By Mary Parks
I recently had the opportunity to lead an in-service for spiritual directors sponsored through the Spirituality Center of the Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict. The subject of our gathering was trauma informed care.
We began the morning by contemplating an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
During my border experience with the Mexican American Catholic College last year, I consistently encountered Guadalupe. I learned that she had become a source of strength for indigenous people during the Spanish colonization of America. Guadalupe appeared in a vision to a peasant named Juan Diego, addressing him as “Dignified Juan Diego.” Guadalupe wanted to remind Juan that he possessed an inner Source, no matter what those around him said to the contrary.
Guadalupe remains a source of comfort today, consistently reminding each of us that we have inherent dignity, regardless of the pain and trouble we experience in this world. She perfectly embodies “rechem,” a Hebrew word meaning compassion and comfort, as well as womb.
Guadalupe understands our suffering and creates a space for us to heal. She then asks, “Am I not your mother?” which is a question directing us back to our true Selves.
As the other spiritual directors and I discussed the current scientific understanding of trauma and the widespread impact of trauma today, we repeatedly returned to the image of Guadalupe as a way to center ourselves.
We returned to her again as we discussed ways that spiritual directors can integrate trauma awareness into their practice. Ideas included encouraging mind-body awareness, the Benedictine value of humility, maintaining healthy boundaries in support of the person directed and integrating tools from other disciplines.
We gave special attention to Internal Family Systems, a therapeutic model developed by Dr. Richard C. Schwartz. IFS encourages self-compassion through greater understanding of the many parts that make up individual.
We also saw how spiritual practices such as centering prayer and meditation can be combined with IFS to increase a person’s inner freedom and access to the Self.
I am grateful to have had this opportunity and I hope that our discussion will contribute to a greater understanding of trauma. I hope, too, that more people will be able to benefit from the healing available through trauma-informed spiritual direction.
If you are interested in receiving trauma-informed spiritual direction for yourself, or if you would like to arrange a presentation about trauma-informed care for your organization, please email me at mary@thememoryof god.com.