Discernment and the Examen – Part 1 of 3

Paul writes – One of the core practices I would include in a community rule or covenant (for a recent example of one – see this one by Len Hjalmarson and others up in British Columbia) or, for a "rhythm (of life)" – see, for example this one created by MOOT) is listening / discernment.

Esther de Waal reminds us that “we are essentially rhythmic creatures and [our lives] need …rhythm and balance if [they are not to be drained of] the precious possibility of being or becoming our whole selves.” “Unless we take this [need] seriously” she says, “we are going to reduce the amount of ourselves that is actually there and available to us” (from Seeking God, p. 93).   

In terms of a personal rule or rhythm of life I would express it in terms of the Ignatian Examen of Consciousness (learning to recognise the movements of God in the ordinary and the everyday stuff of my life and context) and the Benedictine Lectio Divina (allowing myself to be shaped by Scripture). In contextual terms it could be, for example, the practice of walking or the practice of regularly sitting in the same coffee shop. As we listen we are attuning ourselves to God, to God’s promptings, and to God’s invitations. Discernment allows me / us to grow in true self-knowledge and availability to God.

The groundwork for discernment is attentive and sensitive listening; listening to and through the many layers that make up a narrative or a story – the narrative of a person – their telling of their story; the narrative of a place – its past, its present and the hopes for the future. Joan Chittister says, “to live without listening is not to live at all.” In fact, as many of you will know, the first work of the prologue to Benedict's Rule is "LISTEN".

Why discernment? Well, at its heart, and this is why I see it as critical to a rhythm of life, is the growing ability to both respond to God, and to be drawn by God. To find God in all things. Discernment is a practice that places God and relationship with God at the centre. Discernment is an intentional practice that prioriterises “waiting” – an important counter-practice in the face of our love of instant gratification. We wait on God, humbly accepting either the presence or absence – open to any way God chooses to beckon and invite us. To make space for listening and discernment is to put ourselves in a place where God, who is seeking us, can find us.

“The Examen is as much about a more intimate knowledge of self and God and about the growing and deepening relationship between the two as about any particular choice. What God is waiting for is not so much the right conclusion [to] a practical question as our suppleness in falling into the divine hands so that God can work in us” (John Climacus, The Ladder of Divine Ascent).