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Eddie O’Connor

Eddie O'Connor Spiritual Director

Religious background

Like many people in my generation, my religious background is wide-ranging. I was baptised in the Catholic Church before my family moved to the Anglican Church when I was a teenager. After leaving home, I moved away from church and faith and described myself as an atheist until a spiritual crisis in my early 30s led me to Buddhism, meditation, and a 10-day silent retreat.

My contemplative experiences opened up Christianity in a way I hadn’t conceived before. I’m thankful to the World Community for Christian Meditation for helping me find my way back into the Christian faith during this period. In 2020, I was appointed Director of Sister Eveleen Retreat House in Christchurch, where I stayed for three years. During this time, I facilitated many silent retreats and trained as a Spiritual Director in the tradition of St Ignatius of Loyola.

Today, I’m a chaplain at Burwood Hospital, where I help people navigate sickness, death, and loss. I also see a small number of Spiritual Direction clients, usually on Sunday afternoons. I attend St Saviour’s Anglican Church in Lyttelton, where I serve as the Vicar’s Warden.

Approach to spiritual direction

Spiritual Direction is an enormous privilege for me. When a person embraces their spiritual path with openness and curiosity, the results are often surprising and exciting, never a waste of time. My approach is founded on both my experience with the Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius and my practice of contemplative prayer.

I have a big heart for people who feel spiritually homeless, as my journey has moved through a variety of spiritual perspectives and theological positions.

At the heart of any spiritual practice is the assumption that God is at work in us at all times; our job is to help facilitate that work. In the Spiritual Exercises, St Ignatius encourages Directors to be like the centre of a balance, neither overtly influencing a person’s journey, nor remaining passive. A person coming to me for direction can expect me to be calm, empathetic, and affirming, but also honest. My goal is to hold a light up for people and help them see the road ahead, particularly when the way is dark or unclear.

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