DISCERNMENT
PART ONE OF A TWO-PART SERIES
ARE WE THERE YET? “Are we there yet?” This is the quintessential question posed by every child on the vacation trip. Every wise parent has answered “Not yet” or “Almost.” The spiritual life is similar. We embrace hope for something new – we wait, we yearn for transformation. Discernment is a practice that helps us more intentionally engage in the journey to a more authentic and loving way of being and service.
ative Spirit. One who takes a pile of clay – the Hebrew word for dirt/ clay, ‘adamah,’ becomes the basis for Adam – gives it some shape and breathes life, Spirit, into it. Spirit that creates seeks to draw us ever closer. This is what discernment is about: discovering more deeply our intimate connection with God who draws us in. And in turn, how this enlarges our capacity for love of God, neighbor, and self. A never-ending journey.
always begin by asking – What is stirring in you? He was asking – how is God moving in you and how is the Spirit speaking? He would call these “nudges.” Read and ponder the Emmaus story (Luke 24:1335, especially verse 32). Am I attentive enough to be aware of these stirrings?
An Ever-Evolving Understanding and Practice I have experienced the strength Relationship of this stirring, this yearning, to Discernment’s foundation is rela- One of my most-trusted and different degrees. One of the most tionship. In the creation story (Gen beloved companions on several of obvious was the movement that led 2:7) we are introduced to God’s cre- my discernment journeys would me to volunteer with CAP back in 6
CAP CONNECTION • Winter 2021
