SPIRITUAL DISCERNMENT
A divine inspiration cannot ask
us to do something that contradicts what the Word of
God teaches and asks of us. This means not the Word of
God as compiled by each individual’s fantasy and
interpretation, but Holy Scripture as transmitted and
explained by the teaching authority of the Church. For
example, a divine inspiration cannot ask me to commit acts that the Church considers
immoral. In the same way, true inspirations always go in the direction of a spirit of
obedience to the Church.
— In the School of the Holy
Spirit, p.47
The Holy Spirit may encourage a
mother to be somewhat less occupied with her household cares so that
she can dedicate some time to prayer. But if he
suggested to her that she should spend so much time in
contemplation that her husband and children suffered, there
would be good reason to question the source of this
inspiration.
— In the School of the Holy
Spirit, p.48
The most important criterion
for discerning divine inspirations is the one that Jesus
himself gives us in the Gospel: “A tree is known by its fruit.”
An inspiration from God, if we follow it, will produce
sound fruit: the fruits of peace, joy, charity, communion, and
humility. An inspiration that comes from our flesh or
from the devil will be sterile or even bear the negative
fruits of sadness, bitterness, pride, and the like.
— In the School of the Holy
Spirit, p.49
We will find it much easier to
discern the action of the Holy Spirit if we have the
possibility of opening our hearts to someone who can give us
spiritual guidance. Very often we cannot see clearly
into ourselves, or discern our motivations, and light will come
when we put what we are living through into words,
talking to someone experi enced in the spiritual
life.
— In the School of the Holy
Spirit, p.43
If an inspiration truly comes
from God, and we silence our fears and consent to it
wholeheartedly, in the end we shall be filled with
irresistible peace; for the Holy Spirit will not fail to produce such
peace in those who allow themselves to be led by him.
This peace sometimes dwells only in the very deepest part
of the soul, while questions and worries remain at the human
and psychological level, but it is there and it is
recognizable.
By
contrast, if an inspiration comes from the devil or from
our own ambitious, selfishness, exaggerated need for being
recognized by others, and so forth, and we consent to
it, it can never leave our heart in total, deep peace. Any peace
it does bring will only be superficial, and will soon disappear,
to be replaced by disturbance. We may refuse to
acknowledge this disturbance and relegate it to the depths
of our minds, but it is still there, ready to reemerge at the moment of truth.
— In the School of the Holy Spirit, p.53
Is
God’s will always the choice that is most difficult?
He is
not wrong to say this, in that context. But we should
not interpret his maxims wrongly, or take as asystematic
rule for discerning God’s will the principle that in
any given situation what he asks of us will always be what
is most difficult. That would make us fall into anexaggerated
ascetical voluntarism that had nothing to do with
the freedom of the Holy Spirit. We might even add that
the idea that God is always asking us for what we find most
difficult is the kind of thought that the devil typicallysuggests
in order to discourage people and turn them away
from God.
God
is a Father, and he is certainly a demanding one because
he loves us and invites us to give him everything; but
he is not an executioner. He very often leaves us to our
free choice. When he requires something of us, it is to help
us grow in love. The only commandment is to love. We
can suffer for love, but we can also rejoice in love and rest
in love. It is a trap of our imagination or of the devil to picture
a life spent following God as something imprisoning, in
complete, constant contradiction with all our own desires, even the most legitimate
ones.
— In the School of the Holy Spirit, pp. 55-56
When the suggestion that comes
to us isabout much more important
things—a vocation, a change of direction in our life,
choices that may have serious repercussions on other people,
or else something that clearly goes beyond the
habitual rule of life for the vocation we have
received—then it is essential not to decide anything without submitting
that inspiration to a spiritual director or a superior.
— In the School of the Holy Spirit, p.62
We should also realize that
certain movements that are apparently good (because their
object seems good) may not be so in reality, but may in
fact come from the devil, who is cunning and sometimes impels us
to do something that, although it appears good, would
be contrary to God’s will for us and would produce
harmful results in our lives.
— In the School of the Holy
Spirit, p.42
