Summer
Snippets:
An Easy Way to Discern God’s
Will
Recently after the 5:00pm and 7:30am masses there was some interest expressed in knowing more about remarks I had made in the homily regarding knowing where God may be leading us. More precisely the question may be: “In my present situation where is God calling me? How can I know God’s will for me?”
As I look at my own life over the past few years the answer
to the question seems to break down into three movements or moments to which I
need to be attentive if I am to know God’s will. The first could be called a
“trigger event,” the second a “desire for God” and the third “moving from one
consolation to another.” A word about each.
Step 1: When speaking
of a trigger event we mean any experience we encounter that jogs me into
awareness. It could be positive like the birth of a grandchild or negative
like a storm that destroys some of my property. What’s important is that it
jars me into an awareness that I didn’t have before. As a result I may feel
anxiety, a sense of joy, pleasure or sadness. Whatever it is, I’m awake in a
qualitatively new way and posed for new direction in which God may be leading
me.
Step 2: In the very
midst of what I’m feeling, I am able to identify there a desire I have for God.
It may be for God’s greater presence, for affirmation, forgiveness, support,
healing or love. It is absolutely critical to recognize this. We may need to
recall that it is God who plants this desire within me so I may make choices
that draw me closer to him. Of course advertisers know this all too well and
will develop products for sale and use language and graphics that speak of “all
new,” “revolutionary,” “full satisfaction,” with promises of lasting
satisfaction and fulfillment. Of course while the product does have some
excellent compelling aspect, it will never slake the thirst for our desire for
God. It’s a bit like sleeping when we want hunger satisfied or eating when
we’re really just thirsty.
Step 3: It is
recognizing this desire, as well as being clear what does and does not satisfy
it, that gets us on our way closer to God. The event has gotten our
attention; noticing the desire has us securing the means; now we’re ready for
moving from consolation to consolation. St. Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of
the Jesuits, lists consolation to consolation as one of the three ways to
discern God’s will for us. A few concrete examples may help. I used to enjoy a
martini or a glass of red wine before dinner. It put me in a pleasant space and
was the source of some pleasure. What I came to realize as I compared the drink
with spending time in silent prayer is that I found the silent prayer also a
pleasant space and a source of pleasure. As I compared them more I realized
that the state from the prayer was clearer, cleaner, more satisfying and longer
lasting. Four years ago I put all drinking aside to follow the greater
consolation. While I do serve spirits when entertaining I simply don’t imbibe,
treasuring the satisfaction of silent prayer instead. Three years ago I
followed similar consolations regarding TV watching, reading 3rd
class mail, going to bed at 9:00 and getting up at 4:00am – all the while
making more and more time for silent prayer. Following God’s consolations can
be habit forming!
A few insights about how the overall process proceeds. In
the gospel two Sundays ago Jesus spoke of the Kingdom of God as coming from
within us, not as something coming to us from the outside. Furthermore it comes
in stages, to use his analogy: “first the
blade then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.” In Jesus’ second parable
of the Kingdom in that gospel he compares the mustard seed as the smallest of
seeds to become the bush it grows into being the largest of trees. The point
here is that as you’re led from consolation to consolation you’ll one day see
this big bush of the Kingdom of God in you when compared to how small things
were when you started out. But the revelation doesn’t stop there. Just as the
mustard tree grows its branches, which become shade for all the birds of the
air, so too in our moving from consolation to consolation we experience God’s
presence, a presence which makes us more and more available to others in
concrete ways.
This takes us to a final consideration. How does your
movement into greater consolations make a difference in the lives of others?
There is inherent in living more deeply in God that we increasingly live for
others. What a joy it is to discover this as God’s will is discerned.
In summary God work is achieved – that is, drawing all to
himself – by:
Ø
Allowing trigger events to get our attention to
have us raise the question of our desire for God
Ø
Letting God lead with the only compass reading
being “Is this giving me greater
consolation that that?”
Ø
Knowing that the fruit of God’s will for me will
be manifested in greater love, acceptance, forgiveness and sensitivity to
others.
We are all on the cusp of God’s Kingdom growing within us.
We don’t get a map that shows us the endpoint clearly. What we do get is a GPS
voice along the way saying, “turn right
in a quarter mile” or “make a legal
U-turn” and hopefully one day, “you
have arrived; your destination is on the right.”
Fondly,
Father Nicholas
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