Two Modes of Discernment – “What am I to do?” The Discernment of God’s Will in Everyday Decisions with Fr. Timothy Gallagher
Fr. Timothy Gallagher and Kris McGregor discuss the first two modes of discernment. The first mode involves receiving clarity beyond doubting, where individuals experience an unquestionable sense of God’s call. Examples include Anne and Gary, who had unshakeable clarity in their vocations. Seeking guidance from a spiritual director is encouraged in such discernment.
The second mode, discernment through the attraction of the heart, involves recognizing spiritual consolation and desolation. Spiritual consolation is marked by an uplifting sense of God’s presence, joy, and increased faith, hope, and charity. Examples from the lives of individuals like Raïssa Maritain and St. Thérèse of Lisieux illustrate this. On the other hand, spiritual desolation is characterized by heaviness, doubt, and a sense of separation from God.
Fr. Gallagher reminds us of the importance of recognizing and rejecting spiritual desolation’s discouraging tactics. St. Ignatius’s own experience regarding the vow of poverty illustrates discernment through attraction, where sustained experiences of spiritual consolation lead to clarity in discerning God’s will.
Discerning Hearts Reflection Questions:From The Discernment of God’s Will in Everyday Decisions:
“Three Times in which a Sound and Good Choice May Be Made
The first time is when God Our Lord so moves and attracts the will that, without doubting or being able to doubt, the devout soul follows what is shown to it, as St. Paul and St. Matthew did in following Christ our Lord.
The second time is when sufficient clarity and understanding is received through experience of consolations and desolations, and through experience of discernment of different spirits.
The third time is one of tranquility, when one considers first for what purpose man is born, that is, to praise God our Lord and save his soul, and, desiring this, chooses as a means to this end some life or state within the bounds of the Church, so that he may be helped in the service of his Lord and the salvation of his soul. I said a tranquil time, that is, when the soul is not agitated by different spirits, and uses its natural powers freely and tranquilly.
If the choice is not made in the first or second time, two ways of making it in this third time are given below.”
Father Timothy M. Gallagher, O.M.V., was ordained in 1979 as a member of the Oblates of the Virgin Mary, a religious community dedicated to retreats and spiritual formation according to the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. Fr. Gallagher is featured on the EWTN series “Living the Discerning Life: The Spiritual Teachings of St. Ignatius of Loyola”. For more information on how to obtain copies of Fr. Gallaghers’s various books and audio which are available for purchase, please visit his website: frtimothygallagher.org
For the other episodes in this series check out Fr. Timothy Gallagher’s “Discerning Hearts” pageThe post DWG8 – Two Modes of Discernment – The Discernment of God’s Will in Everyday Decisions with Fr. Timothy Gallagher – Discerning Hearts Podcast appeared first on Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts.