Spiritual Discernment
- Required to make decisions daily
- Some decisions our own preferences
- Good conscience
- Decisions not always clear
- Factors causing difficulty:
- subjective
- mystery - hear God; affirmation
What is Spiritual Discernment?
- The process of assessing and evaluating a particular situation or determining the desire of God in one's life.
- As an art: being attentive to the mystery of God's love in the soul and within the moment.
- As a skill: the ability to sift through the inner responses to our surroundings and discover the ways that God is active in our lives.
Spiritual Discernment Program
- Begins with God
- Be in tune with God
- Not in tune with God
- Blame
- Use "things"
- Get on God's good side
Criteria to Making Wise Decisions
- Desire to do God's will
- Openness to God
- Knowledge of God - voice of God
- Develop the ability to hear the voice of God
God's Voice Will Be...
- Relevant and simple
- Practical
- Clear
- Congruent with Scripture
- Corrective, not condemning
- Encouragement
Spiritual Discernment Involves Knowing Yourself
- Feelings: are the raw material with which we discern.
- Intellect: that judges the source and the validity of these feelings.
- Will: which is moved to act on the basis of this judgement
- Founder of Jesuit order
- Spiritual exercises of St.Ignatius
Consolation
- Ignatius - when soul is inflamed with the love of God
- When tears are shed
- When there is faith, hope, love joy
- The soul is filled with peace in His presence
Desolation
- An inner darkness of soul, turmoil of spirit
- Restlessness; lack of faith
- Soul is sad; separated from the Lord
- Loss of peace
- Timing; not a time to make rash decisions
Aspects of Spiritual Discernment
- Reflects present commitments
- Live out of present day
- Personal direction
- Holding decisions lightly
- Cultivate healthy suspicion to 'fools' for discernment
- Importance of community
Live into the 'mystery'
Live with the decision
Live in a daily habit of trust of God's grace and mercy in your life
*Notes taken during a theology class sit-in at Rocky Mountain College, Calgary, AB.
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