Preparation to Free and Receptive Disposition

The 4th Part of the Catechism is especially concerned with prayer, and it is not until we develop a mature understanding of prayer that we are able to understand what discernment looks like.

It is highly encouraged that if a decision is life-altering that a point is made to spend significant time in prayer about it and a spiritual director is sought out to help make the decision. In day-to-day decisions, there still may be a choice that God encourages over the other, and some he simply leaves to us. Through cultivating a heart of prayer i.e. of constant attention to the relationship with God we can grow to be more sensitive to the movements of the Holy Spirit. Ignatian retreats are a privileged means of discernment. The exercises are linked below but for our purposes here we will also carry over some of the text to give you a brief and practical taste, but if you go further there is also the link.

The Process Itself

First Considerations and Orientation

When: When asking what God has in mind for me and my life...

1. We first look to Scripture, Magisterium, and Tradition

   1. Our whole being is oriented toward knowing, loving, and serving God.

   2. God has laid his laws before us to protect the harmony of His creation without us and within us. 

      1. These laws are the universal direction He calls us. If there is any question that might differentiate between good and evil, we ought to always choose good by the standards of law and conscience.

         1. Ultimately, this law is love. Love can demand uncomfortable, unpredictable (if not accustomed to it), and even heroic things of us, but there is no other goal for man's life with God than a properly ordered love. Love is never concerned with minimum but at least practical maxima if not absolute maxima. What cost may be considered too large to permit sin? Truly, none is worth it.

            1. Baptismal vocation centers on spreading God's kingdom, embracing suffering, prayer, striving for holiness, frequenting sacraments, studying the faith, and avoiding vice. Live in alignment with God's narrative, not one's own.

            2. State in life vocation, influenced by love for neighbors, varies based on roles such as student, parent, priest, etc. Prioritize responsibilities, ensuring love for oneself to fulfill the Baptismal vocation. 

            3. Spare time, an aspect of well-ordered self-love, acknowledges God's gift of rest and respects Sundays for encounter with the Lord. Considerations for each vocation require ongoing discernment for clarity and depth.

            4. We continue the path of considerations circling back to these ideas and also continuing further discernment insofar as clarity is not given above. Sometimes we must look beyond these considerations or perhaps more deeply into these considerations. 

2. Next, we look to virtue

   1. If there is ever a question between two goods and one is greater,

      1. God calls us to the greatest possible good i.e. usually an expression of love.

      2. We might remember that our first parents in wandering about the garden of Eden found themselves tempted to the edge of good and evil. This ought to be avoided.

   2. Very often, what keeps us from greater virtue is either ignorance of the virtues or ignorance of the self.

      1. From our corruption and ignorance, virtue can seem other and oppressively so. The reality, however, is that a healed and informed would reveal to us that it is truly what we desire i.e. inner harmony, mental health, peace, and freedom of choice. 

      2. It is not the absence of a good but rather a presence of ordered engagement with the good in harmony and toward perfection, conformity with realities.

   3. Next, to our relationship with God

      1. We have moved from the general to the particular, having established order in our lives through God's grace and direction from His inspiration of Saints and Scriptural authors, we have opened ourselves up to and become more familiar with the voice of God.

      2. If we are to continue, we must dedicate a significant amount of time in silence, familiarize ourselves with Scripture, and very frequently receive the sacraments.

      3. Having conformed our lives to his general intent we can begin to inquire more about His specific ordaining will for us in particular. Bearing this in mind and habit, we continue...

First Principle and Foundation of Discernment (St. Ignatius)

Man is created to praise, reverence, and serve God our Lord, and by this mean to save his soul. The other things on the face of the earth are created for man to help him in attaining the end for which he is created. Hence, man is to make use of them as far as they help him in the attainment of his end, and he must rid himself of them as far as they prove a hindrance to him. Therefore, we must make ourselves indifferent to all created things, as far as we are allowed free choice and are not under any prohibition. Consequently, as far as we are concerned, we should not prefer health to sickness, riches to poverty, honor to dishonor, or long life to a short life. The same holds for all other things. Our one desire and choice should be what is more conducive to the end for which we are created.

 Discernment between Two or More Equally Opportune Goods

This process depends entirely on insights given (or not given) by God and discussed with a Spiritual Director. There are only three general possibilities here...

1. God gives unmistakable clarity.

2. God gives clarity over time

3. God does not give clarity, meaning the question is left to one's practical wisdom

Find a Spiritual Director

Why? (Click Here to Read More)

How

There is a singular verse in the Catechism of the Catholic Church on spiritual direction (it's the one below). This is significant because it matters who you choose. The Carmelite took this very seriously, and rightfully so when your life at large is synonymous with your prayer life. More often than not, the diocese will keep a list of spiritual directors to choose from to help you out. In general, you will want to look for someone capable of understanding you, allowing God to be the sole advisor, and still calling you higher where needed.

CCC 2690 The Holy Spirit gives certain of the faithful the gifts of wisdom, faith, and discernment for the sake of this common good: prayer (spiritual direction). Men and women so endowed are true servants of the living tradition of prayer.

 According to St. John of the Cross, the person wishing to advance toward perfection should "take care into whose hands he entrusts himself, for as the master is, so will the disciple be, and as the father is so will be the son." And further: "In addition to being learned and discreet a director should be experienced. . . . If the spiritual director has no experience of the spiritual life, he will be incapable of leading into it the souls whom God is calling to it, and he will not even understand them."

It is also worth noting that you should first discuss your sins and troubles rather than that which is working well, but don't leave it out. Vulnerability and authenticity are key to growth.

St. Teresa of Avila Words of Wisdom

Let nothing disturb you,

Let nothing frighten you,

All things are passing away:

God never changes.

Patience obtains all things

Whoever has God lacks nothing;

God alone suffices. 

Living According to God's Voice Alone (Read a Condensed Version of the Originals)

1. The enemy tempts those who persist in mortal sin with apparent pleasures, while the good spirit pricks their conscience through reason.

2. For those striving to cleanse their sins and improve in God's service, the evil spirit brings obstacles and sadness, while the good spirit provides courage, strength, and consolation.

3. Spiritual consolation involves an interior movement that inflames love for the Creator, increases hope, faith, charity, and brings peace and joy in the Lord.

4. Spiritual desolation is characterized by darkness of the soul, disturbance, and movements toward low and earthly things, leading to a lack of confidence, hope, and love.

5. In times of desolation, remain firm in previous resolutions made during consolation, as desolation is influenced by the bad spirit.

6. During desolation, intensify prayer, meditation, examination, and suitable penance to counteract it.

7. Understand that desolation is a trial, where God allows us to rely on natural powers and divine help, despite the absence of intense grace.

8. Labor to be patient in desolation, trusting that consolation will return by using the methods outlined in Rule Six.

9. Desolation occurs due to our negligence, as a trial to test our devotion without consolation, and to remind us that all spiritual gifts are from God.

10. In consolation, prepare for future desolation by gathering new strength.

11. In consolation, humble yourself, recognizing your limitations without grace; in desolation, find strength in God's sufficient grace.

12. The enemy weakens when opposed boldly, but becomes fierce if we show fear and lose heart.

13. The enemy desires secrecy in his temptations, but revealing them to a spiritual guide weakens his influence.

14.  The enemy, like a cunning leader, attacks us at our weakest points in our virtues to derail our path to eternal salvation.