FR. RAMON MA. LUZA BAUTISTA. SJ
What is Christian Discernment?
In essence, Christian discernment is all about proactively seeking, finding, and living out the Spirit’s lead and calling in our lives. When doing discernment, we need to realize that it is not just about techniques or methods of effective decision-making strategies. Discernment concerns “the art of choosing well.” 1 However, as an art, we need to go beyond mere tools and techniques to make the “right” or “better” choices in life.
Groundwork of All Discernment – Our Loving Relationship with the Lord
First and foremost, Christian discernment’s overall groundwork is our personal, loving relationship with the Lord. For this reason, no real, quality discernment can be carried out if no real, quality personal faith and intimacy with our Lord exist in the first place. In other words, we can master all the basic methods and techniques of doing discernment. However, if we do not spend quality time in formal prayer and do not have a solid enough loving relationship with our Lord, our know-how of these discernment methods and techniques would still not be sufficient.
Starting Point – The Kind of God We Have
One fundamental question we need to ask ourselves even before we formally enter into a serious discernment process is this: What kind of a God do we have (do you have)?
Truthful discernment presupposes that our God is not distant. He is a God who is near and accessible. As Emmanuel (God with us), he is a God who really cares, walking, and journeying with us daily. He is a God who speaks and reaches out to us. He invites and challenges us constantly. And discernment presumes that God does communicate, and he does reveal these invitations and challenges of his to us in a most personal way.
The Primacy of Our Interior Disposition When Doing Discernment
Many times, when entering into serious discernment, the problem is not God being silent or God not revealing his call to us. Often enough, the problem is with us. We are doing the discerning. Time and again, for many of us, the problem is that we are not courageous and not trusting enough. We are also not generous and not detached enough.
This was the case with the Rich Young Man (Mt 19: 16-26; Mk 10: 17-31). The problem was he knew too well what the Lord was asking from him. But then, his difficulty was that he was not courageous enough, not free enough from his attachments. And mind you, there is a “Rich Young Man” in all of us. And that is why in the end, much more than just knowing the “how” of discernment, what is more, pivotal is the quality of our interior disposition. In short, we need to examine and check our interiority, asking honestly – am I courageous and trusting enough, listening enough, free enough from my attachments, so that when the Lord does speak and call me, I would be ready to listen and declare, “Here I am Lord, I come to do your will” (1Sam 3: 8).
I am looking forward to reading the next part. The foundation and pillars of choosing well hit home.
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