The word discernment is sadly overused, and rarely means the prayerful and careful process of listening for God’s leading on a particular matter that it used to. This prayerful and careful process of listening for God’s leading is exactly the task that you are about to be engaged in. The tradition of spiritual discernment requires time to pray, ponder, study and listen to what the Spirit is saying. Discernment is a prayerful and intentional sifting and sorting around a crucial question such as “Where is God leading us?” “What is God calling me to do?”
St. Ignatius of Loyola has handed down to us principles of discernment which are quite useful to remember as we engage in this process.
Christian spiritual discernment leaves the outcome of the discernment in God’s hands. This is the hardest principle to put into practice, but is crucial to good discernment. As you discern ask yourself if you can really be at peace with whatever comes from this time of sifting, sorting, praying, studying and choosing. Opening ourselves to new possibilities is spiritually freeing. Anyone who already has their mind made up and cannot be open to any possible outcome should not be part of the discernment group. All members of the group should pray for God’s grace to practice openness.
Good discernment takes all the facts and practical issues into consideration. Spiritual discernment about God’s call does not and must not ignore the realities of life and the practical considerations of the ramifications of that call. Usually the most difficult choices are between goods, not between goods and evils. For instance, a person who has a family who is considering leaving a stable, well-established position for a mission field that has no guarantee of adequate pay and has no health care might legitimately ask if they can ask their family to be part of this plan. Our sense of call and purpose is always in the community; the family is the most immediate community and the impact of the decision on one’s family is important to discern.
Good discernment is steeped in prayer along each step of the process. Are you praying, really praying? Are you taking long pauses of silence in order to listen and pay attention to God’s movement in your hearts? At each turn, are you asking “What does God desire for us?
Good discernment listens to the heart’s deepest and truest desires. This is a tricky one, mostly because we think very well individually but have little clue how to discern collectively as one heart. Nurture in your group the sense that you are one body. The discernment needs to be made as one, not as a collection of individuals pushing their agenda. How does the group listen to its heart’s deepest desire?
Good discernment always considers people who are poor, forgotten and hurting. This was an important principle for Ignatius, who suggested that we always ask ourselves how any decision will affect “the least of these my brothers and sisters.”
Good discernment does not go on forever; at some point make a choice and take action. Although good discernment takes time, it is not an excuse to procrastinate. If you are waiting for certainty, forget it. Seek clarity instead. And just because we discern well does not mean we never make mistakes. Having prayed, studied, sifted and sorted to the fullest we need to take a leap of faith and act.
Good discernment is evaluated later, based on whether or not it produces fruits of the Spirit. Finding God’s desire for us does usually in the long run produce lasting peace, joy, love, kindness and mercy. If you find that your decision instead has produced chaos, anxiety and heartache, perhaps more discernment is in order.