Spiritual Friendship: Learning to Be Friends with God and One Another

Resources for Application

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tradition of sisters and brothers writing to one another to encourage each other in their walk with God. There are many examples of friends of the same sex, like Jerome and Augustine, who wrote long and thoughtful letters to one another. 25 But there are also many examples of friends of the opposite sex, like Jeanne Guyon and Bishop Fenelon, who were not married to one another, and yet who developed a deeply intimate spiritual friendship. 26 More recently, Caroline Macdonald (d.1931) maintained a twenty-five-year ministry of friendship in Japan. A foundational theological principle in her philosophy of ministry was that “God is friend.” 27 This principle led her to become friends with thousands of Japanese prisoners. As a result of these friendships, she became an influential voice calling for the reform of prisons in Japan. She also recognized that writing letters to friends was a central activity in her ministry. During her life she wrote thousands of letters of encouragement and exhortation to her incarcerated friends. Today the practice of letter writing may seem out of date. But those willing to explore this tool will find it a reliable aid in sustaining and deepening spiritual friendships. Consider adapting or using this tool with spiritual friends. Perhaps you will commit to writing a letter of encouragement to a friend on his or her birthday? 25 Saint Jerome and Saint Augustine of Hippo, The Correspondence (394−419), Between Jerome and Augustine of Hippo , ed. Carolinne White, Studies in the Bible and Early Christianity 23 (Lewiston, NY: Mellen, 1990). 26 Madame Jeanne Guyon, Letters of Jeanne Guyon , trans. P. L. Upham, Reprint. (New Kensington, PA: Whitaker, 2013 [orig. 1870]). 27 Dana L. Robert, Faithful Friendships: Embracing Diversity in Christian Community (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2019), 56−64.