Letter from a Sunrise Observer
Y
ou may be wondering how and when I came to the decision to end my
time with you next Easter, the 21 st April 2019 to be exact. Well, it was
not sudden, nor born out of depression or stress – one ought to avoid
big decisions at times of high emotions- it has been a gentle journey with
God and my spiritual director. There are many ways of spiritual discernment,
Benedictine, Franciscan, New age, etc. I am Ignatian in my discernment for
my faith.
Read on……………………
What shall I do?
We should not do anything wicked and we should not do anything absurd.
Between these boundaries lie a vast number of possibilities. We face large
decisions: schooling, career, work, state of life, relationships, weighty
commitments. Every day we face smaller decisions about our priorities and
goals, how to spend our time, what to pay attention to and what to put off for
another day. How do we make these choices? How do we weigh competing
values? How do we discern the right path?
Ignatian spirituality gives us a way to approach these questions. To follow
Jesus, we need to know how to make good decisions. Ignatian spirituality
helps us approach this challenge in a practical way.
What Do I Want?
Ignatius would first have us be clear about the ends that we seek. Again, we
return to the Principle and Foundation for clarity about the values that should
govern our choices. Everything in this world is presented to us “so that we
can know God more easily and make a return of love more readily.” Thus,
“our only desire and our one choice should be this: I want, and I choose
what better leads to God’s deepening life in me.” Our loving relationship with
God is the goal and end of our life. All our choices are means, steps toward
reaching our goal. We enter marriage or choose a career or start a business
to deepen our relationship with God. All these important choices are means,
not ends in themselves. It is easy to lose sight of this and treat choices as
the ends. Our first choice or decision is simply to be a follower of Christ.
Everything else—all our choices, big and small—follows from this.
The Analytical Approach
When we have our end clearly in sight, then we can tackle the complexities
of decision making. One way is the analytical approach. In trying to choose
between two goods, we might list pros and cons in two columns on a sheet
of paper. If we are perplexed, we might also ask some friends what they
think. Then we decide, offer our decision to God for his blessing, and pray
for a consolation of peace as God’s gift to us.
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