Discernment: Role and Identity

View Through GN2026

Know your identity, know your role.

Look carefully at matters that inspire you, that draw your attention to good things even while you may be reluctant to follow such promptings. All good things in life require some kind of constructive investment, even the littlest of ventures.

Weighing & Observing

1. You may desire a family or even a career in a given field, but does the frequency of your thoughts and actions suggest another path or at least a reconsideration of your current plans?
2. You may desire to be a priest or a religious, but are your thoughts pulling you elsewhere?
3. Do you find contentment in supporting others, in listening, in serving?
4. What else do you enjoy or see a need to be involved in?
5. Do you take the time in silence, say on a walk or just sitting in peace, to observe your thoughts?
6. Do you take time in prayer to ask God for guidance, for opportunities to explore and apply yourself?
7. What motivates you to action? What gives you joy? What attracts you to involvement in positive pursuits?
8. What natural skills do you possess? How do you apply those skills? In what other ways might you apply those skills?

Clarity

Clarity of mind means clarity of passion, too; this is why a great and clear mind loves ardently and sees distinctly what it loves. Blaise Pascal

Catholics derive our identity from Jesus Christ present in the Sacred Liturgy, the source and summit of the Christian life. We recall that Jesus is present 1) in the Holy Eucharist, Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity (St John 6:55). Jesus is present 2) in his sacred minister, the priest who acts in Jesus' Name. Jesus is present 3) in and through his word, Holy Scripture. Jesus is present 4) in the assembly gathered in his Name (St Matthew 18:20).

1. Are you present to Jesus in the Mass?
2. Can you find yourself in the Mass, in the writings of the Apostles, the Prophets, the psalms, and in the Holy Gospel?
3. Do you hear Jesus speaking to you through his sacred word?
4. What challenges you to think differently, i.e., in a way that helps convert you to truth and goodness?
5. What kinds of subjects attract you and give you peace or provide you incentive?
6. Do you feel at home in the Mass?
7. How or when is your heart uplifted?
8. Is there a particular part of the Mass that captures your attention?

Relationships

A vocation in life can be clarified by the relationships in which we are involved, relationships that free us, help us exercise confidence in truth and charity, that help us support others and, most importantly, that enable us to open ourselves to God's grace and will.

Jesus, I trust in Thee. That simple phrase captures the heart of true relationship.

We become what we love and who we love shapes what we become. St Clare of Assisi.

In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as expiation for our sins. 1 John 4:10 

In our day to day experiences, it may be useful to be attentive to the simplest of realities - acknowledging others and, where charity and prudence demand, offer assistance in the form of a word of kindness, of material support, of genuine listening and attentiveness to a person's story.

Our own story is written in between the lines of encounters with others. Of course, we need the grace of God to assist us in our interpretation of the path to take - that which satisfies, not necessarily in some material sense or form of narcissistic self indulgence that grasps at our hearts and minds.

Sometimes we have to say "no" so that we can say "yes" to what is true, good, and beautiful. Saying 'no' to shallow pursuits can allow us to say 'yes' to responding to a call to love where love is most needed to enact freedom in oneself and for others. True freedom is not a preoccupation with power and control or mere comfort.

1. When are you most at peace?
2. Where do you find love?
3. What provides you with authentic freedom, the freedom to act with goodwill?
4. Do you want to love as Christ loves?
5. Do you love praying?
6. Do you love serving?
7. What is your experience when you adore the Blessed Sacrament?
8. Is there a saint whose story resonates with you?

The Freedom to Walk

Are you waiting for someone else to make a decision for you? Throw yourself into whatever it is that calls to you. No half-measures. You will know soon enough whether or not the path chose you or that you chose it. Either way, bear in mind that any path can present challenges. The challenges can serve to help you reevaluate your current situation and whether to choose to remain on the same path, undeterred, or to brush the dust off your feet and walk elsewhere. Be real about yourself. Do not lie to yourself.

Breathe into me, Holy Spirit, that my thoughts may all be holy. Move in me, Holy Spirit, that my work, too, may be holy. Attract my heart, Holy Spirit, that I may love only what is holy. Strengthen me, Holy Spirit, that I may defend all that is holy. Protect me, Holy Spirit, that I may always be holy. - Saint Augustine