Spiritual Reflection – Love God With All Your Heart Jesus’ primary concern was to be obedient to his Father, to live constantly in his presence. Only then did it become clear to him what his task was in his relationships with people. This also is the way he proposes for his apostles: “It is to…
Spiritual Reflection – Joys and Sorrows Kiss When we speak about celebration we tend rather easily to bring to mind happy, pleasant, gay festivities in which we can forget for a while the hardships of life and immerse ourselves in an atmosphere of music, dance, drinks, laughter, and a lot of cozy small talk. But celebration in the Christian sense has very…
From Action to Passion A central theme in the story of Jesus’s arrest is being “handed over.” In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus was handed over to Roman authorities. In the Letter to the Romans, the Apostle Paul tells us that “Jesus was handed over for our sins” (Rom. 4: 25) and “God did not spare Jesus, but handed him over to…
Know the Time: When to Act and When to Wait “For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven.” —Ecclesiastes 3: 1 Through the process of discernment we seek to be aware of how God is active in our everyday life. We seek to understand what God’s will for us is. Such discernment may include a range…
Discerning Identity “You cannot tell me who I am and I cannot tell you who you are. If you do not know your own identity, who is going to identify you?” — Thomas Merton Who am I? This is a core question that every person asks and answers throughout life. Naming ourselves, seeing the shifting roles we play during our lives, and…
Discerning Christ in the Eucharist In the celebration of the Lord’s Supper, we discern the real presence of the risen Christ among us, not only in the bread and wine but at the cen-tre of our lives, the core of our very being, the heart of our community, and the heart of creation. Father John Eudes once said in a homily at…
Discerning Divine Presence II The ‘Road to Emmaus’ story from Luke’s Gospel is a story that reveals a spiritual pattern for discovering the real presence of Christ on our road of life. This pattern of discerning God’s hidden presence involves at least four spiritual practices: interpreting scripture, or theological reflection; staying, sometimes called abiding or…
Discerning Divine Presence I Every morning, alone or in the company of others, I spend at least one hour in quiet prayer and meditation. I say every morning, but there are exceptions. Fatigue, busyness, and preoccupation often serve as arguments for not praying. Yet without this one hour a day for God, my life loses…
The Road to Discernment IX What is God calling me to do? Where is God calling me to go? Where do I belong? Perhaps these may be persistent questions you have asked yourself many times during your life. “What does God want from me?” is a question we all ask, not just once but throughout…
The Journey to Discernment – Part VIII “Certain events — current events, historical events, critical incidents and life circumstances serve as signposts pointing to the will of God and the new creation for those with eyes to see and ears to hear.” — Henri Nouwen How do we begin to discern what the events of…