A long chat last night with many topics- but here is the part on God’s will as originally posted:
Sister: Did you have a special interest in the topic tonight on finding God’s will?
Jul 15 2012, 8:13 PM
Guest227 (guest): always
Sister : It is not a simple matter yet it is the main matter of our lives!
Guest227 (guest): it’s sometimes that still small voice that needs silence for us to hear
Sister : As I mentioned before, circumstances have alot to do with God’s will as well
Guest227 (guest): how so
Sister :, inspiration, listening, obedience to the small voice and circumstance all play a part. God’s good pleasure allows certain things to occur in our lives. They need to be weighed in because He may be speaking thru them as well as the still small voice
For ex, sometimes it’s all the doors that are closed to us that leads us to the one open one that really is the will of God but we have been knocking on doors that won;t open
Because we want our own will not God’s, at times
Guest 1: Like possibly we are making plans but not really on the path God had in mind? So He changed our course?
Sister: Yes exactly
Jul 15 2012, 8:18 PM
Guest227 (guest): the sacrements help me a lot to clear away the superficial and give God my focus again
Guest 1: I am one of those who would like to have my life all out on paper in a plan, but that is not how God works in my life. I have been going to confession more often and always things are much clearer after.
Guest227 (guest): He is the God of surprises
Sister : How did He surprise you?
Guest227 (guest): by unexpected goodness of others for one thing
Guest227 (guest): the unexpected smile or thoughtfulness or a good word. yes sometimes i feel it comes from God.
Guest227 (guest): i find the less i fight something the more God takes care of it.
Guest 1 I find that the most difficult. Saying yes when I really seem to want it my way. I have to admit it. I struggle a lot with aligning myself to what God willed for me.
Jul 15 2012, 8:24 PM
Sister : Yes- we need to give the control to God
Guest227 (guest): my human nature is a struggle and gets in my way toward progress.
Guest 1: Yes, that is how I feel also.
Guest227 (guest): this is one thing confession is helping me with
Guest 1: Did you feel that through their goodness, it was God taking care of you?
Guest 1: I had an experience this past year at Christmas. It seemed everything was so hard and everything – material things- were being taken away, even my car for many months. I forgot I had prayed to love poverty and it came. But God showered me with love also. I had many kindnesses done for my family and I just could clearly see that God was loving me through them.
Guest 1:: Sometimes a kindness done is more than all the things in the world
Jul 15 2012, 8:28 PM
Guest227 (guest): so true
Jul 15 2012, 8:29 PM
Guest227 (guest): a small seemingly insignificant kindness can be a thing of great importance.
Guest 1: I guess sometimes, I feel like I am just clinging to God but not sure where I am going yet.
Is that a way of discerning also? Just clinging but not doing much myself?
Sister: ! Oh yes. remember the woman with the hemorrghage
Clung to Jesus’ garment and she was healed
Sister : The discernment in that- her life was to go on- and not as an invalid
Sister : Is it the Song of songs? I have hold of you and will not let you go.
PM
Guest 227:can you elaborate on the use of emotion and of reason in discerning God’s will?
Sister: the Ignatian method has fine distinctions in this with the consolations and desolations
Guest227 (guest): i love ignatian spirituality
Guest 1:: I just rented a library book on this- Igatian retreat and the first pages said it was to help discern God’s Will which I thought very apt since I had not planned it or knew Sister would talk about it. I will go see if I can find the title.
Sister : But with St Francis de Sales, who did go to Jesuit schools, he seems to caution against the changeability in our emotions when discerning He likes us to go by the first inspiration, check it out with a director, and stay firm in the inspiration
Sister : I think Guest 1 could help here with the Ignatian book
Guest227 (guest): yes and st. francis de sales wrote a book on discerning God’s will.
Sister : Yes that is how St Ignatius determined things- the feeling that faded and the one that stayed true
Guest 1:: eight day retreat based on the spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius by Francis Xavier McMenamy, S.J.
Jul 15 2012, 8:41 PM
Sister : St Francis explained, ” Souls need enlightenment as to how they may recognize God’s will.The will of God may be understood in two senses: there is God’s will made known to us ( His declared will) and there is the will of His good pleasure.The divine will made known to us is divided into four parts: namely, the Commandments of God and of the Church, the Evangelical Counsels, inspirations and (for religious) the Rules and Constitutions.There is also the will of God’s good pleasure which we must regard in all things.