Becoming discerning disciples

This is the year of discernment for all of us who are part of the Glory of God International Covenant Community (GOGICC), which the ICPE Mission falls under. We are encouraged to do the consciousness examen* (an excellent method of discernment) every day so that we become sensitive to God’s promptings in our hearts and therefore know the Father’s heart.

Last Saturday, this message was reinforced at the General Assembly of the GOGICC via Zoom and it was inspiring to not only hear the testimonies of a couple and one sister from Malta and Korea respectively, but to see what the leaders had to say about discernment.

First of all, we were all reminded that following Christ was not easy for it required the ability to discern His will, and to have the enduring strength to go where He leads. Be prepared to be misunderstood by the rest of the world, even scorned and attacked. Nevertheless, hold fast to Christ and the process of knowing His will which will lead us to seek carefully the highest good, to detect grace in all things, and to ultimately respond to God in freedom. 

When we consciously and regularly contemplate Jesus in our day, this soon becomes our way of being, of doing, and of knowing. We consequently act in freedom and in love regardless of where we find ourselves in life for our enhanced self-knowledge and awareness enables us to see unvarnished and perhaps unwelcome truths and respond to them with great spiritual maturity. 

It is as if we can come out of ourselves, our flawed identities which are amalgams of our personalities, prejudices, fears and past experiences, and we are able to be the better person in the situation always, the best Jesus wannabe ever, even when we are seething with anger, frustration or hurt within. 

Don’t worry if you get it wrong, you will, invariably. The focus is not on making perfect decisions but on growing an intimate relationship with God. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 27 puts it: The desire for God is written in the human heart, because man is created by God and for God; and God never ceases to draw man to himself. 

Just as He draws us to Himself all the time, we need to lean into Him constantly in harmonious synchronicity. And when we do, we won’t veer too far off the narrow path. We will, as Saint Ignatius puts it: I want and I choose what better leads me to God’s deepening life in me.  

As we become more attuned to the truth that God can be found in everyone, every place and everything, then we will become more thankful and reverent, more devoted to God, more deeply in love with our Creator. 

We will thus be at peace with the world, even if it is at war with us for we can always identify movements in our hearts that lead us to love God, serve and honour Him more and more. Be still, and listen.

*  For a quick take on the consciousness examen, go to https://kahalableu.blogspot.com/2009/03/

Exuding Christ’s authority

Yesterday during a retreat run by the Office For Catechesis for catechists in the Singapore archdiocese, one of the speakers, Edwyn de Souza, spoke about authority, what was it about the authority of Jesus that even demons feared and respected. The Greek word for authority is exousia which means something that flows from your very own being. This authority, this power flows when “your insides matched your outsides”.

Jesus embodied this authority for His was a life lived in and with integrity. Through the example of His life, we see how Jesus lived and breathed the good news of salvation, how He taught hope, how His healings brought new life, and how His unconditional love converted the hearts of even the most hardened of sinners. His every word and action radiated light, brought clarity, unity, and glorified the Father who only wants us, His children, to be one with Him in joy and love. 

If we are truly His disciples, then we must do the same. We need to teach the world how to love as He did by exercising this authority of Jesus and allowing His truths to flow out from our very beings. Sound good but it is not as easy as it sounds, I agree. 

Unlike Jesus we don’t have the privilege of being fully divine as He was. And yet, we can make choices that lead us down the road towards sainthood. The wounds of Jesus were caused by our sins, wounds He took on willingly to redeem our sins. If we meditate on His wounds, and if we are open to receiving the Holy Spirit (through prayer), then we are a step closer to integration each day. 

Edwyn also encouraged all present online to be open to intentional authentic conversations with authentic people we have allowed in our lives to journey with us. So find those people in your life and let them touch your wounds, trusting them to speak truths into your life with love, and reciprocating in kind. 

Truth may not be comfortable or sit well at times, but it’s not about feeling good and feeling safe all the time. Instead, it is about spiritual adventure, going places and creating change, much like the actions of the disciples we read about in the Acts of the Apostles that display the fervour and attendant miracles of exousia.

Seek integrity, seek the love of Christ which is all about cracking open one’s life and giving it away with abandonment. Along the way you will find authority and the ability to move hearts and minds just by being you.