February 26, 2023 - Pastor Message
December 21, 2024THE YEAR OF MISSION THE MISSION TO DISCERN (cont.)
THE YEAR OF MISSION
THE MISSION TO DISCERN (cont.)
“I urge you therefore, by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual worship. Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good, and pleasing, and perfect” (Romans 12:1-2).
Continuing our reflection on discernment, we will look this week at seven essential attitudes that enable authentic spiritual discernment. The first is openness. To discern the call of God’s Spirit, we need to be open to where he leads. Too often we approach the important decisions in our lives with our minds already made up, and discernment becomes a search for excuses to justify those choices. Authentic discernment requires an open mind to follow wherever God’s Spirit leads, even when it contradicts our own ideas.
The next attitude is generosity of spirit. This means that we don’t hold anything back from God but put it all on the table in service of his will, not our own. Discernment requires basically writing God a blank check drawing on all the gifts he has given us, even our very life, and trusting him to fill it in. That is the total generosity of spirit authentic discernment requires. Authentic discernment also requires courage. It takes courage to abandon our own will and place our lives completely in God’s hands, because we have no idea where he will lead us. We do know that, wherever it is, he will be there with us, and that ultimately it will lead to the fullness of life he has promised us, which is the reason for our courage.
The next attitude to cultivate is interior freedom. We all have many desires, habits, and fears that can limit our freedom, cloud our vision, and sap our courage, generosity, and openness. None of us approaches discernment with a blank slate. Interior freedom means wiping the slate clean, handing God the chalk, and inviting him to draw a whole new game plan, not being bound by anything that came before.
Another important attitude is prayerfulness. How can we hear God’s voice if we’re not listening, and how can we listen if we don’t pray? A prayerful attitude is one that approaches discernment by first, last, and foremost listening to God in prayer, letting his will shape our own like gold tested in fire, burning away all the impurities and leaving only the true, shining treasure.
A sixth attitude we need for discernment is staying focused on our true priorities. If loving and serving God is our number one goal, then everything else in our lives must be ordered to serve that goal. All the good things in our life, family, career, hobbies, everything find their value and purpose in the service of that goal. When we start putting things, relationships, or activities ahead of that goal, we lose that focus and set up obstacles to authentic discernment. Refocusing on our true priorities helps remove those obstacles and makes God’s will clearer.
The final attitude for authentic discernment, closely related to staying focused on our true priorities, is clarity regarding the difference between ends and means. Ends are the goals toward which we strive while means are the methods we employ to achieve those goals. Very often we confuse the two, thinking that the means are the goals and the ends the methods. So, for example, someone may think that marriage is their goal and living a life of faith is a means to support their marriage, which is true - the classic saying “those who pray together stay together” comes from this way of thinking. But is that arrangement in the proper order? Again, if our true goal is to love and serve God, then a life of faith is a married couple’s goal and their marriage becomes a means to support and achieve that goal, helping each other and their family reach the fullness of life in God’s kingdom. That completes our reflection on the seven essential attitudes needed for discernment. Tune in next week when we will look at seven practical techniques for authentic discernment.
Fr. Marc Stockton
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