Discernment ...

Through our Baptism, we begin the life-long journey of responding to God’s call to ‘fullness of life’ (John 10:10). Where might God be calling you now and into the future?    How might you discover God’s dream for you?  Who might help you in your searching?

A process of ‘discernment’ should help you to discover whether where God is calling you. 

Discernment has been tried and trusted over many centuries by people who have earnestly sought God’s call for them. Discernment involves prayer and reflection, self-examination, conversations with trusted family members, friends and mentors as we search and struggle to discover what God may be asking of us at a particular stage of our life. Discernment is for those weighty, important life choices. Clearly, we cannot ‘discern’ every single choice we make, and there is a difference between making a decision and ‘doing’ discernment. Here are some ways that may help us distinguish between deciding and discerning:

Based on Discerning Important Choices in Life – Sr Kathleen Bryant

Discernment should be understood in the context of a life of prayer and relationship with God. In this context of a relationship with God that we are brought to decisive moments about where God is guiding us in our lives. Discernment is a process, and is not something that happens all at once in one conversation or period of prayer. It takes time and patience. It happens in God’s time, not our own. When we open ourselves to God, we consider God’s purposes above our own. The discernment process enables us to distinguish between movements coming from God and impulses that are not from God. Every person’s vocation has many calls within it, so the work of discernment is a lifelong process.