Candlelight: Illuminating the Art of
Spiritual Direction (Spiritual Directors
International) by Susan S. Phillips
A Field Guide To God's Work In The Human Soul
Candlelight offers an intimate view of spiritual direction through written
narratives of actual spiritual direction sessions. The experiential practice is
accompanied by theoretical and theological understandings that guide it.
The book includes the stories of nine men and women whose stories
illustrate how the journey of Christian discipleship is helped by spiritual
direction.
Personal Review: Candlelight: Illuminating the Art of Spiritual
Direction (Spiritual Directors International) by Susan S. Phillips
Candlelight is a great read, probably even for those who don't practice
spiritual direction. What's so terrific about this book?

* Great stories make great books, and this book is structured around nine
readable, captivating stories. Will Charles find a mate? Is Jim's health
going to hold? Will I, when the time comes, be able to die as beautifully as
did ... well, I won't ruin the ending. But it is beautiful.
* Held gracefully within the context of these stories are short but excellent
discussions of suffering, theodicy, Sabbath, death, decision-making, evil,
Keats's "negative capability," the prayer of examen, the "middle voice" as a
metaphor for the life of engaged faith, ... etc. etc. The book's one fault is its
lack of an index. When I reread the book I plan to create my own rough
index as I go along.
* Candlelight gives a view into what normally cannot be observed. As a
spiritual director, it is extremely difficult for me to know whether my practice
is like or unlike that of my colleagues. Just what ARE those spiritual
directors doing behind those closed doors?? Well, read Candlelight and sit
in on sessions with a master. Your style might differ, or you might disagree
with Phillips's approach at points, but merely finding out exactly what she
does during direction sessions is fascinating.
* Candlelight offers helpful definitions of spiritual direction, as do many
other books and web sites. What is special here is that Candlelight offers
definitions of spiritual direction as practiced by the erudite, mature, faithful,
humorous Susan Phillips. Seen through her eyes, spiritual direction takes
on a whole new glow.
* Phillips uses words beautifully and seems to know precisely what they all
mean. She's not just flinging them around.
* Finally, and maybe best of all, Candlelight shows God in action.
Maintaining faith in God's goodness can be challenging for those of us who
hope to do so; it's delightful to have a book that says, over and over, in
concrete terms, "Look over there, at that faint light! Just a bit to the left ...
there! Do you see it now? THAT is the benevolent God at work." Reading
Candlelight is like looking at the world through God-vision goggles.
Transcendent goodness, purpose, and beauty can shine, sometimes quite
subtly, through human experiences and suffering, and we need all the help
we can get if we are to stop and pay attention long enough to see them.
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