What is Spiritual Direction? 

In their book The Practice of Spiritual Direction, William A. Barry, SJ, and William J. Connolly, SJ, define spiritual direction as “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 and William J. Connolly, The Practice of Spiritual Direction, San Francisco: Harper San Francisco, 1982). 

While spiritual direction is found in most religious traditions, Ignatian spiritual direction is distinctly rooted in Ignatian spirituality and the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola.

The website Ignatianspirituality.com offers a comprehensive discussion of Ignatian spiritual direction. For more information, click here. 

Our Mission at OIS

Developing and supporting spiritual direction in the Ignatian tradition is at the heart of our mission. We aim to connect those seeking spiritual direction with trained directors. We also work to provide resources, networking opportunities, and training to the community of Ignatian spiritual directors in the Northeast. 

One of the primary means of achieving these goals is the new OIS Catalog of Spiritual Directors.

The Catalog is an important means to achieving our goal of supporting spiritual direction in the Ignatian tradition within the two Northeast provinces. The Catalog will enable us to:

• connect those seeking direction with those available to provide direction;
• develop continuing formation programs for spiritual directors;
• support the community of Ignatian directors through communication, networking, and continuing formation programs.

For Spiritual Directors

If you would like to be included in our Catalog and have not yet registered, click here. Please note that the Catalog will not be made publicly available and your name and contact information will only be shared for referring potential directees. 

For Those Seeking Direction:

To find a spiritual director or to access resources about Ignatian spiritual direction, click on the link "Find a Director" on the right side, above. If you have questions about the OIS Catalog of Spiritual Directors or other programs related to Ignatian spiritual direction, contact Kevin O’Brien, Director of Ignatian Partners, at kobrien1@jesuits.org, or Lisa Hastings, Director of Formation Programs, at lhastings@jesuits.org.