This week we are taking some time to practice discernment. On Sunday I shared 4 exercises from Ignation Spirituality as a eay to get started. You can pray, or imagine in your mind, or journal through the prompt and see what God opens up to you.
The four practices are
Line up the pros and cons.
Try it on for size.
How would you counsel someone in your situation?
At the end of your life, how will you see this?
I am adapting Vinita Hampton Wright’s words to describe each of these areas
- Line up the pros and cons.
Make a list of all the advantages of going a certain route. Then make a list of all the advantages of not going that route. If you have more than one route to consider, make pairs of lists for each possibility. Sometimes when we actually think through the pros and cons, we see things that were not apparent before. - Try it on for size.
Imagine that you have already made the decision. For instance, you have decided to get your teaching certificate. Now go through several days—a week perhaps—of pretending that you in fact are in the midst of getting the certificate and are looking for a teaching position. Notice how you react emotionally to this imaginary life. How does it feel to have made this decision? This method can be quite revealing. - How would you counsel someone in your situation?
Pretend that your dilemma belongs to someone else, and that person comes to you for counsel. How would you approach looking at the situation? What advice would you offer? What questions would you ask? Then try to apply your counselor’s wisdom to yourself. - At the end of your life, how will you see this?
Pretend you are nearing the end of your life; St. Ignatius actually suggested that people imagine being on their own deathbeds. Consider the whole of your life—what you did and why, what you are grateful for, what you regret. In light of this long view, how do you see the current discernment you are trying to make?
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