Spiritual Direction with Mary Glowaski, Deason Tom Whalen, and Hans Plate

Episode 5: The Sacred Art of Listening - Understanding Spiritual Direction Quick Summary What does it mean to truly hear someone versus simply listening? In this episode, hosts Dave Plisky and Fr. John Gribowich explore the transformative practice of spiritual direction—examining how this ancient tradition helps us tune into God's presence in our daily lives. Through intimate conversations with three practitioners, discover why seeing yourself as lovable might be the most important spiritual work you'll ever do, and learn how one diocese is making spiritual direction accessible to thousands. Whether you're seeking your first spiritual director or wondering if this practice is right for you, this episode offers practical wisdom and surprising data about one of Catholicism's most powerful yet underutilized resources. In This Episode, We Explore: Opening Reflection: Hearing vs. Listening (00:00) Marshall McLuhan's insight on electronic-age communication and the Gospel The difference between restrictive listening and transformative hearing Why Christ distinguished between scribes who listened and disciples who heard Key Quote: "To listen is to blinker yourself... but to hear is to put yourself on the same wavelength as the speaker." (02:00) Interview with Mary Glowaski - Creating Gentle Spaces (04:00) Mary Glowaski is a spiritual director based in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and serves as Dave's spiritual director Why gentleness matters more than technique in spiritual direction The crucial distinction between being loved and seeing yourself as lovable (06:00) Understanding whose we are, not just who we are (07:00) How spiritual directors discern between spiritual direction, pastoral counseling, and mentoring (08:00) The sacred trust of covenant confidentiality vs. simple confidentiality (10:00) Key Quote: "Too often I find people, Dave, that it is not that they don't feel loved, they don't see themselves as lovable." (06:45) Confession and Direction: A Priestly Perspective (11:00) Father John Gribowich reflects on the intersection of sacramental confession and spiritual direction Why confession should be viewed as gratitude rather than legalism (13:00) The challenge of complementing confession with spiritual direction Rethinking "spiritual direction" as "spiritual guidance" Why priests aren't always the right choice for spiritual direction (22:00) Interview with Deacon Tom Whalen - Building Diocesan Infrastructure (16:00) Deacon Tom Whalen coordinates spiritual direction for the Diocese of Charleston, South Carolina How one diaconate formation class revealed a massive gap in spiritual direction access (17:00) Creating a diocesan-wide spiritual direction program from scratch Why Spring Hill College's graduate program became the foundation The innovative model: spiritual directors work under pastors, not the chancery (19:00) Addressing the supply and demand crisis in spiritual direction Interview with Hans Plate - What the Data Reveals (23:00) Hans Plate is founder and president of Vinea Research and partner on the Religion to Reality discipleship study The surprising 100% statistic about spiritual direction availability (23:00) Why many Catholics don't understand what spiritual direction actually is Hans's personal journey: discovering spiritual direction through confession (25:00) The challenge of finding the right match when directors relocate (26:00) Com...