The Secret of Spiritual Fruitfulness

M. Anna Maria Cnopi, osb

I admit that, as I looked over the program of this course, it seemed to me that
my intervention could not really add anything to what has already been said at
length and will be further developed. However, since you have succeeded in
getting me to leave the cloister in order to share this moment with you, I think it
might be useful to offer you some thoughts ripened on the margins of my already
long experience. Take me, therefore, as a plank out of context.
Firstly, I think that it can be said that spiritual direction is a charisma, which
no one can attribute to himself. It can desired to enlighten ones service for the
glory of God and for the benefice of the brethren, but we know that the Lord
distributes His gifts with the greatest freedom and that His choices are sometimes
very surprising, precisely because He prefers those who have no titles of merit
and no special talents. Through them, in fact, the Holy Spirit can operate without
interference. It is written: wisdom opened the mouth of the dumb, and made the
tongues of babes speak clearly. (Wis 10:21; cfr. Psa 8:3); and elsewhere: I
thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these
things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants (Mat
11:25).
Precisely because the souls true guide is the Holy Spirit, it seems to me that
the distinction between masculine and feminine is of little importance. The
secret of spiritual direction is therefore simply resides in trusting the Spirit, who
gives the intuitive understanding that comes from love. The experience of divine
love delivers us from ourselves and introduces us into the dimension of infinity,
that is to say, it always leads us away from purely human understanding and
brings us to see things from a totally supernatural viewpoint; this is not abstract or
disincarnated, but rather transfigured by the deificum lumen, by the divine light
that shines in us.
Often the Lord begins preparing people for particular tasks when they are still
children. He arranges things so that one can already see His plan in a very young
child.

For example: in a big family, among classmates or friends, we can see those
who want to share their secrets or to ask advice turn spontaneously to someone
with a special ascendancy. Its not unusual for precisely that person to be called
later to be a priest, to enter religious life or to have a special role in society. This
ascendancy undoubtedly stems from the observation of special devotion to prayer
and of loving attention to others.
We could name many distinguished masters and guides of spiritual life!
However, lets limit ourselves to looking at home; I have in mind the example
of Saint John Bosco.
It was at that age that I had a dream. All my life this remained deeply
impressed on my mind. In this dream I seemed to be near my home in a fairly
large yard. A crowd of children were playing there. Some were laughing, some
were playing games, and quite a few were swearing. When I heard these evil
words, I jumped immediately amongst them and tried to stop them by using
my words and my fists.
At that moment a dignified man appeared, nobly dressed. He wore a white
cloak, and his face shone so that I could not look directly at him. He called me
by name, told me to take charge of these children, and added these words:
You will have to win these friends of yours not by blows but by gentleness
and love. Start right away to teach them the ugliness of sin and the value of
virtue. Confused and frightened, I replied that I was a poor, ignorant child. I
was unable to talk to those youngsters about religion Hardly knowing what I
was saying, I asked, Who are you, ordering me to do the impossible?
Precisely because it seems impossible to you, you must make it possible
through obedience and the acquisition of knowledge. Where, by what
means, can I acquire knowledge? I will give you a teacher look! I saw
a lady of stately appearance, who said to me: This is the field of your work.
Make yourself humble, strong, and energetic.1
Humble, strong, and energetic: let us keep this in mind.

Saint John Bosco, Memoirs of the Oratory of Saint Francis de Sales from 1815 to 1855,
chap.
2;
on-line
edition:
http://www.sdb.org/index.php?linguanewsletter=
2&ids=10&sott=6&doc=Documenti/2004/MO_EN/ar01s03.html&ty=3.

Another very significant example is Saint Catherine of Siena, the dolce

mamma of a crowd of disciples from all socials classes and of all ages, who
recognized that she had an extraordinary charisma for the discernment of spirits.
Her biographer, Raymond of Capua, tells us this:
When she was seven years old, Catherine was able to meditate on this vow
[of virginity] as deeply as a woman of sixty. She continuously prayed the
Queen of the virgins and of the angels that she might deign to obtain for her
perfect direction from the Lord, so that she could accomplish what would be
most pleasing to God and of greatest profit for the salvation of her soul This
virgin was, hence, with her body in the world, but her soul belonged entirely to
her Spouse When the wedding had come, the Lord slowly, calmly and
progressively, brought to deal with people in such a way that she did not stop
conversing with God. I do not intend to separate myself from you, the
Lord said to her on the contrary, I want to hold you more closely through
the love for others Remember that the zeal for souls, that I have sown in
your heart since your childhood and watered, has grown so much Why do
you wonder and complain if I bring you to accomplish what I have dreamt
about since your childhood? And she, consoled by this answer, asked as the
Blessed Virgin Mary once had: How shall this happen? And the Lord: Just
as my goodness has arranged it The Lord spurred her on and guided her
day after day so that she dealt simply with people, in order to finally draw
from her the fruit that He wanted to obtain2
Of course, I dont dare, even remotely, count myself among the number of
those who have received such privileges of grace, but I cant hide the fact that, to
a certain degree, I have also experienced this kind of thing personally. Moreover,
I think that we can all say this, especially with respect to the love for prayer and
the feeling of being totally grasped by the Lord since childhood and destined to
live exclusively for Him and for the others. This is why we repeatedly had the
impression, while listening to the Holy Scriptures, that we were being personally
addressed: Pay attention to what Im saying to you! This was like walking under a
cloud: at times luminous, other times obscure; but always under Gods gaze and
the hand, including through the presence and the wise discernment of simple and
2

Raymond of Capua, Santa Caterina da Siena (Ed. Cantagalli, Siena, 1989) pp. 47.137
8.141.2323.

enlightening people around us. Above all, it should be noted that parents, if they
are religious people, usually have a sixth sense that lets them know Gods secret
plan for their children. In my opinion, that the Lord gives this intuition, which is
an aspect of love, to all parents who truly live fatherhood and motherhood as a
participation in divine affection. In fact, often enough, when I talk with parents
about the vocation of one of their daughters (or of the sons), they say to me:
Weve had the intuition for a while And the same can be said of teachers,
whether they are religious or laypeople.
I remember that, when I was about twenty years old, I went to see one of my
former elementary-school teachers to tell her that I thought that I was beginning
to be particularly fond of a young man. She looked at me with a smile and said:
Yes, but great love has always been and always will be Jesus! At that moment,
her words frightened me. This good teacher went with me to see a priest and
simply said to him: Could you listen to this young lady and help her to see what
is in her heart? He took me aside and asked me a few questions about my life
since my childhood, listened as I expressed my thoughts and feelings and
finally said: If you want to come back, we can journey together. But I can
already tell you that the Lord has set his eyes on you and loves you a lot and your
heart can only be satisfied by him. There was no way out: the drams I had begun
to have about choosing a life like so many of my friends vanished That priests
spiritual direction was for me both paternal and maternal, because of the strength
and delicacy with which he was able to guide me on the ways in my quest for the
Lord and the discernment of his plan for me.
The adventure of grace led me to enter a monastery; there, the task of the
person who had guided in the beginning ended and the feminine direction if we
may say so began, in the environment of the coenobitic community. Moreover,
here, after a few years, also began my experience of forming others in monastic
life.
I served as Novice Mistress during the most difficult years in the period
immediately after the Vatican II Council, when even the monastic communities
felt, more or less, the fermentation diffused in the Church and the rapid on-going
process of secularization. The young people who entered the monasteries were
intellectually gifted and generous, but they were not always able to discern the
importance of the tradition the authentic one that conserves and transmits the
fundamental values or to recognize the demands of an ascesis that truly
separates the monks not from the world but from what is mundane and hinders
the immersion into the silence and solitude essential for true inner life, totally

centered on God in the ministry of prayer. This was an experience marked by

spiritual and human suffering; yet it was positive as a propaedeutic, one might
say, for the abbatial service that was awaiting me a few years later. I became
gradually more and more convinced that the secret of a good spiritual direction is
the humble love willing to serve in all possible ways, including sometimes by
accepting the fact that the only thing one can do for souls is pray, suffer and
always love with the heart of Christ and of Our Mother the Church: with strength
and affection.
Guiding souls in fact requires using all of the gifts of the Holy Spirit; and the
Spirit the art of acting fortiter-suaviter by giving the depth of intuition and the
capacity to collect even the reflections of what is moving in the human heart.
Each person is a mystery and can be approached only with holy fear, in the same
way Moses drew near the burning bush. To enter the secret souls must take off
your shoes and enter barefoot.
Im blessed: my illustrious teacher of spiritual direction was St. Benedict: in
his Rule he traces an admirable figure of the guide of souls that always remains
valid, because it is essentially based on the Gospel. The abbot father (or
mother) of the monastic community is considered as one who occupies the
place of Christ Christi enim agree vices in monasterio creditor.3
Just as Christ, the perfect image of the Father, came into the world to save his
brothers, thus the abbot does all he can to help his monks to return, through
obedience, to the One they left by sinning.4 Father, Pastor, Teacher, Physician,
and above all Servant: the abbot exercises all of these functions, mingling
gentleness with severity, as the occasion may call for.5 St. Benedict exhorts him,
saying: show the severity of the master and the loving affection of a father and
let him understand what a difficult and arduous task he assumes in governing
souls and accommodating himself to a variety of characters. Let him so adjust and
adapt himself to everyone to one gentleness of speech, to another by reproofs,
and to still another by entreaties, to each one according to his bent and
understanding that he not only suffer no loss in his flock, but may rejoice in the
increase of a worthy fold.6
Taking up again the issue dealt with in chap. 64 of the Rule probably when
he was already aged and hence with enriched experience and wisdom Benedict
3

RB 2,2.
Cfr. RB Prolog 2.
5
RB 2,24.
6
RB 2,31-32.
4

takes even greater care to emphasize on the abbots face traits of humility and
meekness: let him be convinced that it is him better to serve than to rule. He
must, therefore, be versed in the divine law, that he may know from where to
bring forth new things and old.
Let him be chaste, sober, and merciful, and let him always exalt mercy above
judgment, that he also may obtain mercy. Let him hate vice, but love the brethren.
And even in his corrections, let him act with prudence and not go to extremes,
lest, while aiming to remove the rust too thoroughly, the vessel be broken.
Let him always keep his own frailty in mind, and remember that the bruised
reed must not be broken. In this we are not saying that he should allow evils to
take root, but that he should cut them off with prudence and charity, as he shall
see it is best for each one, as we have already said.7
Discretion, the mother of all virtues, is recommended to the Abbot the
spiritual father who is, above all, asked to be humble and meek so that he may
arrange everything in such a way that the strong may still have something to
desire and the weak may not draw back.8 Notice the attention and respect that the
abbot must have for every member of the community. Each person is a unique
and unrepeatable mystery, and therefore each one requires unprejudiced and
limitless dedication, with creativity proper to love.
Blessed Abbot Columba Marmion, another wonderful example of a spiritual
director, a true son of St. Benedict, knew how to serve souls like a vigilant
sentinel who peers into the night and announces the dawn.
Only the Holy Spirit he said can form souls; the directors task is to
indicate to his spiritual son the way that leads to God, to provide some general
rules for his conduct, to monitor his progress and, if there are difficulties, respond
to them; all of this at long intervals (letter to a nun).
He explained, in other occasions, the reason for these long intervals. Many
believe that meticulous direction is necessary, and so they endlessly analyze
souls, write pages and pages, while the great director of souls is the Holy
Spirit
It is absolutely necessary according to him to avoid abusing of spiritual
direction. He considered long and complicated directions characteristic for people
who like to talk at length about their I, thus wasting their time as well as that of
others. These people end up believing that spiritual progress is much more the
7
8

RB 64; cfr. chapters 27-28.

RB 64,19.

result of their own work and that of their directors than Gods. In reality, by
dealing with and worrying too much about themselves, they fall into the trap of
narcissism, and do not follow a true path of sanctification. The soul must be
reflected in Crist, not in the murky bottom of ones ego.
Here we may consider the different dynamics of direction offered to men or
women. Without entering in the psychological field, I have personally
experienced that women tend to live their relationship with Christ in spousal key
and men most often live it in the key of friendship. Therefore, these aspects can
serve as the basis for a generous and faithful response. However, this should
probably not be distinguished too strictly, since in his/her relationship with God
the human being experiences the whole spectrum of love: we are all children,
friends and the bride of the eternal marriage.
The young people of our time are often psychologically disturbed, afflicted
with fear and endless anxieties that make them apprehensive, insecure and
unstable. Thus, they increasingly need serene, strong and secure guides, not to
carry them almost as if they were replacing them in the struggle of the
journey but to teach them how the spiritual battle that requires continual
practice in listening to the Word, in prayer and asceticism. The latter is probably
weakest point. The young people of the new generation feel helpless when it
comes to dealing with the necessary renunciations, sacrifices, and the inevitable
trials of life. However, by delving a little into their hearts, you will discover an
amazing potential for goodness, underground water veins that become gushing
streams as when they find a way out. I must say with sincerity that after more than
forty years of service to God with the task of spiritual mother, I still feel the same
I need to learn as when I started. And let me school often are the ones that drive,
because they make me feel at any time the need to listen well to what the Spirit
says to the churches, to every believer. We should always be astonished
While the Lord has entrusted many souls to my care (and not only nuns, but
also priests, religious and laity, and Benedictine Oblates as well as of guests
staying at the monastery ), Im convinced that I always received more them
than they did from this poor instrument of divine grace. I dont want to pass
silently over the fact that I often had to struggle and still do in performing my
service, especially when exercising the function of physician of souls; I have
encountered and I meet face to face not only the mystery of God present in every
human person, but also with the mystery of iniquity. There is an inevitable clash
and it is sometimes bitter to the blood. It would be naive to ignore or fail to

recognize the subtle arts of the evil that seeks to infiltrate into the dynamics of
spiritual direction, sometimes arousing the suspicion of not being understood and,
therefore, both distrust and closure of the heart, and at other sometimes
transforming the relationship of faith and charity into a bond of emotional
dependence with the resulting demands for exclusivity and absurd jealousy If
spiritual direction gets caught in these and other similar traps, it loses its
supernatural effectiveness and no longer serves an authentic search for God and
His plan.
Here is what the Desert Fathers suggested to foil the wiles of the evil one: If
you to ask a father about your thoughts, first pray to God with these words: Lord,
put into the mouth of the elder whatever you want him to say to me. Ill receive it
from him as if it were coming out of your mouth. Confirm it, O Lord, in your
truth, so that I may youre your will through him. And then keep them with care
and love what you said the father.9
Now it is a fact, as I mentioned, that in the course of the past half century
humanity has become increasingly vulnerable psychologically and that the newest
generations seem particularly fragile and defenseless in the face of life's trials and
temptations.
The causes are varied and this is not the moment to examine them; but its
necessary to be aware of the fact that if the vocation is root grafted on a tree
whose roots a little sick and the Lord doesnt reject any plant!, direction and
formation should first adopt the therapeutic method. This means, in a way, getting
sick with the sick and bearing the wounds like Jesus did. Complete healing of the
deep wounds of personality is not always possible, but we can at least lessen
them, in order to be able to integrate them in the grace of the vocational journey,
as a specific aspect of the face of the each persons sanctity. This means helping
recognize that we are all called to enter into the kingdom and to sit at the table of
the King, precisely because we are poor, lame, blind and hence pardoned.
The discernment of the authenticity of the vocation both to consecrated life
in virginity and to life consecrated in the family must therefore consider first of
all the basic attitude of the young man or woman. Its necessary to see if the inner
drive that makes him decide to say yes, here I am is the desire of the total gift of
self to God for others, or if he is seeking something for himself.
Jesus' words leave no room for ambiguity: Do you want to lose your life by
making it a gift or keep in order to search for what you think is advantageous for
9

Sayings of the Desert Fathers F. Nau 591/58.

you? Do you want to be happy in the accomplishment of God's plan or pursue

your own project in life?
The answer to these questions should be a sincere desire to do Gods will and
to find ones joy in gratuitousness. It is generally believed that the tendency of
self-giving is stronger in women, but this is probably concerns the ways more
than the substance. Moreover, the feminine and the masculine characteristics are
complementary, and ideally in the male guide has a vein female tenderness while
the female guide has a vein of manly fortitude. Only in the new man Christ Jesus
are both in perfect; however, a multitude of his disciples have become similar. In
order for spiritual direction to be effective, it always requires maternal abnegation
and paternal support; the person who is guided needs to encounter in the one who
accompanies him not so much theoretical discourse, as a practical example of
how to live the vocation of life consecrated to God for the brethren. When this
harmonious complementarity appears, its happy result is the sanctity that
generates life in Christ. In this way the mystery of the Church Sanctorum altrix,
Mother and nurturer of saints, is realized.
At this point, to conclude, I would say that only personal holiness qualifies
someone to give spiritual direction. And there is no true holiness without
conformation to Christ in humility and self-giving, in other words without
participation in the mystery of the Cross. While fulfilling his mission on earth,
Jesus always kept his eyes turned to heaven and his heart in prayer until his last
breath.
Every spiritual guide must necessarily be a man or woman of prayer, because
one accompanies souls primarily, as the Apostle Paul says, on ones knees:
I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and
on earth takes its name. I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may
grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his
Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being
rooted and grounded in love. I pray that you may have the power to
comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and
depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you
may be filled with all the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:1419).
Having received this fullness, one really can let it overflow into the hearts of
others. This brings to my mind, with respect to this topic, a significant story of the
Hasidim:

Rabbi Aaron once came to the city where little Mordecai, who later became
the Rabbi of Lechovitz, was growing up. His father brought the boy to the
visiting rabbi and complained that he did not persevere in his studies. Leave
the boy with me for a while, said Rabbi Aaron. When he was alone with little
Mordecai, Rabbi Aaron lay down and took the child and held him next to his
heart. Silently, he held the boy close to his chest until the father returned. I
gave him a good talking-to, he told the father. From now on, he will not be
lacking in perseverance. Throughout his life, whenever the Rabbi of
Lechovitz related this incident, he added, That was the day that I learned how
to convert others.10
Herein lies the secret of spiritual fruitfulness: life is transmitted not by
speeches of words, but through the transfusion of the Holy Spirit, heart to heart, in
silence of love. So those who dedicate themselves to spiritual direction also need
to become disciples of Mary, Mother and spiritual teacher par excellence, as a she
so intimately shares in the mystery of Christ that she is still a mother, continuing
to give you children with the Church,11 shaping their hearts in the fiery furnace
of the Heart of Jesus himself.
(Lecture given on March 15th, 2004, in Pianezza-Turin during a course on
spiritual direction for priests, religious and lay instructors).

Translation: Sr. Pascale-Dominique Nau, op

10

Cfr. Martin Buber, Tales of the Hasidim: Book One: The Early Masters and Book Two:
The Later Masters (v. 1-2), transl. by O. Marx (Schocken Books, New York, 1991) p.
201.
11
Cfr. Preface of the Votive Mass: The Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother and Teacher in the
Spirit.