Discernment: A Gift from God

Discernment:  In today’s first reading, Acts 9: 31-42, Peter, totally transformed by the outpouring of the Spirit upon him at Pentecost, is an instrument in the hands of Christ, healing the sick, the paralyzed, raising those who have died and proclaiming Jesus’ resurrection. He is doing everything in the name of Jesus, the Son of God, the Holy One whom he had denied, whom he had challenged when He spoke of going up to Jerusalem to be killed by the chief priests and leaders of the people, the man who jumped in to the waters to walk to Jesus and sunk out of fear of the elements, the one who chopped off the soldier’s ear, and the one who locked himself in the upper room out of fear of the Jews.  Now, baptized in the Spirit, he feared no one and never said “no” to Jesus again. He opened his mind, his heart and his will to the Spirit of Christ leading him, strengthening him,  and challenging him to act in His name without fear, without giving in to weaknesses, without pride, knowing, beyond doubt, that only in Christ Jesus is his salvation and only in Christ Jesus does he do the will of the Father.

Are you growing in the ability to discern when you are relying upon strength alone or trusting in the Lord? Are able to discern when you are challenging God, complaining against God and when you are cooperating with God?  When you and I begin a project and abandon it when the going gets tough, it is then that we are most likely not cooperating with the Lord, or we may have entered into that project without calling upon the Lord.  When we rely only upon ourselves, we increase our vulnerability to deny the Lord in crucial circumstances or to engage in behaviors that are contrary to what God expects of us. On the other hand, when we are working with, in and through Jesus, we then recognize our dependence upon grace, and grace alone. When we call upon the Lord in humility and trust, we are able to get across the troubled waters of our lives.  Yes, only in God will we leave our comfort zones, as Peter did,  and be receptive to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, sent my Jesus, to take possession of our minds, our wills, and our hearts. It is then that we are truly capable of discerning that to which God is calling us, be that a vocational call, a career call, or a relationship call, or any other,  even when previously we deemed the obstacles too great.

Discernment: Stop and Listen

Discernment:  Today’s first reading, 1 Samuel 15: 16-23, is a continuation of what happened when Samuel went back to sleep and when hearing his name called a fourth time answered: “Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.” God had a message that He wanted Samuel to deliver to Saul.  To get Saul’s attention, he said to him the next morning: “Stop! Let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night.”

To discern God’s will, we need to “Stop!”  Plunging full steam ahead is one way to shut out God’s voice.  Telling ourselves, “I don’t have time right now” might be our way to walk away from the source of God’s enlightenment.  Rejecting a message because of the messenger is also one of the ways in which we may shield ourselves from truth, the Truth.  We may also assume that we have the answers, or all of the answers, and no one tells us what to do or what to consider. Those attitudes are a hindrance to hearing the voice of God. Humility is key. Praying for the courage and the strength to listen to others is a crucial part of discernment

Discerning God's Will

Discerning God’s Will: Today’s Liturgy,  1 Samuel 1: 24-28, and the Gospel, Luke 1: 46-56, hail two great women whose motivating force was to give God their all!  Selfishness, self-aggrandizement, self-centeredness were transformed by grace into God-centered motivations. If we are determined to allow God to bring our wills into harmony with God’s will, we, too, need to give God our weaknesses. God alone is able to make us into women and men who long for God’s will to be accomplished in us.  God prepared Mary to become God’s Temple, totally one with God,  by her Immaculate Conception (the graces won on Calvary given to her at the moment her parents conceived her).  You and I have those graces through our Baptism, Reconciliation, Eucharist, the Anointing of the Sick and all other ways in which God cleanses us of our sinfulness. Through God’s mercy we are made capable of being one with the Lord in our choices.

Discerning the will of our God is also grace! Let us ask for that grace in the same way as Hannah in 1 Samuel  1: 24-28 and Mary in the Annunciation, Luke 1: 38,  said: “Behold the Handmaid of the Lord, be it done to me according to your Word” and truly mean it!

DISCERNMENT OF GOD'S WILL

DISCERNMENT OF GOD’S WILL

 Are you wondering to which vocation God is calling you? Is it marriage; and, if so, how do I find my future husband/wife?  Am I being called to consecrate my life to God; and, if so, to which religious community?  Could I being called to the single lifestyle? How do I find answers to those questions? First of all, I need to go to God.  I need to be seeking God’s will, not mine. Sincerely, I need to say to God: “Not my will, but yours be done.”  Then I need to say: “Here I am, Lord; I am coming to do your will. Show me. Open my eyes to see, my ears to hear and my will to follow.” Sit in the stillness and be attentive to the Spirit praying within you.  When you mine wanders, come back to  gently to listening (use the word “Jesus”).  Do this for 3-5 minutes every day.

If you feel called to marry, ask the Lord to put you in touch with your future spouse and to give you the courage to search for the right person. If you feel called to religious life, search the web. Study the charisms of different religious community, attend their Come and See programs or arrange for a discernment session with the vocation director (this could be a day retreat or several days of retreat.

If you feel called to the single lifestyle, ask the Lord to reveal this gift to you and to fill your heart with peace, if that is the vocation to which you are called.

DISCERNMENT

DYING TO SELF TO LIVE FOR GOD

INTERESTED IN HEARING GOD’S VOICE

SEARCHING FOR THE WILL OF GOD AND LETTING GO OF ONE’S OWN WILL

CANDID ADMISSION THAT MY WILL IS LIKELY TO BE A STUMBLING BLOCK  TO FINDING GOD’S WILL

EVER AND EVER MORE OPEN TO THE SPIRIT’S LEAD

RECEPTIVE TO THE SPIRIT CALLING THE SHOTS

NEVER BEING SO BUSY AS NOT TO TAKE TIME TO PRAY

MINDFUL THAT GOD IS A GRACIOUS GOD, WANTING ONLY THE BEST FOR US

EVEN WHEN “THAT BEST” SEEMS TO FALL SHORT, HUMANLY SPEAKING

NOBLY GIVING ONE’S ALL TO THE LORD

TAKING AN EVER AND EVER DEEPER LOOK INTO MY SOUL

Discernment: What St. Paul Teaches Us

Discernment: What St. Paul teaches us

 Throughout this week’s liturgical readings we spend time with St. Paul.  Hints of discernment skills exist in many of the accounts of his missionary work to the Gentiles. In Acts 16: 11-15, for instance, he states that he and his companion “spend some time,” in Philippi and that, on the sabbath, they “went outside the city gate along  the river where [they] thought there would be a place of prayer.”  There they entered into conversation with Lydia, with whom they shared their faith.  “The Lord open her heart to pay attention to what Paul was saying.

Several element of discernment surface:

·         The necessity of spending time in the “Philippi’s” of our lives to get to know the territory

·         The importance of going outside the busyness of the “Philippi’s” in order to quiet our minds

·         The need to look for a place to pray, to commune with our God in the quiet of our hearts

·         The realization that it is God who opens our hearts (a grace for which to pray)

·         The significance of paying attention to another’s beliefs following our openness about our own

·         The need to ask to be “baptized,” that is to die and rise with Christ to a new way of thinking, to new perceptions, perhaps

Discernment: Role of Scripture, of others, of openness and humility

Discernment: The first reading of today’s liturgy, Acts 8: 26-40, teaches us a lot about discernment. Out of the blue, Philip hears the following message: “Get up and head south on the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza, the desert route.”  He does so, just like that.  Some times that is how we need to respond to God’s messages. Those messages could come out of the blue  and be heard only within the depths of our beings, as in the case of Philip. They also could come from acquaintances, friends, spouses, pastors, ministers, teachers, counselors, physicians, lawyers, fellow workers, and so on. The source is not the issue. The message is as we hear it coming from God through a human instrument, as did the eunuch in this same Scripture passage. He listens to Philip explain the Scriptures to him and how all is about Jesus, our Savior and King, the One sent from God to save the world from Satan’s power. The eunuch is also open to the Spirit speaking through the circumstances and, as they pass a some water, says to Philip: “What is to prevent my being baptized?”  Seizing the moment, the eunuch becomes a member of the Body of Christ.

 Both Philip and the eunuch are open to the Spirit speaking in the present moment, speaking in the depth of their hearts, directing them toward action and to do that which will be a life-changing event for themselves or another.  Philip leaves his comfort zones—an important part of following the Spirit. As a result, Philip makes a difference in the eunuch’s life. The eunuch is humble enough to allow Philip to open the Scriptures for him.  His life is transformed because of his humility and openness to instruction—elements essential in discerning God’s will.

Another part of discernment is taking time to read/reflect upon the Scriptures. That openness on the part of the eunuch led him to fulfilling God’s will for him.

Openness: An Attitude Essential to Discernment of God's will

St. Ignatius of Loyola speaks of seven attitudes or qualities required for an authentic discernment process (Draw Me into Your Friendship: The Spiritual Exercises, A Literal Translation and a Contemporary Reading by David Fleming, SJ).   The first of these attitudes is openness:  we must approach the decision in question with an open mind and an open heart. We cannot find God’s will  if we enter into the decision-making process with a preconceived outcome based on our self-will, our biases, and what Ignatius calls “attachments.”  “Attachments” refer to areas in our lives where we limit freedom and put conditions on a decision. For instance, if I am considering religious life, I may say: “I will only serve in the Midwest or in the Southwest, or in the East.”  St. Ignatius is saying to us that the motivation needs to be: “Lord, you know to which religious community you are calling me; reveal your will to me.  You know where you want me to serve you, reveal your plans for me.”  As a newly professed member of a religious community recently stated in a recorded interview by  the NRCV/CARA study of vocations, “this religious community’s charism was already in me; I only needed to discover it” (Moving Forward in Hope: Keys to the Future,  2012 DVD).