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Spiritual Direction
Spiritual Direction Paperback – March, 1984
- GenresTheology
156 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 1984
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
June 18, 2023
It is difficult to make conclusively objective statements about a field that insists we all are different and must be dealt with in our variety, but I, personally, prefer this book to any other book on spiritual direction I have read.
February 23, 2025
A very good book on spiritual direction, but one that shows its age a bit too often. Thornton stresses the importance of knowing the traditions of Christianity for any spiritual director, especially books on spirituality in the classic sense of the word (i.e. the development of a Christian soul in relation to God and others). Such an opinion is not common, in my experience of similar approaches to direction, which makes Thornton's opinions and arguments more valuable.
March 28, 2020
I made my first acquaintance with Martin Thornton in English Spirituality: An Outline of Ascetical Theology according to the English Pastoral Tradition. It is a very meaty tome and is true to its title. I heartily commend it to anyone with Anglican affinities.
Spiritual Direction is roughly one-third the length of English Spirituality, but I found it to be no less illuminating. In some ways, it is more so. The biggest benefit for me is that it more fully and clearly explains Thornton’s idea of speculative-affective synthesis, which he holds to be a key element of Anglican spirituality. This is the marriage between an analytical bent and an emotional bent, embracing both the Thinkers and Feelers in the Myers-Briggs typology.
Thornton writes for spiritual directors and he writes from experience as a spiritual director and as a trainer of spiritual directors. He gives many useful categories by which to examine “clients” but not in a modern answer-these-ten-questions sort of way. He is comfortable with shades and blending between them. These include not only speculative and affective, but world affirmation and world renunciation, amateur and professional, and grim and gay.
While I found these distinctions realistic, what was most useful was being able to see myself in them. I had several gentle epiphanies with regard to my own attrait as I read. Attrait, another of his terms, is a French word meaning predisposition or bent. “…while it has been insisted that attrait is to be nurtured, part of such nurture is that it should occasionally be curbed.” (p. 114) In other words, sometimes some pruning is in order.
In chapter twelve, Thornton provides insight on the idea of progression in the life of prayer (which he calls the end and means of the spiritual life). He discusses the classic models of progression, but cautions, “They can offer various routes towards your destination, but they are to be read with care and they are not in themselves routes.” (p. 94)
He provides a solid metric by which to measure all spiritual progress. “…the only valid test is moral theology: progress, whatever its exact nature, means committing less sin and growing more joyfully penitent.” (p. 94) It is Thornton’s ability to pull such sharp distinctions out of what can be such murky waters that make his writing valuable.
The book has 2 appendices, giving Thornton’s rough outline of the various schools of Christian thought and a chart showing roughly where certain schools and authors fall on the speculative-affective continuum. Those who have read English Spirituality will find these familiar.
Spiritual Direction is a good book for both priest and parishioner. It can serve as guide toward learning the art of being a spiritual director, but it can also be a useful guide for seeking the benefits of spiritual direction while lacking a director. It was in this later category that book shined most for me.
Spiritual Direction is roughly one-third the length of English Spirituality, but I found it to be no less illuminating. In some ways, it is more so. The biggest benefit for me is that it more fully and clearly explains Thornton’s idea of speculative-affective synthesis, which he holds to be a key element of Anglican spirituality. This is the marriage between an analytical bent and an emotional bent, embracing both the Thinkers and Feelers in the Myers-Briggs typology.
Thornton writes for spiritual directors and he writes from experience as a spiritual director and as a trainer of spiritual directors. He gives many useful categories by which to examine “clients” but not in a modern answer-these-ten-questions sort of way. He is comfortable with shades and blending between them. These include not only speculative and affective, but world affirmation and world renunciation, amateur and professional, and grim and gay.
While I found these distinctions realistic, what was most useful was being able to see myself in them. I had several gentle epiphanies with regard to my own attrait as I read. Attrait, another of his terms, is a French word meaning predisposition or bent. “…while it has been insisted that attrait is to be nurtured, part of such nurture is that it should occasionally be curbed.” (p. 114) In other words, sometimes some pruning is in order.
In chapter twelve, Thornton provides insight on the idea of progression in the life of prayer (which he calls the end and means of the spiritual life). He discusses the classic models of progression, but cautions, “They can offer various routes towards your destination, but they are to be read with care and they are not in themselves routes.” (p. 94)
He provides a solid metric by which to measure all spiritual progress. “…the only valid test is moral theology: progress, whatever its exact nature, means committing less sin and growing more joyfully penitent.” (p. 94) It is Thornton’s ability to pull such sharp distinctions out of what can be such murky waters that make his writing valuable.
The book has 2 appendices, giving Thornton’s rough outline of the various schools of Christian thought and a chart showing roughly where certain schools and authors fall on the speculative-affective continuum. Those who have read English Spirituality will find these familiar.
Spiritual Direction is a good book for both priest and parishioner. It can serve as guide toward learning the art of being a spiritual director, but it can also be a useful guide for seeking the benefits of spiritual direction while lacking a director. It was in this later category that book shined most for me.
April 12, 2024
Thornton's, I'm l late to discover, is a voice sorely needed in today's landscape of spiritual direction—while it's unfortunate that I find his book, which begins with great ferocity and purpose, devolves into cumbersome, overly artificial categories (if reasonably traceable to historic terms) and a tedious (if momentarily whimsical) firsthand processing of sociological categories. Both moves are understandable, even necessary to his project, which remains admirable and important. Nonetheless, I believe he offers the director a catalogue of trees whereas it's vital rather for them to learn to read the forest (this being the subtler art, not less scientific). Subsequently, and again with misfortune, he ends up pinning his conclusions to a singular and apparently minor sociologist's work (Bruce Reed's), now nearly 50 years past publication, in order to offer a point he seems to suggest could have easily rested on his own prior practical theology. For reading (as a spiritual director), the latter half of his book is a bear; for assignment (as an educator), it's untenable. Nonetheless, at least the first four or five chapters are well-worth the time and, I can only hope, will inspire others to a project now long-neglected amid the oft-uncritical growth of spiritual direction practice.
April 18, 2022
Not an easy read but very worthwile. Connects spiritual theology with insights from sociology. SD needs to be 'professional' (analytical, with proper distance) and at the same time lovingly involved. SD may include 'paternalistic' instruction and advice to help the mentoree to regress to trust in God alone. "Love on the cold slab" nicely sums it up.
July 21, 2017
British writing! Good informative book on spiritual direction and spiritual attriat.
July 1, 2022
Martin Thornton is easily one of the best anglican theologians and writers of the 1900s. What a guy, what a book!
December 29, 2022
It’s not that this was a bad book, it just wasn’t the right book for me as I have no intention of becoming a spiritual director.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews