Friday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time
Seminarians of Conception Seminary College are our daily reflection writers for the first half of November. Every day will feature a reflection from a different seminarian. This is an opportunity for our seminarians to put their education into practice and connect with the people of God in a pastoral way.
St. Paul takes a moment in his letter to the Romans to talk about his call from God to minister to the Gentiles. This call, which is the fruit of discernment, reminds me of how important discernment is for Catholics.
Previously, I have tended to think of discernment as strictly about vocations. The truth is that discernment should be so much deeper than this. God has blessed us with a beautiful humanity. One of the graces of our humanity, as St. Paul recalls when referring to the Gentiles as “filled with all knowledge,” is our intellect. In the same way, we are able to be filled with this knowledge that St. Paul refers to, we are able to know God, and with this knowledge of God, we are all called to discern His will. That is, we are called to take time, to use our reason in combination with faith and prayer, to allow the Lord to guide us.
I have found that I have been doing Christ an injustice by saving discernment for only the big decisions like whether or not to pursue seminary formation, but Christ did not come to know us and guide us just in the significant moments in our lives. We know this because He embraced our humanity in all things. Likewise, he wants to be present to each of us in all moments of our life, no matter how insignificant or trivial they may seem.
Reflection by Liam Murphy, seminarian
Diocese of Grand Island
Posted in Articles for Ordinary Time, Daily Reflections