Our Building for Hope team had a recent opportunity to consider how the process of discernment will be “baked in” to our decision making. How will we go about
discerning where those three circles of Congregational Passion, Congregational Assets and Community Need intersect to show us what our Social Enterprise could be?
We are in the stage of deep listening. During Holy Week, we asked you to pray us through this process by sitting with these questions before God:
➢ Where do You want us to join You in Your work in this community?
➢ What is our church uniquely able to offer to make your Kingdom visible and viable here?
Listening in prayer is a bit different than what we are used to. God speaks in many ways, through Scripture, other people, history, the arts, nature current events, and the church to name a few.
As discerning people, how do we hear the voice of God clearly through the competing voices of our own thoughts/ideas/mixed motives/distractions?
St. Ignatius of Loyola is regularly cited as a guide for discernment, wisely noting that this is a “practice” involving growing our relationship with God. A good start is his Daily Examen, which is a daily time set aside to reflect on our day with these questions: where did we experience God and how did we respond?
You can read more specifics at https://www.jesuitseastois.org/examen
Might you try a time of “Examen” this week?
