Discernment & Religious Life Blog

DISCERNMENT:  Yesterday we looked at the necessity of listening to your heart, if you are serious about discerning God’s will.  We also suggested a way to quiet outside noise so as to be attentive to God’s Spirit speaking within you.  Following the 5, 10, 15, 20 minutes of solitude, I suggest that you ponder the following questions given by Sister Clare Wagner, OP, in Make a difference! A guide for life choice” a pamphlet published by the National Religious Vocation Conference in 1995.

 

Those questions are:

 

·         “What do I want most in life?

·         What are my greatest fears?

·         What are my deepest hopes?

·         What makes me most alive?

·         What is God like?

·         Can I name my feelings about God, myself, the world?”(If yes, what are they?)

·         “When I imagine myself in religious life or priesthood, what feelings arise in my heart?

·         When I imagine myself married or single, what feelings arise?

·         What gifts would I bring to religious life, married life, single life?

·         Can I see myself studying theology and enjoying it?

·         Can I see myself living and working in a group? How does that feel?

·         Do I value interdependence or independence most?

·         When I picture myself five years from now in each life vocation, what images arise? What feelings come to me?”

 

Sister Clare then suggests that you ask “God’s Spirit what steps you might take toward a life choice. Listen to your heart and to God’s response.  Take your time with these questions. Use weeks or months to consider them.  Keep notes on what you hear when you prayerfully listen to your heart. Trust your feelings and God’s presence and love.”   Share your findings with a spiritual director and/or the vocation director with whom you are conversin