashley, Benedict M.
Qnirpi. titacl m.A — (. InteHg rathei onT bookssnt) / Benedict M. Ashley.
T InSclBnNde c 0-8h0ik9l1e -3567-1I (a l k. paper)
1. Dominicans—Spiritual life, 2., Spiritual direction.
LB2 5XT53i't5 le0.23 —.1Ad17c 42S e0r ie1s9.9 5 ;l(Aa\l(h { 94-4c6I4p9 6
Published by Paulist Press
997 Macarthur Boulevard
Mahwah, NJ 07430
PUrniintteedd Satnadt esb ouonf gdA mien rtihce a
Contents
Acknowledgments ....................................... vii
Foreword ........ ... ... . 1
1. The Development of the Tradition . ......................... 3
2.Created inthe Divinelmage ............................. 33
3.GracedinJesusChrist .......o. i .i... . 58
4. The Ministry of Spiritual Direction ........................ 75
5. The Process of Purification .............................. 91
6. The Process of Iltlumination ........................ .... . 118
7. TheProcessof Union .............. ...t 133
NOtES . oot i e 149
Select Bibliography ...... ... .... ..i.. . 157
Index of Authors and Subjects .........c.. ..ol 162
To My Brethren
of 8t. Louis Bertrand Priory,
St. Louis,
for Their Fraternal Love
and Spiritual Direction
Acknowledgments
A theme of this book is that in the Dominican tradition spiritual direc-
tion for a member of the Dominican Order comes principally from liv-
ing in a Christian community. It is the mutual help, good example,
striving for holiness, common mission and collaboration, and stimulat-
ing diversity and constructive conflict of community living that best en-
able us to draw closer to Christ.
Consequently, I warmly thank my Dominican brothers and sisters
for such living truth as I have been able to express in this book. First of
all I want to thank Michael A. Ciccone, O.P, for suggesting me for this
project to the series editor Robert Wicks. to Romanus Cessario, O.P.,
for his friendship and encouragement, and to the Dominican Priory of
the Immaculate Conception, Washington, D.C., and its then prior John
A. Farren, O.P. who gave me such gracious hospitality as I began the
book. Especial thanks is due Donald Goergen, O.P., former provincial
of my home province of St. Albert the Great, and to my brothers of
Priory of St. Louis Bertrand, St. Louis, with whom I now reside and to
whom I dedicate this book and to Aquinas Institute of Theology of
which I am a professor emeritus.
I also sincerely thank Carl Anderson, Dean of the Institute for
Studies and Marriage and Family, Washington, D.C., where I formerly
taught and my graduate assistant at the Institute, Gloria Dodd. In my
study of the tradition of Dominican spirituality I have been greatly in-
spired and assisted by William Hinnebusch, O.P., now deceased, by
Sister Mary Nona McGreal, O.P., and by Parable, a collaborative enter-
prise of women and men Dominicans.
Foreword
With a beautiful grasp of the Dominican tradition, Benedict Ashley,
O.P,, gives us a rich historical overview of the major personalities who
contributed to this school of spirituality. In a concise, informative
manuscript he traces the development of the tradition and presents the
central elements that form and guide a Dominican spiritual director.
In this tightly written book we are introduced to writers and mentors
upon whom we can focus further should we wish (ample notes and bib-
liography are provided). We are also given a sense of the controversies
and anthropology that shaped much of the tradition in spirituality we
refer to as “Dominican.”
In the spirit of Thomas Aquinas, Benedict Ashley helps us see that
spiritual counselors must “go deeper and raise the questions about
whether the persons who seek their guidance are really committed to
the goals, to which they claim to be committed. or whether there is
something false and hypocritical about this commitment. Or, to look at
it from the client’s point of view, we go to a spiritual director because
we want to be a good person, but we realize that somehow in our hearts
we are resisting a full and genuine commitment to God and our true
self, and we need to be delivered from these resistances. Thus the spiri-
tual director’s questions must always seek to help the client penetrate
these delusions, this pride, and false claims to absolute autonomy, and
to open up to God’s grace.”
He also helps us to see how fundamental grace, God’s generous
love, is to the process of living a full spiritual life. With classic
Dominican optimism, Ashley emphasizes that even sin cannot deprive
us of God’s constant desire for us to share in divine love.
In the chapter specifically dealing with ministry, the need for, and
the goals of spiritual direction and the guidelines of being a good direc-
1
2 Spiritual Direction in the Dominican Tradition
tor are addressed. This area in other books often tends to be very anec-
dotal in nature. However, here he remains faithful to the task of the
book by offering content, quotes, and reflections by classic and more
contemporary Dominican writers.
Finally, the “three processes of spiritual growth™ are addressed. This
closing section, comprised of three chapters on purification, illumina-
tion, and union with God, is scholarly, practical, clear, and—in the
spirit of Dominic—both very human and simple in nature. In this mate-
rial he examines these three “stairs” to encounter with God and offers
them as a structure for understanding one’s own spiritual journey as
well as counseling others interested in the quest to embrace the living
God fully in daily life.
Having a book like this on direction which allows us to have com-
panions such as Dominic, Aquinas, Eckhart, Vincent Ferrer, Catherine
de Ricci, Philip Neri, Henry Suso and others as we examine the spiritual
life is a real joy. I think persons interested in the process of spiritual di-
rection and interested in the tapestry of ideas and suggestions of persons
in the Dominican tradition will find Benedict Ashley’s book a small
treasure house of information.
Robert J. Wicks
Series Editor
Chapter 1

The Development of the Tradition
One Among Many
The tradition of spirituality proper to the Order of Preachers, and of the
whole Dominican family of nuns, sisters, and laity founded by St.
Dominic de Guzman is only one of the many such traditions that have
been historically important in Christianity and which also remain influ-
ential today. In this book I claim no more for it than that, even when—
because it has been my own vocation and my life—I may seem to boast
of its superiority to all others. I present it here in hopes that some of its
riches may prove useful not only to those of my tradition but also to
those to whom it is unfamiliar.
In chapter 1, I will sketch the historical development of this tradi-
tion, emphasizing certain theological controversies that have shaped it.
In chapter 2, I will analyze the structure and dynamics of the human
person who needs to grow spiritually. In chapter 3, I will inquire how
the grace of Christ working through his Holy Spirit transforms nature
in this process of spiritual growth. In chapter 4, I will ask what role a
director plays in this process of transformation. Finally in chapters 3, 6,
and 7, I will look at the processes of purification, illumination, and
union which bring about this growth and transformation and which a
spiritual director seeks to promote.
Dominic’s Way
St. Dominic, who was to create a new form of Christian spirituality
in the church, was born, in Caleruega, Spain, between 1171 and 1173,
one of the three sons of a local overlord, Felix de Guzman and of Jane
of Aza, a noblewoman remembered for her sanctity. Educated first by
his uncle, a priest, and then at a school which was soon to become the
3