free as the sky

To belong to God I have to belong to myself. Simple and free as the sky because I love everybody and am possessed by nobody, not held, not bound. -Thomas Merton

  • Home
  • Blog
  • 순례자가 순례자에게
  • Travel + Inspiration
  • About

LISTENING FOR THE PRAYER OF THE HEART

July 15, 2025 by Chong Kim

I have been thoroughly enjoying my spiritual direction training so far. The second half of the school is gearing up to be a more hands-on practicum portion of the training. I will soon engage in my own spiritual direction sessions with two willing directees over the next seven months. Through my readings and interactions with my cohort, I can begin to articulate what spiritual direction is using my own language.

There are many helpful definitions out there, each emphasizing critical aspects of what spiritual direction is. As I anticipate companioning my two directees, I like to think of spiritual direction as listening for the prayer of the heart. CenterQuest Asia follows a contemplative-evocative approach to spiritual direction. Such a posture involves deep listening, allowing the directees to discover God’s presence and action in their lives through non-directive methods, such as open questions and gentle, tentative language. We believe the Holy Spirit is the true director. In this sense, the title, director, is quite misleading. It is more about companionship than “directing.”

Back to the matter of the heart. What we hold in our hearts longs to be expressed: that is the purpose of the heart. (This is a bit of a rabbit trail, but I was watching Kian84’s drawing session with Daeho84 on one of Kian84’s YouTube feeds. In their early forties, they talked about the necessity and the need to paying attention to their hearts. Here is the link if interested. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bx0OBHjBvTg&t=314s. Not sure if English subtitles are available, but you can choose the auto translate option.) Our life, then, is a series of struggles and victories in reaching the final declaration of our heart, which is the crown and height of humanity. It is the crown because God willed it from the beginning—the crown had been there all along; we just have not recognized it. It is the height because there is no greater reach one can achieve. Thus, it remains our ultimate responsibility to steward the channel and expression of our heart. What gets expressed, we may not know or understand fully, initially. Reaching the edge of such understanding gives sacred meaning to the union between the Creator and the creation.

The shier part of the heart reveals itself when it is safe and when it knows it can be trusted, which is one of the gifts spiritual direction can offer—to create the generous and trusted space to probe deeply into one’s own heart. Over time, I believe that pursuing our heart’s desire is our unique creative contribution to the world. Thus, pursuing one’s heart is never self-centered but the most worthy and self-emptying journey one can take. John Calvin operated with the conviction that all of created reality, each moment extended from the hands of God, is shot through with longing.[1] I would like to listen for that longing, desire. 

To reiterate and broaden our perspectives, where we connect with the rest of humanity happens through each person’s desire and longing. The root Latin word of “narrative” means to “tell” or “relate.” The root word is also closely related to the Latin word “knowing.” It suffices to draw an observation that we know through narratives, and that human understanding comes from sharing each other’s narratives. The question remains, “How and where do we get to share our stories and hear someone else’s stories?” A story that is not yet a happy ending, raw, and not neatly packaged with a ribbon on top. . .  Also, a story that is not fixated in the past or in the future, but as is presently enfolding. . .

The encounter with the Divine occurs within the context of humanity, not outside of it, as was the experience of Jesus. This encounter of the Divine with the human can be summed up in one word: incarnational. Thus, the invitation is to enter into our humanity fully, to our own narratives, again as Jesus did, for it is the gateway to not only a life-changing encounter but also a union with God. In this vein, I yearn to listen for the depths of humanity, the encounter, and the evolving union.


[1] Phillips, Susan S.. Candlelight: Illuminating the Art of Spiritual Direction (p. 25). (Function). Kindle Edition.

 

July 15, 2025 /Chong Kim
  • Newer
  • Older