"Beloved, do not believe every spirit,
but test the spirits to see whether they are of God."
-1 John 4:1
For all Catholic young women—or,
more accurately, for all Catholics—discernment is an important part of our
lives. The ability to distinguish,
discriminate, and decide well and wisely is generally inseparable from a solid
foundation in the spiritual life and a deep life of prayer committed to
trusting in God.
And God
knows it’s hard. To our unending (earthly) frustration, there is often no
simple way to find answers for all our problems and questions—but it is absolutely
vital, in the strongest sense of the word, that we discern well what God’s will
is for us. And essential to this goal is being able to discern well in our own
spiritual lives, in our personal relationship with God. Spiritual dryness, moments
of peace, the need for solitude, fervor or anxiety or struggles with habitual
sins—how are we to know what to do in each of these situations? How do we
discriminate between fleeting emotions and sincere convictions? If we cannot find peace in our prayer, what
are we to do?
In 1
Corinthians 12:10, Paul lists the discernment of spirits among the various
gifts of members of the Body of Christ. Recently,
on my own search for spiritual guidance in discerning, I came across someone
who possesses this gift and is using it for God's glory. Fr. Thomas Gallagher has given a beautiful series of talks (and an EWTN
series) based on his book The Discernment
of Spirits: Setting Captives Free. The
talks can be listened to for free here at “Discerning Hearts” website. The talks provide a comprehensive foundation for understanding the patterns of spiritual fruitfulness and dryness in one’s relationship with God. The subtitle of the book is uniquely
appropriate, because the confusion and frustration produced by difficulty in discerning is indeed like a sort of captivity, and the explanation and
advice Fr. Gallagher gives—based strictly and clearly on St.
Ignatius’ rules—liberates because of the clarity they provide on problems
of spiritual consolation and desolation, on what causes them and how to respond
to them.
If you have some extra time this Christmas break, I strongly recommend listening to at least the first 4 or 5 talks! I have found them very helpful, and I hope you will, too.
In Christ,
Lauren
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