Before I begin, I must say that I’ve had a spiritual adviser
for the past 2 and a half years, and it has been an amazing privilege and a
great highlight of my life.
One of the things I love most about having a Spiritual
Adviser is that I have to be obedient to him. I find essential obedience really puts me in
line, and makes me live better. You will
find that most Saints had a spiritual adviser, whom they confided everything
important in their lives to. I say “a” spiritual advisor, not “spiritual
advisers” because it is good to have mentors and ask advice from different
people, but if we had multiple spiritual advisers, one may say “I want you to
pray 2 rosaries every day” and the other might tell you to pray 1 per day. Then
we would see confusion, and many other problems.
Which brings me to my next point: obedience to my spiritual
adviser offers routine in my day, and demands me to be earnest (sincere) to
him. He gives me a set prayer schedule which; in addition to the standard rules
of a practicing Catholic, involves one rosary a day, one hour of adoration a
week, one extra (daily) mass a week, and confession every thirty days. That is
the minimum, but I am encouraged to do much more than that. This routine is the
way that many Saints took in striving for holiness. It makes so much sense to
me to have a spiritual advisor and this prayer routine because after all I want
to become a Saint, and this is the way to holiness.
Some days I may not be able to fulfil my obligation to my
Spiritual Adviser, and he asks me to write down the reason as to why I did not
do a certain thing such as praying the rosary, on the sheet of paper I give him
every month. This piece of paper contains the details of every spiritual thing
I did for the month, day by day. When he first met me, he told me strictly that
if I ever were to lie about what I did in the month, it would be “wasting your
time and mine”. He is completely right. Nowadays we have a great relationship,
him being a fantastic male role model, and a real Spiritual Father to me.
I have come to love him as a Father too.
The bond is deep, and this is the best reason I love having
a Spiritual Father. We even set aside one day a week when he celebrates mass
for me, and all of my prayers for the day are for him and his work. Furthermore, we have a
solemn agreement that should one of us pass away, the surviving one must pray for
the other for the rest of the surviving one’s life. This is because the one who
passes away may go to Purgatory, and the surviving one’s prayers may shorten this
time of suffering in purification.
Why choose a Spiritual Adviser? In short, your life will
take a turn for the better, by obedience you will grow to become a better
Catholic. I encourage you to choose a Spiritual Adviser be it Priest,
Nun, other religious, or even a lay person but choose them well, and make sure
you know them a great deal before you decide to ask them for their help. The
unique relationship you have with your Spiritual Adviser will be an amazing
blessing to you both, and you will grow in holiness day by day. Your obedience
to your Spiritual Adviser will allow you to be that Saint that God wants you to
be.
May God bless you and help you find the best Spiritual
Adviser for you!
