sussidio December 2017

   How do we discover the will of god ?

The FORMATOR

From the WORD of GOD
The angel of the Lord spoke to Philip saying, ‘Set out at noon and go along the road that leads from Jerusalem down to Gaza, the desert road.’ So he set off on his journey. Now an Ethiopian had been on pilgrimage to Jerusalem; he was a eunuch and an officer at the court of the kandake, or queen, of Ethiopia; he was her chief treasurer. He was now on his way home; and as he sat in his chariot he was reading the prophet Isaiah. The Spirit said to Philip, ‘Go up and join that chariot.’
When Philip ran up, he heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, ‘Do you understand what you are reading?’
He replied, ‘How could I, unless I have someone to guide me?’ So he urged Philip to get in and sit by his side… Starting, therefore, with this text of scripture Philip proceeded to explain the good news of Jesus to him. (Ac 8:26-31.35) My dear friends, do not trust every spirit but test the spirits to see whether they belong to God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can know the Spirit of God: every spirit that acknowledges Jesus Christ come in the flesh belongs to God, and every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus does not belong to God. This is the spirit of the antichrist that, as you heard, is to come, but in fact is already in the world.(1 Jn 4: 1- 3)

From the DOCUMENTS of the CHURCH
Making decisions and guiding one’s actions in situations of uncertainty and in the face of conflicting inner forces is the place for exercising discernment, a classic term in the tradition of the Church which applies to a variety of situations. Indeed, one form of discernment is exercised in reading the signs of the times which leads to recognizing the presence and action of the Spirit in history. Moral discernment, instead, distinguishes what is good from what is bad. Still another form, spiritual discernment, aims to recognize temptation so as to reject it and proceed on the path to fullness of life. The connection of the various meanings of these forms is evident, a connection which can never be completely separated one from the other.[…] Three basic beliefs underlie the process of discernment. The first is that the Spirit of God works in the heart of every man and woman through feelings and desires that are bound to ideas, images and plans. Listening carefully, the human being has the possibility to interpret these signals. The second belief is that the human heart, because of its weakness and sin, is normally divided because it is attracted to different and even contrary feelings. The third belief is that every way of life imposes a choice. A person needs to adopt the instruments needed to recognize the Lord’s call to the joy of love and choose to respond to it. Among these instruments, the Church’s spiritual tradition emphasizes the importance of personal accompaniment. … Personal accompaniment demands the constant refinement of one’s sensitivity to the voice of the Spirit and leads to discovering a resource and richness in a person’s individual character. It is a question of fostering a person’s relationship with God and helping to remove what might hinder it. (Synod of Bishops, XV Ordinary General Assembly, “Young people, the faith and vocational discernment”- Preparatory Document)

From the WRITINGS of Blessed A. ROSMINI
The character of our age is one of haste and impatience. All the same, I shall not slacken my efforts, and I shall keep up my hopes. It is in the order of divine Providence that I put my trust; and in those indestructible seeds that the gospel has sown in humanity – seeds which in every age bring forth new fruits from an old stock. . . flowers of a beauty unknown before, and which must be recognized as sprung from the word of Christ, cultivated with Christian love. But alas for us if because the fruit and flower are new, we fail to see that they really derive from the ancient and all-powerful plant! That would be to do dishonour to the divine root itself, and treat shamefully that treasure
from which the householder brings forth things new and old.

But it is possible, all the same, to fail to discern one
flower from another; one fruit from another; and in this way
to pluck fruit from the tree of knowledge which brings
death, while thinking to gather fruit from the tree of life!
The only way to avoid this terrible error is through humility
and prayer, turning for guidance to the Father himself of
truth and of life.
(To Michele Parma, in Venice , Domodossola, 27 March 1831,
AL. Vol.I, let. 102, p.199, translated and edited by John Morris IC.)

LET US PRAY

Show me your ways, Lord,
teach me your paths.
Guide me in your truth and teach me
for you are God my Saviour,
and my hope is in you all day long.
Remember Lord, your great mercy and love,
for they are from of old.
Good and upright is the Lord;
therefore he instructs sinners in his ways.
He guides the humble in what is right
and teaches them his way.
(Ps.24)

PASTORAL YEAR 2017 – 2018
ON-GOING FORMATION
INSTITUTE OF CHARITY
ROSMINIAN SISTERS OF PROVIDENCE

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