4th Sunday of Easter - Fr. Bob's homily- Discernment

As a Vocational Director one of the questions I get asked when someone comes to me about the possibility of becoming a Priest is “How do I know?” “What signs does God give?” I smile.

When I meet with couples preparing for the Sacrament of Matrimony one of the questions I ask each is “Why do you want to marry him or her?” I almost always make the guy go first so that he can’t “Borrow” from the gal. And I hear wonderful things. “She/He is so kind, so generous, so loving, etc. He/She makes me want to be better. I trust him/her.” I smile.

People come to me seeking guidance. They try to understand their path. They have a decision to make and they want an answer; often they ask “Father, what am I supposed to do?” I smile.

Discernment, it is a wonderful part of our Tradition and our Spirituality. Discernment is to seek our path in life. It is to make choices.  This is beyond a call to religious life or vocation and marriage; discernment really applies to aspects of our life. How do I manage my finances? With whom do I develop friendships? How do I balance my desires with that of the common good?

It can be a challenge. We are not really encouraged to take our time these days to think about things, rather everything is about a quick and concise answer.   It is also a challenge because we can get caught up in the details, or the weeds as they say. We lose sight of what we are trying to figure out.  And mostly, we can get lured by what seems an easier path. We settle for the easier way. 

Jesus came so that we may have life and have life abundantly. Jesus came so that we may participate in making Eternal life, here on earth and it is in heaven. Jesus calls us to a path of Life. He says he is the Way, the Truth and the Life.

Such a subtle gospel passage we have today. Jesus talks about himself as the gate. Think about that image, he is the passageway. He is the way by which we discern, we move, we have our being. But this is not about a mere superficial statement that I am a Catholic, I am a Christian, I believe. That I believe in Jesus. This goes deeper.

It is about our way of life. It is about uniting our way of living to that of Christ. It is how we discern our way in this life so as to bring about the fullness of life. This means that we discern with the virtues of self-giving, compassion, mercy, humility. It means we live a life that strives to build others up. It is about a life of love.

This is the way to fullness of life. This is the path of salvation. Anyone that says it is not, or tries to say it is through another path will rob us of life, and will rob this world of life. See, we can be lured into thinking that life is about other ways; the things, the objects, the power over others.  We can be tricked into thinking “my liberties” are the most important thing. 

As we discern, as we contemplate our lives and the choices we have made and will need to make, they are all guided by Jesus Christ, his life, death and resurrection. Guided by those principles that are a part of us as well.

A man knows he is called to priesthood when we feel the joy of service, of self giving, of compassion, of humility.   A couple is ready for marriage when there is self-giving, openness, each desires the good for the other.

One of the matters being discerned now in the diocese is how do we open our churches and yet protect the lives of people. It is not easy.

As we go through life we discern our path, we then ask ourselves if the path/choice leads us and others to love, to giving, to selflessness. If it does, then it is the correct path.

Sure, we get off the path at times. We get distracted. People will steal from us our joy, or try to anyway. We will be tempted by their easier ways.

We can know because our hearts and minds will start to tell us we are following the wrong shepherds. We will see a lot of anger and fear in our lives; we will be unsettled. We will be putting our energies into our things, too much drink, smoking, eating, etc. 

When we notice this going on in our lives. Then we need to re-discern. We need to look inward, ask ourselves the hard question: “Whom am I truly following? Who is my shepherd?” Because if there is that much anger, then it is probably not the Christ’s. Time to repent, time to change the direction we are walking.

And when we find ourselves with joy, purpose, I strongly suspect we are walking through the right gate