Download Emmaus Vocation Course, 2016-17 Discerning My Vocation

Emmaus
Vocation Course, 2016-17
Discerning My Vocation
I.
Introduction
Aim: Apply the various aspects of discernment to vocational discernment
II.
What are we discerning?
A. Evaluate: Discernment concerns —“How can I give God the most glory?” not
“What will give God the most glory?”
B. Vocational discernment is actually ascertaining to which vocation I am to be
open. We discern a vocational direction.
A vocation to marriage, religious life, consecrated virginity, and priesthood
is ratified by others.
III.
Preparation
A. Assess your relationship with God
Is your life moving towards greater love of God or is there serious sin?
Are you really open to the direction that God wants or do you just want Him
to affirm your plan?
Do you have a pattern of regular prayer and reflection on your life?
Is this a time when the Lord seems present in prayer/life? Or a time of
neither presence nor absence (a neutral time)? Or a time of persistent
dryness? (If the last, St. Ignatius would counsel you to wait for another time
when you aren’t in what he calls “spiritual desolation,” or the persistent
feeling Lord is absent.)
B. Self-knowledge1. Do you have the information that you need?
2. Have you had time to reflect on your strengths and weaknesses? The
“shape” of your life?
3. Are you relatively free regarding the various options? Or are there
impediments that would unduly influence you? (patterns of sin, hurts,
fears, resistance??)
4. Is this a good time to discern?
IV.
St. Ignatius’ 3 Ways
A. “Clarity beyond doubting” (Fr. Gallagher, Discerning the Will of God). God
reveals a direction, often “out of the blue,” that leaves one without doubt
about the option itself and that it was God leading.
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Emmaus
Vocation Course, 2016-17
E.g. Paul’s conversion
B. “An attraction of the heart”—entails a process of discerning the various
movements of the heart over time to discover God’s leading
For the person who is growing in their relationship with the Lord (not in
grave sin)—
1. Ask God to reveal His will, to guide your prayer
2. As you pray about the various options, what thoughts, emotions,
leanings (interior movements) are associated with each option? Is there
a clear pattern?
3. What option is associated with a peace/joy/energy in the Lord? Are
these deeper (of the heart), (i.e. spiritual consolations), and enduring?
C. According to our natural abilities—use this tool if God has not indicated His
will through “clarity beyond doubting,” or the movements of the heart do not
give adequate direction, or due to “neutral” prayer, God has not been doing
much attracting of the heart.
1. Using reason, weigh the options—
a. Steps--i.
Ask for God’s guidance
ii.
List options
iii.
Identify pros and cons
iv.
Weigh out each pro/con according to a godly/not worldly
perspective. Which carry more significance in your spiritual
life. What are the reasons that carry the most weight in your
being generous with God? Do any indicate more work is
necessary?
b. Evaluate the following pros and cons. Which carry the most weight?
Which indicate more work?
marriage—
cons—afraid of commitment to one person; fear it would end in
divorce like my parents. Have a lot of loans that I would drag into a
relationship
pros—I’ve always been comfortable around women; wouldn’t ever
be lonely. Could see myself knowing the love of God better through
the love that is shared in marriage. I’m selfish and marriage would
challenge me to become less so
c. priesthoodcons—dislike studies (and do poorly); fear what celibacy would
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Emmaus
Vocation Course, 2016-17
mean; seems like priests are lonely
pros—preaching would drive me closer to God; I would love to say
Mass and serve others through being a priest. Being up front and top
decision-maker in a parish is attractive
2. Using the imagination—if still no clear indication from discerning the
movements of the heart and weighing out the options
a. Imagine yourself giving counsel to someone in your situation—what
would you say?
b. Imagine yourself on your deathbed--What would you have wanted to
do?
c. Imagine yourself at Judgment Day—What accounting would you
want to give to the Lord?
V.
Seek confirmation in prayer and in life. Consider what needs to happen for
moving ahead.
VI.
Common questions—
A. “What if I make a mistake?”
B. “What should I do if things aren’t panning out?”
God has more invested in your life than you do! He is greater than your discernment. If He
wants you some place He has ways to get you there. Therefore, discernment should be a
process filled with confidence in his sure leading--peace and joy more than fearfulness and
worry, and as Peter Kreeft would say—“more like a game than a war, more like writing love
letters than taking final exams” (http://www.peterkreeft.com/topics/discernment.htm).
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