Discernment Attitudes

One of the first attitudes of discernment suggested by St. Ignatius of Loyola, as I mentioned in a previous blog, was openness. A second attitude is generosity.  To be totally open to God’s will, whether asking God to which vocation in life His is calling me and where would I serve Him best or whether it is the directions He wants me to take in living out this day, requires generosity on my part.  God wants my all, my entire being: my mind, my will, my heart, my hopes and fears, my serenity and anxiety, those things about me that radiate God’s beauty within or which reflect my tendency toward selfishness.  To put no conditions on what God asks of me today, on what amount of time, for instance, He requires me to give to a needy child or a boss who piles more and more work upon me, or a husband/wife who is unwilling to acquiesce to my needs: God wants my generosity in loving, caring, responding with patience, being willing to forgive myself and others, or whatever the challenge.  Generosity! Who comes to my mind as being generous, giving, caring, loving, open to life on life’s terms?