diSCERNment

For most of our lives, someone else makes the decisions. Our parents and government set the standards and pave the way from pre-school to middle school to high school to college. But at some point, the choices begin to become our own. Our major. Our career. Our vocation. The faithful Christian, initially excited about the possibilities of the future, eagerly meets with a spiritual director and hears exciting phrases such as ‘period of discernment’, ‘soft, still voice’, ‘God’s will’, and ‘the right path’.

We want to become saints, great saints, and so we make our holy hours, we receive the sacraments, we surround ourselves with faithful friends and we begin to discern.


And then the devil dances into our minds, as if on cue. And thus we, who were once brave and active, soon become paralyzed by the uncertainly and weightiness of the decisions we are discerning. Our growing humility has taught us not to trust ourselves, to understand that we have the capacity to make the wrong choice, because we have before. But the devil uses this budding humility as a weapon against us.  Transforming it, so that we become so afraid to make the wrong choice that we make no choice at all. We are so untrusting of ourselves that we stop trusting in God. The time of discernment has morphed from a grace-filled period of prayerful reflection to an anxious, frozen place in our hearts, where we table all discussion relating to our futures, becoming stranded in the great in-between, alone, in the middle of an ocean of doubt, a desolate place, void of consolation.

Desperate, we cry out to God into the darkness, “Save me! Answer me! Show me the way!”

But He already has.


You see, Christianity is not a passive lifestyle, but rather an active one. We have not been called to become great hesitators, but rather the bold and righteous heralds of the Truth. We were not made to tread water in the sea of discernment, but rather to step out into the deep, to answer, to follow, to respond.
For it is not listening that makes us holy, but our response to what we’ve heard. Meaning that we can discern, discern, discern, but at some point, if we want to pursue holiness, we’ve got to act. We’ve got to move forward. And it is in acting, in responding, that we will find our peace, our consolation.
By marching boldly into the darkness, into the uncertainly, we proclaim true, real and fruitful faith. We profess our trust in the promises of our Creator –our knowledge that He will not abandon or forsake us. That His mercy will correct us, discipline us, teach us and at last, guide us to the real destination, which is not a convent, seminary or wedding aisle, but Heaven.

So, my fellow discerners who are caught in the dark, suffocating mist of doubt and uncertainty: Awake from your slumber! Arise from your sleep! A new day is dawning! Have trust. Have hope. Have faith. And do not be afraid!

It is time. Time to plant a flag, make a decision, pick a direction and start walking. God can only guide your steps if you are stepping somewhere.
You were called to set the world on fire – I’m told it’s a long walk, so you better get started now.