Perspectives on Spiritual Companionship
Fall 2025
About 60 kms East of Sault Ste Marie, on Highway 17, there is the sixth largest lake island in the world. It is comprised of pristine sugar maples and rolling countryside. It is especially known to produce maple syrup and was a destination for our family each Spring to feast on pancakes, sausages and pure maple syrup.
It is called St Joseph Island and until 1973, was only accessible by ferry. That year, the Brent Gilbertson Bridge was completed and opened to traffic.
One of my brothers as a teenager, who worked on the bridge, fell off into three feet of water. He landed on his back, if he had gone in headfirst, it would have been fatal. He remembers seeing the ferry coming in, upside down as he fell. On climbing back up to the bridge deck, the superintendent from the ferry asked if anything had fallen off the bridge. My brother said, “yes, that was me.” He is still with us, though I think his days of working on bridges ended there.
The superstructure of the bridge is made up of two large, hollow steel box girders resting on seven trapezoidal piers, anchored into the bottom of the St Joseph Channel.
Remove just one of the seven piers and there is no way, anybody will drive across that bridge. Yes, there is strength in numbers, and the Apostle Paul wrote of this in Ephesians 4. The faith of just one person is multiplied exponentially when combined with the faith of all.
I was recently reminded of this and how critical community is. A friend, who I would call my Spiritual Director challenged me to be a “spiritual companion” to be alongside of another, to help them in seeking God’s direction as they focus on their life. It is not about being one who directs the other, rather simply being a companion. God is the director, and my part is to be a soul friend to use spiritual eyes to respond to their soul.
I am on a journey to be the best spiritual companion that I am able at this season of my life. To understand in a deeper way what St Teresa, John of the Cross, and Brother Lawrence understood and had a profound appreciation for, that there is an active life of the soul that goes on beneath our awareness.
I know that I am better together than alone and out of this comes purpose, which all of us need.
What am I learning as I reflect on being a spiritual companion? There are 3 things, which I need to learn, so I can authentically help others.
Author, Thomas Keating suggests there are three desires we need to let go of: our desire for control and power; our desire for affection, esteem and approval; and our desire for security and survival. I need to release my need to control what I perceive is safe and trust God completely. It is what a close friend and colleague, who is a retired Green Beret recently told me. Be comfortable with the uncomfortable.
I need to rest in God’s unconditional love, remembering that my worth is not dependent on the approval of others. This heals the false belief that I must earn God’s love.
We live in a society that fears old age. There are reasons for this and yet we need to embrace it as a time of harvesting from our experiences. One author writes aging isn’t about losing youth, rather it is about gaining depth. So, I need to be comfortable with who I am and rest in my true self. Then to use this in being a spiritual companion to the younger generation.
Together, may we let go and learn about the active life of our souls, that is happening, at times beneath our awareness.
Also, as my brother has learned from this experience, God is so involved in the details of our lives. He is intimately present in every moment.
He desires my fulfilment. That is worth reflecting on and doing it with a spiritual companion.
Bruce
