Pop-Up Catechesis: Listening for God’s Call

When St. Joan of Arc was on trial for heresy, the Inquisitor mocked her for claiming that she heard God’s voice speaking to her. He said, “It’s only your imagination!” Joan responded, “Of course! How else would God speak to me but through my imagination?” This story teaches us that we need to pay attention to how God is speaking to us through our thoughts, feelings, desires, hopes, dreams, imagination, and memories. Our vocation, or […]

Faith Refreshed Online Retreat Week 3: Thinking and Moral Choices

Welcome to Week 3 of Faith Refreshed, an online retreat to help us “hit the refresh button” in our spiritual lives. Throughout this retreat, I am drawing from my best-selling book, A Well-Built Faith: A Catholic’s Guide to Knowing and Sharing What We Believe, as we revisit the four pillars of our Catholic faith and invite the Holy Spirit to refresh our understanding of the basics of our faith and renew us in our efforts […]

Pop-Up Catechesis: Teaching the Art of Discernment

Among the many things that parents teach their children is how to make decisions. Today, more than ever, young people have many options available to them when making decisions. While having options is a good thing, it also creates more stress and anxiety for young people: How do I choose what’s best for me? How do I know which choice is the right one? Recognizing that making important decisions is a crucial skill in life, […]

High School Lesson: Discernment of Spirits and the Missioned Life

Help teens ask themselves how they make decisions, and lead them to practice discernment so that they can live a life of meaning and purpose. Loyola Press, in honor of the Ignatian Year, offers an introductory lesson on Discernment of Spirits and the Missioned Life. Download this free lesson for high school students, based on an excerpt from Living Against the Grain by Tim Muldoon. For more on the Ignatian Year, visit IgnatianSpirituality.com.

The Seven Ds of Discipleship: #2 Discernment

This is part two of a seven-part series on discipleship. In my last blog post, we discussed desire as a key to discipleship and reviewed a number of ways that we can keep the flame of our faith burning. We will now look at a critical spiritual skill to help us to grow as disciples: discernment. Being a disciple means that we must make the time to reflect upon our lives. Just as Jesus went […]

The Triduum and Discernment

I’m in a period of discernment, not sure where God is calling me. I may discover that the old ways I’ve been doing things are no longer appropriate; in a sense, a part of me may have to die so that I can discover a new way of serving God. In this way, I will be living the Paschal Mystery, which is the whole point of the Triduum. Maybe you too are asking, “Lord, what […]

Using Discernment in Planning the Faith Formation Year

At some point during the summer months, we all start to wonder what our formation programs will look like in the fall. Whether we have a lot of ideas or just a few suggestions from others, the struggle is trying to select what ought to be done out of the range of possibilities. Thankfully we are not left alone in our discernment. As James assures us, “If any of you is lacking in wisdom, ask […]

Holy Thursday’s Hidden Graces

On Holy Thursday Jesus explains to his disciples that he will be leaving them: Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and as I told the Jews, “Where I am going, you cannot come,” so now I say it to you. (John 13:33) These are hard words to hear. Why would Jesus ever remove himself from our lives? And yet, we know from our own experiences that […]

Growing in Wisdom: Discernment for Young People

We know little about the life of Jesus as he grew up, but the one story we have of him as an adolescent can form the basis of a session on family and mission. Using Finding God, Grade 7, Chapter 9, my group will talk about how Jesus grew in age, wisdom, and grace—and what difference it makes to the life of a contemporary junior-high student. We’ll begin by studying the story of the 12-year-old […]

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