As a priest I’m often asked about discernment and how to discern anything from Vocation to career to everyday life decisions.  I consider it a great privilege that people come to me seeking advice in this area; however, while I have discerned my own vocation I’m still no expert.  So while I consider it a great privilege, it’s also humbling for me to remember that I don’t have all the answers and I’m still discerning things in my own life and priestly ministry.  

I thought in this short post that I would outline a very practical and easy to follow plan for spiritual discernment.  Again, this is for all discernment from a priestly or religious vocation to discerning a major/career to even a family discerning where to vacation or how to spend money.  The steps are not in a particular order…they are meant to be done together within your spiritual life.

1. Daily Prayer- You have to pray everyday, without exception!  It doesn’t matter how long you pray (5, 10, 15, or even 60 minutes), what matters is that you pray.  The real trick is sticking to the time you set aside.  If you promised God 10 minutes of prayer then give God the whole 10 minutes.  The temptation will come from the evil one to leave early and to think that prayer is pointless…fight this temptation by staying one extra minute.  Put in your calendar when you will pray and schedule your day around it rather than trying to fit prayer into your already busy day.  Daily prayer is a must for all disciples of Jesus.
2. Receiving the Sacraments of Reconciliation and the Eucharist regularly- Hopefully Sunday Mass is already part of your life and you attend every Sunday without fail.  If this is not the case then you MUST start this Sunday by going to celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass on the day of our Lords resurrection from the dead (Sunday…or even Saturday evening).  For those who are already faithfully going to Mass on Sunday, I suggest trying to attend Mass more than once a week.  The Mass is the perfect prayer of the Church and its where we see Jesus and receive Him intimately in the Eucharist.  Along with attending Mass more frequently (before or after work depending on parishes near your home and/or office) its also important to make frequent use of the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  It’s in receiving God’s grace through the Sacrament of Reconciliation that we are able to humble ourselves, remember that we are not perfect, and that we need the help of others (especially God) to become the best version of ourselves (to become SAINTS).
3. Meet with a Spiritual Director- As necessary and important daily prayer is for discernment, we also need the help of someone more mature in the spiritual life than we are to help us see what is coming from God in our prayer and what isn’t.  Spiritual Directors don’t have to be priests or religious, a good Spiritual Director is someone (lay person or a member of the clergy) who knows the tradition of the Church and has a more mature spiritual life than you do.  This does not make them holier than you nor does it mean they have achieved sainthood on earth…it just means they are more spiritually mature and eventually you may become the more spiritually mature than your director (which is the perfect time to find a new director).  It’s always helpful to bounce things off someone you trust and you know loves you in return.  

These three steps (not in order of importance) are crucial to proper discernment.  If we want to know how God is calling us to share His love in the world we need to be in communication with him (daily prayer), become more like Him (receiving the Eucharist), in all humility (Sacrament of Reconciliation), and with people we trust (a Spiritual Director).