A long-standing theme in the Church’s spiritual tradition, “discernment” has been given even greater prominence since the beginning of Pope Francis’ pontificate, that is, in the last ten years. It is not surprising, therefore, that between August 31, 2022, and January 4, 2023, his weekly catechesis during the Wednesday general audiences was dedicated to this topic on 14 different occasions. In simple yet profound language, Pope Francis presents St. Ignatius of Loyola as an example of spiritual wisdom and draws on his teaching to recall and explain the principles, elements and practice of spiritual discernment. Reading the 14 catecheses provides an effective guide to discernment, which is certainly indispensable for those who want to examine their lives and take the initiative, making choices that flow from a personal relationship with the Lord.[1]
Although it is recognized from the very first catechesis that discernment is an exercise of intelligence and expertise, the vocabulary used belongs mainly to that of the emotions. Suffice it to say that in the catechesis as a whole, the word “heart” appears as many as 80 times, “desire” or “desires” 38 times, and “affect” or “affections” 19 times. Thus, it can be seen at once that the spiritual reading of one’s life, which is essential for any discernment process, is an exercise of intelligence and expertise based on reading one’s emotions, that is, listening to one’s heart. At the same time, a true discernment process is inseparable from the desire to seek and fulfill God’s will, knowing that God only wants the good of God’s children. In the words of Pope Francis, “In all of these, a life project is realized, and our relationship with God is firmly established,”[2] in the knowledge that adult decisions are personal and cannot be delegated to others. Such an appeal to personal conscience does not exclude – indeed, for a Christian it requires – a dialogical process, whereby “in a good and correct decision there is an encounter between God’s will and our will; there is an encounter between the present path and the eternal.”[3]
Arriving at a right decision, even if it follows the fatigue of the search, “rewards you with joy,” the pope says, adding, “we have to decide all the time, according to the reality that comes. God invites us to evaluate and choose: He created us free and wants us to exercise our freedom,”[4] while reminding us that we are creatures, that we are not the criterion of good and evil, and that personal choices always have consequences for us, for others and for the world. Fundamentally, discernment always asks a question about love: what choice is “a sign of greater love, of greater maturity in love,”[5] words in which we can identify the echo of the magis of the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises’ “Principle and Foundation,” which exhorts us to desire and choose “only that which most effectively brings us to the end for which we were created.”[6]
The elements of discernment
After the first introductory catechesis and the presentation of St. Ignatius of Loyola as an exemplary teacher, Pope Francis devotes four catecheses to the basic elements of discernment: familiarity with the Lord, knowing oneself, desire and, finally, the book of one’s life.
Familiarity with God, that is, prayer, is indispensable because “it is knowing how to go beyond thoughts, to enter into intimacy with the Lord, with an affectionate spontaneity” that makes it easier, as happens in the lives of the saints, “to recognize what is pleasing to Him.”[7] It is this familiarity that helps in the identification of God’s will with our good, driving away the temptation of uncertainty or the fear that it is not quite so aligned. Affective prayer “gradually but effectively makes us more and more capable of recognizing what counts through our nature, as something that springs from the depths of our being.”[8]
Knowing oneself is the second of the elements of discernment. It is an essential element because discernment “involves our human faculties: memory, intellect, will, affections.”[9] Self-knowledge requires the ability to pause, to become aware of the inclinations, feelings and thoughts that affect us. “It also requires that we distinguish between emotions and spiritual faculties,” – the pope points out – “for ‘I feel’ is not the same as ‘I am convinced’; ‘I feel like’ is not the same as ‘I want’.”[10] Hence a decisive question arises: “Am I free, or do I let myself be swayed by the feelings of the moment, or the provocations of the moment?”[11] Fundamental to self-knowledge is the examination of conscience, to re-read what happened during the day, not so much looking for sins, but rather “seeing the path our feelings took, the attractions in my heart”[12] and thus grow in freedom.
The third element of discernment is desire, which, for spiritual teachers, “is a nostalgia for fullness that never finds complete fulfillment, and is the sign of God’s presence in us.”[13] As a point of reference, desire “evokes a suffering, a lack, and at the same time a tension to reach the good that we are missing. Desire, then, is the compass to understand where I am and where I am going,”[14] seeking to make it practical. Dialogue with the Lord helps us understand what we really want, that is, how our freedom manifests itself, which, as a long-term project, is not to be confused with the fulfillment of the desire of the moment.
Finally, the fourth element of discernment is one’s own life story, which, in the words of Francis, is “the most precious ‘book’ we have been given,”[15] a book in which, if we look back into ourselves with serenity, we can find the truth and God’s presence as witnessed by St. Augustine. In this sense, “getting used to re-reading one’s own life educates one’s outlook; it sharpens it, enables it to note the small miracles that the good God works for us every day.”[16] Discernment implies, therefore, “the narrative reading of the good moments and the dark moments, the consolations and desolations we experience in the course of our lives. In discernment, it is the heart that speaks to us about God, and we must learn to understand its language.”[17] This language is, indeed, the focus of the pope’s next four catecheses on desolation and consolation.
The language of desolation and consolation
Speaking of desolation, Pope Francis takes up Ignatius’ definition: “Darkness of soul, disturbance in it, movement to things low and earthly, the unquiet of different agitations and temptations, moving to want of confidence, without hope, without love, when one finds oneself lazy, tepid, sad and as if separated from one’s Creator and Lord.”[18] Desolation must be read in the context of the “book of life.” It can be identified with remorse, an opportunity to change one’s life, that is, an invitation to take a new path; and it can also be sadness, which becomes “an indispensable alarm bell for life, inviting us to explore richer and more fertile landscapes, which transience and escapism do not permit.”[19] Keeping in mind St. Ignatius’ rules for the discernment of spirits, the pope reminds us that “for those, on the other hand, who have the desire to do good, sadness is an obstacle with which the tempter tries to discourage us.”[20] That is why one must remain faithful to what one has set out to do, facing difficulties and remembering that the road to good “is narrow and uphill, it requires combat, self-conquest.”[21] Not giving in to difficulties strengthens us “in human and spiritual aspects” and makes us realize that the Lord never abandons us.[22]
Desolation can also be seen as an invitation to generosity, “not to act always and only with a view to emotional gratification.”[23] Even in darkness, one seeks the living God, who is irreducible to our categories. Here, then, are the encouraging words of Pope Francis: “Do not fear desolation; face it with perseverance. Do not evade it. And in desolation, try to find Christ’s heart, to find the Lord. And the answer will come, always.”[24]
As for consolation, it may be defined as “an experience of interior joy, that lets [us] see God’s presence in all things. It strengthens faith and hope, and even the ability to do good.”[25] Consolation touches the deepest part of ourselves with suavity and gentleness: “The person feels enveloped in God’s presence in a way that always respects his or her own freedom. It is never something out of tune that tries to force our will; neither is it a passing sense of euphoria”; it is a genuine peace “that makes good feelings blossom in us.”[26] As such, it is a gift of the Holy Spirit and not programmable at will. Consolation is connected to hope and looks toward the future. “It puts us on a journey, allows us to take the initiatives that until then had always been postponed or not even imagined.”[27] That is, “it gives you peace and draws you toward the Lord and sets you off on a journey to do good things.”[28] Consolation, therefore, makes us bold and helps us in facing difficulties.
It must be said that, even in a time of consolation, we must be careful: “If authentic consolation is like a drop on a sponge — it is soft and intimate — its imitations,” as the pope expresses it “are noisier and flashier. They are pure enthusiasm, like straw set on fire, lacking substance, leading us to close in on ourselves and not take care of others. In the end, false consolation leaves us empty, far from the center of our existence.”[29] It is a passing phase of enthusiasm and does not bring us true peace. This warning raises the question of how to recognize authentic consolation, the subject of a specific catechesis in which Pope Francis continues to recall the teachings of Ignatius. In the Spiritual Exercises, the saint explains that “if in thought everything seems good, including the beginning, the middle and the end, and if everything is oriented toward the good, this is a sign of the good angel.”[30] In contrast, if there are also bad or distracting thoughts, agitation and absence of peace, then it is “a clear sign that those thoughts come from the evil spirit.”[31] Again, one needs to reflect on what is going on in one’s heart, aware that the Holy Spirit accompanies us and acts in us.
“Genuine consolation,” Pope Francis concludes, “is a sort of confirmation that we are doing what God wants of us,”[32] and that our discernment had as its object not so much the good or the highest possible good, but “is about what is good for me here and now: this is what I am called to grow on, setting limits to other proposals, possibly attractive but unreal, so as not to be deceived in the search for the true good.”[33] Moreover, genuine consolation that confirms the decision once made “communicates a peace that lasts in time” and brings “harmony, unity, fervor and zeal.”[34] It is also a sign of the rightness of the decision to see it as a “response to the Lord’s love and generosity toward me. It is not born out of fear, not born of emotional blackmail or compulsion, but born out of gratitude for the good received, which moves the individual to live generously in relationship with the Lord.”[35] A further element of confirmation involves “having a sense of one’s place in life,” as well as “feeling that you are part of a larger plan, to which one wishes to make a contribution.”[36] Finally, a sign of confirmation is also when the person feels “a growing integration among his or her many interests,” thus establishing a “proper hierarchy of importance,” and is able to “experience this with ease, facing the difficulties that arise with renewed energy and fortitude.”[37]
Aids for discernment and spiritual accompaniment
In the last three catecheses, Pope Francis dwells on vigilance, on some aids for discernment and, finally, on spiritual accompaniment. After the choice has been made and carried out, vigilance is needed, especially – we might add – if it is a lifetime option, that is, a vocational decision. This means that “the good disciple is vigilant, does not slumber, does not let him or herself become too self-assured when things go well, but remains alert and ready to do his or her duty.”[38] Realistically the pope reminds us that “there is a risk, and it is that the ‘spoilsport,’ that is, the Evil One, can ruin everything, making us go back to the beginning in an even worse condition.”[39] The required vigilance involves “keeping watch to safeguard our heart and to understand what is happening with it.” It is “the normal attitude to have in the conduct of life, so that our good choices, taken at times after challenging discernment, may proceed in a persevering and consistent manner, and bear fruit.”[40] If vigilance is lacking, the risks that all will be lost increase, especially, the pope reminds us, if “we are too sure of ourselves” and think that everything is going “swimmingly.” In this situation “the snare of the evil spirit” can emerge. It “enters our door to come out through his,” because we have lacked that vigilance of heart, which is a sign of wisdom and “above all a sign of humility, for we are afraid to fall, and humility is the high road of Christian life.”[41]
What can help to make the exercise of discernment easier? In the penultimate catechesis, the pontiff lists three possibilities: first, engagement with God’s word and the Church’s doctrine is indispensable. This engagement “is stirring in our hearts as we learn to recognize God’s voice and to distinguish it from other voices that seem to vie for our attention, but that in the end, leave us confused.”[42] In the end – we could say – it is a matter of reaffirming that we are not the sole judges of good and evil: this is the great temptation that runs through all of human history. In Christian discernment, in the search for what is right and good, our conscience is illuminated by the word of God and the doctrine of the Church because the process of personal decision-making should include humbly listening to God and the community of believers. A second aid to spiritual discernment is the “affective relationship with the Lord Jesus,” particularly the Crucified One: “Those who remain in front of the Crucified One,” Pope Francis teaches, “sense a newfound peace and learn not to be afraid of God, because Jesus on the cross does not frighten anyone. He is the image of complete brokenness, and, at the same time, of total love, capable of facing any trial for us.”[43] Finally, a third help is “the gift of the Holy Spirit, who is present in us and who instructs us, makes the Word of God that we read come alive, who suggests new meanings, opens doors that seem closed, indicates paths in life where there seems to be only darkness and confusion.”[44]
The fourteenth and final catechesis was dedicated by Pope Francis to spiritual accompaniment, presented as an additional aid to self-knowledge, an indispensable condition for discernment. It involves “looking at oneself in the mirror with the help of another,”[45] making oneself known, even in the most fragile aspects of oneself, and allowing oneself to be accompanied on life’s journey. “Recounting what we have lived or are searching for, in the presence of another person, helps to bring clarity to ourselves, bringing to light the many thoughts that dwell within us, and which often unsettle us.”[46] The companion “does not substitute for the Lord, does not do the work in the place of the person accompanied, but walks alongside him or her, encouraging them to interpret what is stirring in their hearts, the quintessential place where the Lord speaks.”[47] After recalling that the Virgin Mary is a teacher of discernment because “she speaks little, listens a lot, and cherishes experiences in her heart,”[48] Pope Francis leaves us with a timely final exhortation: discernment, if learned well, “enables spiritual experience to be lived in an ever more beautiful and orderly manner. Above all, discernment is a gift from God, which must always be asked for, without our ever presuming to be expert and self-sufficient.”[49]
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We can conclude that reading these catecheses by Pope Francis confirms the decisive importance in the Christian life of sincerely listening to one’s heart in the processes of discernment. This is not an invitation to subjectivity, or to letting oneself be led by the emotions of the moment. Instead, it is about listening to the depths in oneself, depths where God speaks; it is about bringing out one’s most authentic desires, so as to transform them with joy enabling one to live a life full of meaning so as to be at the service of others in as many ways as possible. Moreover, when the process of discernment has as its focus a life option, it will lead us to a decision in which, guided by the Holy Spirit, with impediments removed, each of us will find our vocation, that is, engagement with the happiness that God wills for us in the context of our freedom.[50]
With thanks to La Civiltà Cattolica, where this article originally appeared.
