Dear Parishioners and Friends,
Greetings from Malta. This week we celebrate the 8th May event in the life of the Paulist Fathers’ founder, Joseph DePiro. Today I am sharing with you what our Superior General, Fr Martin, shared with Paulist Fathers and Lay Paulists on the topic of Discernment.
He says… we commemorate the moment when Joseph De Piro decided to change the course of his life and embrace the priesthood. It was not a decision he took lightly, but the fruit of a genuine process of discernment, during which he opened his heart to listen attentively to God’s will.
Discernment is an essential element of a mature Christian life. The deepest desire of every Catholic believer is to know God’s will and to fulfil it wholeheartedly. It is the only authentic response to God’s love, as the Lord clearly teaches: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.” The believer also knows that doing God’s will is the greatest gift one can give oneself, since God’s will is always ordered toward our true and lasting good.
Discernment concerns not only major decisions taken at decisive crossroads. It also involves a daily attentiveness to our interior life: carefully sifting through our thoughts and asking where they come from and where they are leading us. Through this constant and humble commitment to seeking God’s will, we can be confident of making sound decisions when significant choices arise.
Our thoughts are not just “our” thoughts. They may be influenced by forces beyond us. Even when we acknowledge that both God and the Evil One can act upon our interior life, we must remember that the latter is especially skilled at disguising his presence. Without vigilance, we can easily be deceived and led astray.
Our Founder followed the wisdom of St. Ignatius of Loyola when he drew up his list of pros and cons regarding the call to the priesthood. Such an exercise forms an integral part of Ignatius’ Rules for Discernment, which are both deeply spiritual and eminently practical. Let us pray that we may always follow God’s will in our lives.
God bless you.
Fr Silvio