Divine Mercy Counseling.
A Counseling Practice that Strives to Offer More.
Matthew Myer, LPC, LCDC. OCDS.
Secular Order of Discalced Carmelites.
Matthew is a career Licensed Professional Counselor now offering Spiritual Accopaniment at Divine Mercy Counseling, PLLC.
“My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I do. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.”
Thomas Merton
Warm undistracted charitable greetings to one and all! I would like to introduce myself briefly to those of you, or even loved ones you know, that would be sincerely interested in 1 hour sessions of Spiritual Direction. I was baptized as a baby and practiced faith until 10 years old. By age 18 i returned to the Church with the help of a High School friend. By 20 I was in Catholic Seminary taught by Benedictines, though i was really seeking a deeply contemplative Monastic Lifestyle of which i pursued for years after my 1 year in the Seminary. It was Grace to have vocational retreats with Trappists, Maronites, Carthusians, Camaldolese...I eventually became a Secular Discalced Carmelite (since the early-mid 1980s).
I was a Secondary Education/Physical Ed. Major in my undergraduate decree. Later i obtained my Master Degree in Counseling from Franciscan University going an extra year to take both tracts of Clinical and Pastoral ( or Christian) Counseling so as to help deal with a Whole integrated person being we are both natural and divine, we modernly think of Mind, Body and Soul. One of the Messages that spoke to my Heart deeply from the Benedictine Monks when i was in the Seminary was that sanctity (Holiness) consisted of being whole ( a whole harmoniously integrated being fully aligned with all that God created us humans to be) as characterized by a life of virtue docile to God’s Grace and promptings of His Holy Spirit so vibrantly alive in us.
Since age 19 or 20 i have been in Spiritual Direction throughout the majority of my brief life. I realize the importance of Counseling/Therapy and Spiritual Direction to help us being fully alive in the Holy Trinity (St. Irenaeus related at some point that the “Glory of God is man fully alive”).
As Fr. Adrian van Kaam and Dr. Susan Muto put it:
“ The reduction of our life to a repetition of popular routine no longer animated by humane, cultural, and religious meanings can only be endured for so long. Our self is in search of spiritual enlightenment. Who we truly are comes to be known little by little over a lifetime of trial and error. Our spiritual direction by the Holy Spirit prompts us to seek our deepest “I” in God alone. Faith makes us look at ourselves as we believe God looks at us from all eternity in his Son, Jesus Christ. We believe that our life is Christ-oriented from start to finish. Thanks to the Gift of faith, we try to look for ways to become more like him. We search for the right paths, guided by our Redeemer. We see ourselves and our destiny as bound to him, the only begotten Son of the Father. The Holy Spirit encourages us to confirm one another. We turn to spiritual guides to offer us words of wisdom. We gather around Christ, the perfect image of the Father, and listen to the (Holy) Spirit, the Director of all directors.” (Dynamics of Spiritual Direction).
Spiritual Directors are getting harder and harder to find. We need dedicated faith - filled lay persons to be trained as Spiritual Directors to help the lack of Priests and religious to be able to accompany all the sincere souls in our world to find ways to help their spiritual life become more meaningful, to have some support and guidance as each person tries their Best to discern God’s love and will for their lives as the gentle stirrings of the Holy Spirit try to enlighten us along our unique pilgrim path.
A couple years ago I embarked on this Discalced Carmelite Spiritual Direction Program sponsored by the Discalced Carmelites in the UK. The only one of it’s kind in the world geared toward those that desire a more contemplative type of spiritual direction. I have heard various stories by sincere souls seeking spiritual direction from various Religious and Diocesan Priests (if they are fortunate to find one that has the time to do Spiritual Direction) and not feel like their soul was understood very well since these Spiritual Directors have little to no experience in Contemplative Prayer or a more contemplative oriented type of spiritual direction. That is where the Carmelite Fathers, perhaps a Cloistered Carmelite Nun or maybe a Benedictine or some other “contemplative Order” and us Secular come in, so we can help fill the large gap.
I am here to help any that seek spiritual direction at this point in time. I do not charge for spiritual direction, but if persons feel inclined to make a donation, that is very fine and up to the person. The quality of time I offer to accompany a sincere soul will always be to the best of my ability regardless if they make a donation or not. If one desires sincerely spiritual direction, esp of the more contemplative type, please do feel free to contact me by text (773.558.0241) or email: ybotw6279@gmail.com and we can take things from there.
I also do Therapy/Counseling but that is separate from Spiritual Accompaniment. At this point in time i am more focused on Spiritual Accompaniment (Newer term for Spiritual Direction). I hope to get back to Therapy/Counseling in 2025..
+ Until the time we meet for spiritual accompaniment i will leave you in good hands with Therese on God’s Love and Divine Mercy for each of us:
+ Ohhhh my dear Mother! After so many graces can i not sing with the Pslamist, ‘ How GOOD is the Lord, his Mercy endures forever!’ (Ps 117:1) It seems to me that if all creatures had received the same graces as I received, God wold be feared by no one but would be loved to the point of folly; and through love, not through fear, no one would ever consent to cause Him any pain. I understand, however, that all souls cannot be the same, that it is necessary there be different types in order to honor each of God’s perfections in a particular way. To me He has granted His infinite Mercy, and through it I contemplate and adore the other divine perfections! All of these perfections appear to bear resplendent with love; even His Justice ( and perhaps this even more so than the others) seems to me clothed in love. What a sweet joy it is to think that God is Just,i.e., that He takes into account our weakness, that He is perfectly aware of our fragile nature. What should I fear then? Ah! Must not the infinitely just God, who deigns to pardon the faults of the prodigal son with so much kindness, be just also toward me who ‘am with Him always’?
Therese of Lisieux, OCD.
Credentials
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