Discernment

Recently I overheard the radio station playing in the background from another room in our house. The person speaking caught my attention because she was explaining three practical steps of discernment according to the Ignation Rule.

This is a certain type of spirituality and one of my favorites. St. Ignatius of Loyola, whom the rule is named after, spent a lot of time teaching his monks how to discern well.

Statue of St. Ignatius at Monserrat Jesuit Retreat House

Discernment meaning the ability to judge well the direction to take when at forks in the road--should I go this way or that? Through this door or another? We all face these decisions.

In all your ways be mindful of him, 

and he will make straight your paths. Proverbs 3: 6 

Door of St. Ignation Chapel

Here are the 3 steps:

1) This first one is probably more familiar. Write a list of pros and cons in a wholistic approach. Put down everything you can think of. On the pro side all that is positive and on the con side all that may be negative. Remember just a few cons can outweigh many pros.

For example: A father may be offered a new job that pays a lot more money so he will be able to provide better for his family. It's also a higher promotion in the workplace. But he will be traveling 40% of the time and miss many of the senior year high school activities of his son.

Traveling and missing the senior year activities trumped the decision to accept this job offer in this circumstance.

I personally have found it very helpful to make this list of pros and cons when facing important decisions.

2) Now we're going to get much more Ignation in our approach. Sit and picture yourself making that decision. Be aware of your emotions. Do you feel anxious, fearful, doubtful?

Remember the Holy Spirit produces the fruit of peace, joy, relief, trust, calm...
Read Galatians 5: 22-23

Continue with this second step by asking yourself how you feel by not making this decision. In this example it was by not accepting the job offer. Again, do you feel peace or not?

3) This third step is really important and I'm sure I've failed to do this many times. Now picture yourself before the final judgment. Yes, before God and he is asking you to make an account for your actions. He knows the motive behind every decision we make so we can't hide from him. "So then each of us shall give an account of himself to God." Romans 14: 12

The question remains: on this earth when I make this decision, am I being mindful of the eternal consequences? As believers this is what we will ultimately face.

Undoubtedly we have all made wrong decisions at times and have learned that God can redeem those situations and work all things together for good if we truly desire His will. Rms 8: 28

Hopefully, recalling these three steps of making a list of pros and cons, checking your emotions and visualizing the final judgment will help you in making the best decisions in your life that bring you greater peace.

I pray we will all have divine grace to make wise and fruitful decisions that also bring salvation to souls and glory to God.

Wisdom

Who wants the treasure of wisdom? This morning I was struck by this reading entitled "On the Search for Wisdom." 

"Happy is the man who has found wisdom. Even more happy is the man who lives in wisdom, for he perceives its abundance." These are words from a sermon by Saint Bernard. And here are three ways he shares "for wisdom to abound in you": 
     First, "if you confess your sins"; 
     Second, "if you give thanks and praise"; 
     Third, "and if your speech is edifying."

How simple it seems to abound in wisdom if we follow St. Bernard's instructions rooted in the Word of God. So, sisters and brothers, let us quickly confess our sins that we may be forgiven, cleansed and healed. 

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us 

and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 Jn 1: 9

Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another that you may be healed. 

James 5:16

What I do spontaneously is cry out, "Lord, Jesus Christ, have mercy on me, a sinner!" I believe it's one of the most powerful prayers ever.

Truly we can enter the Lord's holy presence through praise and thanksgiving. Let us resolve for this to become a daily habit in our lives. Is this not where we wish to dwell forever--in the house of our Lord? So shout out, "Praise you, Lord, thank you..." and just let that spontaneously flow from your mouth. It's really very liberating.

Praise you the Lord. O give thanks to the Lord; for he is good: 

for his mercy endures forever. Ps 106: 1 

Give thanks in all circumstances;...
His praise shall be continually in my mouth. 1 Thes 5:18

I will enter his gates with thanksgiving in my heart; 

I will enter his courts with praise. Ps 100:4

This instruction is a helpful reminder that we have the power to bless or curse with our mouths--to build up or to tear down. Let us choose to be blessings to each other--to speak life!

Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear. Eph 4: 29

Lord Jesus, we ask you for the grace to abound in wisdom. Give us your merciful grace to humbly confess our sins knowing we are forgiven by you and knowing you have paid the price for our sins. Give us a wellspring of thanksgiving flowing from our hearts for all the good you have done for us and a song of eternal praise ever on our lips. Bless our mouths that we may have enlightened conscientiousness and self control to speak words that are life-giving and edifying to one another. Amen.

Still Small Voice

I awoke with an eagerness to sit in the presence of the Lord and a sense that nothing was more important. The curtains were pulled open as the morning sun rose and I marveled at His faithfulness.

sunrise on the Sea of Galilee

An old familiar song was still resounding in my mind. One that we sang at a good friend's funeral recently--Surround Us Lord. Quietly I sang the song as the sun rose further; its rays bursting upon the horizon. "As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds His people..." And I felt surrounded by His presence.

Thankfulness welled up inside for his presence and his protection.

Yes, nothing is more important than to hear his voice. So I quieted myself to hear that still small voice. Not in a strong heavy wind, nor an earthquake or fire, but in a tiny whispering sound. 1 Kings 11-12

Sometimes there's a sense of urgency to "Seek the Lord while he may be found. Call to him while he is still near." Another song's refrain resounding through my mind in the early morning hour. And the verse continued on "Today is the day and now the proper hour, to forsake your sinful ways and turn to the Lord." Isaiah 55: 6-9

Cry out for mercy, if you cannot hear. "Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me, a sinner."

That tiny whisper of his voice within my soul's like sugar--the more I eat it, the more I crave it. Of course, sugar is not very good for us. But the Lord is good all the time and His Word delicious to our souls! Let us taste the sweetness of his Word--devour it, chew on it, ruminate like a cow chews its cud. The more we do that, the more we hunger and thirst for oneness with Him. 

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." John 1: 1 Jesus is the Word.

Give us, Lord, the desire to seek you first each new day. To sit quietly in your presence and listen for your still small voice. Then, Lord, give us courage and strength to act on it for you have the words of everlasting life.

70 X 7 Times

70 X 7 isn't just math. It's a condition of a heart. When Jesus instructs us to forgive "70 X 7" in the gospel of Matthew 18: 22 that's because he wants his disciples' hearts to be--big, soft and open.

So many things come at us--mean people, hurtful remarks, rude people, wounded people, bullies, and we can recoil and say, "No one's ever gonna break or wound my heart again." Or, "I'll never have anything to do with that person again."

But we gotta keep opening up. It sets us free. Otherwise, we deceive ourselves and can remain in bondage.

Big--living this Word for a bigger purpose. It's not just about me and someone else--it's about how I affect the whole world by my choices. I choose to forgive and I keep the love flowin' within me. Or I choose not to forgive and build a dam within myself. I'm creating my own misery by this choice.



Soft--I sit in the presence of the Lord and ask the Holy Spirit to melt my heart. Melt any areas that have hardened and need His touch. Living with a hardened heart affects everything in my life negatively. Maybe especially attitude and vision. Unforgiveness can blind me from seeing God's vision for my life. And attitude has to do with the mind. The Word in Romans 12: 2 encourages us to "be transformed by the renewing of your mind." So I use good reason and surrender once again (70 X 7) to commit to His will, instead of letting my emotions overtake me.

Open--Once I make a constructive choice to forgive each time and rely on the Holy Spirit to touch my heart, I trust God will work it all together for good as He promises in Romans 8: 28 for those who love Him and are called according to his purpose. I don't look back or have any intention of drudging that issue up again. I've removed the barriers by being honest with myself about what needs to change within me. I recognize I can't change anyone else. And I rejoice that I've had another breakthrough--a new passover into the land of freedom. The land of milk and honey--sweet because the river of life, the love is flowing again.



Come, Lord Jesus, into my heart and give me the grace to transform it into yours. It's not about me but You!

Go Into Your Room

I was struck this morning while reading a treatise by St. Ambrose. He was reminding us of how Jesus urged us to "pray earnestly and frequently...with perseverance."

And how Jesus tells us to "Go into your room" to pray.

Ambrose explains, "by 'room' you must understand, not a room enclosed by walls that imprison your body, but the room that is within you, the room where you hide your thoughts, where you keep your affections. This room of prayer is always with you, wherever you are, and it is always a secret room, where only God can see you."

Let us remember today, the Kingdom of God is within us. Lk 17: 21 And our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. 1 Cor 6: 19

So, indeed, as Ambrose says, "every place is a place of prayer."

in a garden

on an airplane

in a chapel

I'm Not Perfect

I'm not perfect. I sure wish I was. :-) And sometimes at my age, which is older now, I think I should be. "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect." (Matthew 5: 48) That is my goal--my life-long goal since it will take the rest of my life.

Recently, I heard a wise priest speak about saints who have gone before us. He reminded us that they were not perfect either. They strove for holiness as we are called to do, but they also failed. They had their share of weaknesses and character defects, like us. They were human. The difference in them is that they bounced back up fast from failure, from mistakes and did not let it discourage them.

We can learn to do the same as we surrender to the power of the Holy Spirit within us.

Pope Francis preached today about how "God did not choose perfect people to form his church, but rather sinners who have experienced his love and forgiveness."

Thank God for this because aren't we all sinners who God loves and forgives, especially as we seek his mercy and forgiveness? I know I am and He has shown me his mercy time and again so I can no longer deny His great love. He has the same love for all people.

This unconditional love of the Lord cannot be taken for granted. We must remember "the heavy price Jesus paid by dying on the cross," so that we too can be resilient like the saints who became holy as He is holy.

Encouraging everyone, the Pope stated, "Jesus sees the possibility of a resurrection even in those who have made so many wrong choices"...He "offers people who have made mistakes the hope of a new life, a life marked by love." 

How comforting that is!

I pray today you may believe that for yourself or someone you know and love who has lost hope.

Believe for the new life Jesus proclaimed, "I have come that they might have life and that they may have it more abundantly."  (John 10:10) 

This abundant life I now experience is entirely possible for all. "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find..." (Matthew 7: 7)

Mustard Seed

"Although it is the smallest of all seeds, yet it grows into the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.”…      Matthew 13: 31-32

So how does that happen? Do you want to be like the mustard seed and grow beyond what you ever thought possible?

I do!

Some may think the answer is to love the Lord with all your heart, mind, soul and strength. And that is a good answer and highly important. But, I heard a very wise man say, " it is not of primary importance."

Others may say, "It is to love your neighbor as yourself." "But that is not of primary importance either," he said.

Although they are the two greatest commandments the Lord gave us, first things first. To grow like a mustard seed he proclaimed, "is to first accept the love of the Lord."

"Could it be that simple," you ask. Yes! That's the mustard seed of faith.

It is the primacy of acceptance, that is my acceptance that God loves me in Christ Jesus--to acknowledge and accept what has already been achieved by Christ Jesus.

If you want to open up and receive more of this grace of acceptance, just ask for it. Pray, "Lord, give me more. Help me to fully accept the love of the Lord for myself." And trust like a child he has heard you. Expect the grace.

Don't forget the God who has saved you. Remember all he has done for you. And you will grow and blossom like a small mustard seed.



Reflections by Fr. Paul Murray/Spiritual Advisor to Mother Teresa