Doors of discernment

It could be said that discernment is a process of opening doors and looking at what is on the other side of them before deciding whether to pass through them or not. On December 8, 2014, to mark the beginning of the Year of Mercy, Pope Francis pushed open the great bronze doors of St Peter’s Basilica in Rome to symbolize the opening of all doors to God’s mercy. It is important to remember that whatever doors are opened in the course of a discernment process, it is this loving mercy that will be discovered.

Door of Mercy in the Diocese of New Ulm, Minnesota. Photo by Dan Rossini, Diocese of New Ulm, Minnesota

UNKNOWN DOORS--Doors are so very much a part of our lives. We go through them, often without thinking about them, many times during the course of a day every day. And every time we go through a door our view changes. Sometimes we know what is on the other side of a door; other times we do not, and we find ourselves moving from present certainty into an unknown space. In the discernment process a candidate does not know what is to come, and that can evoke a feeling of risk, even one of fear. He or she may feel very much alone, for no one, however skilled a counselor, can ever really know another. We must be patiently reassuring here. Jesus knows “each one by name,” and only he knows. It is he who  calls us out “one by one,” and the most we can ever do is to trust him in dark faith.

A CLOSED DOOR THAT SEEMED RIGHT--Sometimes a door perceived to be the right one remains firmly closed. If this happens, we should be quick to foster a positive attitude. Perhaps that dream was unrealistic; or the Lord simply has other ideas. So the door remains closed to protect the candidate from taking a wrong path; and it may be that in the course of a discernment process, several doors need to be tried before the right one is found and opened. There is so much choice out there; and no one should ever be afraid of making mistakes. It must be emphasized that God is far more concerned with us and our choices than we could ever be or imagine God to be; indeed our mistakes are often stepping stones to finding our true vocation—although it is perhaps only much later in life that we can look back and see how true this was.

ENTRYWAY TO THE LIGHT--A door is opened. Bravely the threshold is crossed. God’s holy light shines out and surrounds our feebleness. At this stage almost any feeling can predominate, from elation and excitement at “getting somewhere at last” to anger at the way God seems to have marked out, to a desperate resignation that comforts itself with the thought that this is only a trial run.

Feelings are like the waves on the Sea of Galilee that Jesus calmed with a word: “Quiet now, be still.” It may need to be stressed that they do not matter in themselves. It is how we cope with the life we have embarked on that matters.

Not all hardship is fruitful, and as Pope Francis pointed out in his April 2015 address to the International Congress of Formators, wise and skillful guidance on the part of formation counselors is necessary to discern whether a newcomer shows an aptitude for the chosen way of life; whether the problems that arise lead to growth or whether they are in fact detrimental.

THE NARROW GATE--“Straight is the gate and narrow the way that leads to Life.” This powerful image, “The Narrow Gate” reminds us that as disciples of Jesus, we should not expect life to unfold smoothly. Jesus warns his followers: Unless you take up your cross daily and follow me you cannot be my disciples. This is precisely what Father Lawrence Lew’s powerful photograph portrays. At first sight it appears to be a sculptural image; two identical crosses planted in the green grass with a very narrow gate—indicated by the two poles—set midway between them and at the end of the path leading from the doorway. But take a closer look, and it becomes clear that the “poles” are actually handles with which to open clear glass doors, and that the crosses are set into these doors. Hence pushing through the doors propels us through “the narrow gate” and between the crosses. Between the crosses on Calvary, stands the cross of Jesus. We have passed through the Door, Jesus, to reach his cross. Yet to return to Lew’s image, the cross of Jesus which should be there is not. Why? “He is not here, he is risen.”

SEEKING A NEW THRESHOLD--If a door is opened, and a man or woman tries our life, and it is not right for him or her, the candidate needs to be encouraged to leave. He or she must continue the search, to have the courage to try another door. Time will usually tell, and much patience is called for on the part of everyone who has to do with the candidate. “Hanging in there” is often hard, especially in a culture used to instant service, instant answers, and in which the idea of commitment is not generally accepted. But neither director nor directed should forget that this work is essentially and primarily God’s work, and that God can and will work with human limitation to enable a person to live generously as a light in a dark world. God is light, and he always draws us into light. It also has to be emphasized that there is no such thing as absolute certainty. Even after years in an order, we can never be 100 percent certain that our choice was the right one; we trust that it is simply because we know that our loving God would never let us down.