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discernment is the spiritual practice that accesses and seeks to understand what God is trying to say.
discernment is not a step-by-step program or a systematic pattern. Rather, it is a regular discipline of listening to the still, small voice beneath the rush of the whirlwind, a prayerful practice of reading the subtle signs in daily life.
Discernment is not once-and-for-all decision making at critical points in one’s life (Should I take this job? Whom should I marry? Where should I live and work? ), but a lifelong commitment to “remember God” (memoria Dei ), know who you are, and pay close attention to what the Spirit is saying today.
Meister Eckhart, who advised, “Expect God evenly in all things.”
For Henri, the Christian liturgical language of time that is used for Christ—the one who was, is, and will be—describes the fullness of Jesus’s presence.
Discernment is a discipline and practice that requires us to cultivate trust, love, faith, hope, and courage.
We cannot see with perfect clarity what lies ahead.
the alignment of our will with God’s will—a traditional definition of successful discernment.
Apart from the love of God in our lives, we are people lost at sea, without anchors.
The way of discernment begins with prayer.
Spiritual discernment is an ancient Christian practice with many wells of wisdom from which to drink.
Discernment is a spiritual understanding and an experiential knowledge of how God is active in daily life that is acquired through disciplined spiritual practice. Discernment is faithful living and listening to God’s love and direction so that we can fulfill our individual calling and shared mission.
Henry David Thoreau: Why should we be in such desperate haste to succeed, and in such desperate enterprises? If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away.
discernment is like hearing a different drummer.
The great movement of the spiritual life is from a deaf, nonhearing life to a life of listening. From a life in which we experience ourselves as separated, isolated, and lonely to a life in which we hear the guiding and healing voice of God, who is with us and will never leave us alone.
To discern means first of all to listen to God, to pay attention to God’s active presence, and to obey God’s prompting, direction, leadings, and guidance.
When we are spiritually deaf, we are not aware that anything important is happening in our lives.
Discernment is expressed concisely by the apostle Paul in the Letter to the Colossians: “We ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding so that you may lead lives worthy of the Lord” (Col. 1:9-10 NRSV).
Discernment allows us to “see through” the appearance of things to their deeper meaning and come to know the interworkings of God’s love and our unique place in the world.
Once we are willing to see and be seen by God, we can look for signs of God’s presence and guidance in every appearance presented to our senses. Discernment becomes a new way of seeing (and being seen) that results in divine revelation and direction. This heart knowledge enables us to lead a life worthy of the calling (Eph. 4:1).
The purpose of discernment is to know God’s will, that is, to find, accept, and affirm the unique way in which God’s love is manifest in our life.
This is what spiritual theology is all about—looking at reality with the eyes of God.
Communion with God alone in prayer leads inevitably to community with God’s people, and then to ministry in the world.
Lectio divina,7 or spiritual reading, is another helpful exercise to practice in solitude.
Most important is how we read—not to understand or control God, but to be understood and formed by God.
For a healthy physical, emotional, and spiritual life, we have to structure our time.
the spiritual life is to be lived together.
proclaim that love is stronger than fear, that joy is deeper than sorrow, that unity is more real than division, and that life is stronger than death.
The first task of a faith community is to create sacred time and space, when and where we can allow God to reshape our hearts and lives and communities.
In common worship (service of the Word and Sacrament), we avoid busyness and entertainment.
Discernment grows out of the life of faith rooted in community.
Our desire to be successful, well liked, and influential becomes increasingly less important as we come closer to God’s heart.
Spiritual discernment comes from the Spirit of God.
EXERCISES FOR DEEPER DISCERNMENT
Discernment is not about judging other people’s motives. It’s about distinguishing good guidance from harmful messages, and the Holy Spirit from evil spirits.
Discernment (Gr. diakriseis, spiritual judgment, understanding, assessment, estimation, or separation) is both a gift and a spiritual discipline.
together, discernment is a spiritual capacity for distinguishing or discriminating between opposing forces.
His task as a monk was to pray and discern, to “unmask the illusion”—first his own illusion, then the illusion in the social order.7
Kairos means that the opportunity is right. It is the right time, the real moment, the critical event, the chance of our lives.
“Lord Jesus, let me know where you want me to go, and I will follow you. But please be clear about it.”
New vocations are full of promise. Something very important is in store for us. There is a hidden treasure to discover.
When we search for God, stay with him, and share what we have seen with others, we become aware of the unique way Jesus calls us.
sometimes a call from God is planted in our imagination, and if it persists we need to bring others into our discernment process to test if it is something to pursue or just a diversion.
the way to know where you are called to be is to go where you feel you need to go and be present in that place. Soon you will know if that place is where God wants you.
I am far from poor. I like to eat good meals and have time to read books and take walks. I like showers with hot water. I like to sleep in from time to time, take a regular day off, and travel. So my living with the poor hardly makes me poor.
Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor,” not blessed are those who try to help the poor.
God is greater than my senses, greater than my thoughts, greater than my heart.
small, tender, and vulnerable, something hardly noticeable.
The story of the disciples on the road to Emmaus is not just about overcoming sorrow or despair in difficult times.
It is a gospel story that reveals a spiritual pattern for discovering the real presence of Christ on our road of life. This pattern of discerning God’s hidden presence involves at least four spiritual practices: 1) interpreting scripture, or theological reflection; 2) staying, sometimes called abiding or remaining in prayer; 3) breaking bread, or recognizing the presence of Christ in the Eucharist; and 4) remembering Jesus, or the “burning heart” experience.
