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“Discovering Your Direction in Life through Ignatian Discernment Methods” – Part I

Focus: How to Begin my Discernment – How do I get in touch with my true self?

(Friday, February 14th 2003)

Basic Questions and Concerns in life:

How can I live a more meaningful life as a Christian?
Is life simply working from 9.00am to 9.00pm daily, or even longer?
Where is my life heading?
How can I discover my direction in life?
How do I discern how God wants me to live my life?

Get in touch with your “True Self” (look into your heart for a moment

Are you happy and fulfilled in your life?
What and who in your life is causing you pain?
What do you desire most at this moment in you life?
No more pain? No more illness? Job security?

These feelings and needs are very real, but have we come here tonight to

wish that we find a solution to all our problems? That after tonight, we will all

go home totally freed from all our worries and pains in life?

At the outset it is good for us to remember who we are. We are all Catholic Christians; we are all sons and daughters of God our Father.
Thus, Christianity is not about having less problems or less pain in life, but it is about salvation. Christianity is about living our lives for God and in His ways and eventually to be with Him for all eternity.
So, if in our daily living we are preoccupied with solely wanting to solve our problems and dissolve our pain in such a manner that God has very little to do with our pain and concerns in life, then we are not yet in touch with the deepest and most authentic part of who we are and what life is truly about. (E.g. Indonesian lady with terminal cancer . . . eventually experiencing a conversion and developing a strong faith in God.)
To get in touch with our deepest and most authentic part of who are we are, we must first learn to be more aware of how we are living our daily lives. And, one of the most important focus of ourselves that we must never forget and should focus on is the goodness within us. We are temples of the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit is present within us; in our brokenness and pain, and also in the goodness and love we have in our hearts.
This is the reality of who we are. Thus, we must then ask ourselves in our prayer daily: Does God play an important and central part in our daily living or do we brush Him aside in our experiences? Is God only present to us one hour each week during my Sunday Mass? What is the quality of our daily living like as a Catholic Christian? Are we, (whether we are lay, priest or religious), living our lives in God’s ways?

Can we expect any concrete change to our lives?

Is there a guarantee that our lives be changed for the better and even be transformed after this programme? The answer of how soon and how deeply transformed we will be depends a lot on how much we want and are committed to changing our present life styles for the better in God’s ways.

A Method of Awareness of God in our Daily Lives:

1. Morning (3 minutes)

(To be done 1st thing when you wake up; good to go on your knees)

- Opening Prayer: (1/2 minute)

Pause. Be aware that you are still alive.
Thank God of the gift of life and the many gifts He has given you.
Look ahead of the day: (2 minutes)

Imagine: see yourself talking and relating with the people you expect to meet and work during the day.
Then, ask yourself, “Lord how do you want me to relate to them?”

- Closing Prayer: (1/2 minute)

Ask God, “Lord, give me the strength (graces) and wisdom to live my day in Your ways.”

2. Mid-day (about 7 minutes)

(This is done some time during the middle of the day e.g. after lunch)

- Opening Prayer: (1 minute)

Close your eyes. Take a few deep breaths and calm down.
Be aware and Believe: God is present within you and around you.
Ask the Lord: “Lord help me to live my day in Your ways.” (since you work up this morning.)

- Review your Day: (4 minutes)

Look back on your day and ask yourself, “Were there ‘high/good’ moments when I allowed God use me to do/live the way He wants of me?” If so, thank God for these moments.
Then ask yourself, “Were there ‘low/bad’ moments when I did not allow God to use me to do/live the way He wants of me?” If so, ask for God’s forgiveness.
Then look at the “routine/mundane” activities (breakfast, talking to your family, maid, staff etc.), “Did I relate and treat them the way God would want me to treat them?”

- Closing Prayer: (2 minute)

Ask, “ Lord, help me to live the rest of my day more fully in Your ways.”

3. Night (7 minutes)

Simply repeat the steps of the “Mid-day” prayer. However, you need to review only from the time of your “Mid-day Awareness” prayer till your present moment, (i.e. before going to bed.)

Daily Practice of “Awareness Prayer Exercise” – sure way to Grow in God’s ways:

If we practice this “Awareness Prayer Exercise” daily, we can be sure that we will grow in our faith, hope and love for God. Thus, our Catholic Christian faith will become more alive and challenging. As we grow in this way, our love for God will inevitably draw us out to love our family and others (especially the needy) more fully. In short, in spite of our hectic and stressful life, we will live a more meaningful Christian life.

If we find it very difficult to set aside time to do this “Awareness Prayer Exercise” it is good to ask ourselves: “How serious and committed are we in living our Catholic Christian faith?” “How am I daily living a life that makes me more fully aware of God’s presence?” “Can I give myself one good reason why I cannot spend 5 – 7 minutes of my 24 hours, to learn how to be more sensitive to God’s presence in my daily living?”

What is this “Awareness of God” Prayer About?

It is important to remind ourselves that, this “Awareness Prayer Exercise” is a prayer method that helps us to develop a greater awareness of our “true” self and also of God’s presence in our daily experiences.

Thus, this prayer method is not preoccupied with searching for the different ways we have sinned against God and one another. This prayer method is also not to force us into a “guilt trip” and to point out our daily faults, failures and sinfulness.

Instead, this “Awareness Prayer Exercise” is to help us become more in touched with God’s active and loving presence in our lives. This prayer method is to help us to live more fully in His presence.

Life is not Simple and Straightforward:

We all know so well that to live our Catholic Christian faith more fully and deeply in God’s ways, is never simple and straightforward. Many good and well intentioned believers find themselves discouraged, confused and even disillusioned with life. Their problems and pain and concerns seem to haunt them daily and God does not seem to be present to their needs and daily living.

Need to Understand the Self and God more fully:

One of the main reasons why we do not seem to find God in our daily living is because we do not understand ourselves and God well enough. To live more fully in God’s presence we need to have a clearer understanding of our self and of God. (*The following will be developed more fully in later parts of this programme.)

The Self: This is made up of three distinct and inseparable levels:

Physical e.g. hunger, sleepiness etc.

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Psychological (emotional) e.g. hurt, anger, happy,

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*Spiritual e.g. our faith, hope and love for God.

Our God:

He is a giver of life who created us out of His infinite Love.
He is present within us; loving us, caring for us.
He is present actively in all situations of live around us.
He labours/tries to give us only what is “best” for us.
He deeply desires and dreams that we can live with Him for all eternity.

God has Dreams for us:

“God is love” (1 Jn 4:7-21) and He created us in His own image and likeness (Gen.1:27). This “image of God” is the “divine Love” of God within each of us; it is innate in us. Thus, in each of us our deepest desire is to want to love God in return because we have all come from Him who is our Creator (the Source of all our lives). We have come from Him who is “The Fullness of all Love.” Thus, deep within our hearts, the love we experience within (or should try to get in touch with), must direct us and draw us to return and live with Him for all eternity.
As this infinite love of God is rooted deep within our hearts, we must also channel this deep love into concrete daily ways of learning to love one another. Wanting to love one another is a God given gift when He created each of us. We must learn to get in touch with this and this “Awareness Prayer Exercise” precisely helps us to get in touch with this most authentic and deepest part of ourselves and who we are.
Thus, everything that does not bring us closer to God and works against God’s Love is sinful. We are never created to sin; we are created to love. This love of God in us touches and is present in every part of our lives and daily experiences.
Allow God’s Spirit that is within us and around us to transform us. We are called to cooperate with God; we are called to take up our daily challenge to be what God wants us to be. Indeed, we are called to allow God make the “Dreams He has for us” come true. There is no other way to live our lives, but only to live in God’s ways as He will direct us daily and in every situation.

Prepared by:

Fr Philip Heng,S.J.

(Novice Master of Malaysia-Singapore, East-Timor, Cambodia Region)

E-mail: [email protected]