Friday, May 31, 2013

Navigating the Interior Life, Spiritual Direction and the Journey to God - A book review



Since I am often trying to figure out what is going on in my spiritual life I thought this would be an interesting book to read.  I hoped it would give me some tips and ideas as to how to figure where I was, where I wanted to go and how to get there.  Navigating the Interior Life by Daniel Burke does all that, with questions to ask yourself and checklists for self examination.
The book discuss how to find a spiritual director including specific questions to a potential director and having a lay director verses a priest.  Dan Burke also talks about what to expect and how to prepare for your meetings with a director to gain the most benefit.
However, he doesn't stop there; he moves on to extremely helpful and solid steps to take if you cannot find a spiritual director.
In the chapter titled Spiritual Self-Evaluation he explains that you "must give up your old way of life; you must put aside your old self, which gets corrupted by following illusory desires."  Basically we are reminded that it is as simple as this "turn away from sin and turn to virtue."  The graphic organizer he uses explains the process:

Burke also suggests a "Rule of Life" and how to formulate one.  A brief glossary of terms related to the topic and a Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on some Aspects of Meditation from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (October, 1989) is also included.

This book has a wealth of information and delivers on its title, Navigating the Interior Life.  I highly recommend it to all people who are searching to have a better awareness of themselves and want to grow closer to God.

This review was written as part of the Catholic book reviewer program from The Catholic Company. Visit The Catholic Company to find more information on Navigating the Interior Life. The Catholic Company is the best resource for all your seasonal needs such as First Communion gifts as well as ideas and gifts for the special papal Year of Faith.


2 comments:

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Vicky said...

This is cool!