Pope Francis concluded his cycle of catechesis on discernment. He said that 'confronting our life with another person who has experience is of great help in knowing ourselves.'
SUMMARY OF THE POPE'S CATECHESIS IN ENGLISH:
Dear brothers and sisters:
Today, we conclude our catecheses on discernment as the process of coming to a sound understanding of the Lord’s will for our lives. An important aid to discernment is the practice of spiritual direction, in which we share with another person the movements of the Spirit in our heart and, in confronting our own frailty, draw closer to the Lord, who took upon himself and redeemed the weakness of our humanity. The Gospels speak of Jesus’ many encounters with persons who opened their hearts to him and experienced his mercy and forgiveness.
In conversation with a spiritual guide, we often discern more clearly the true direction of our lives and the quiet working of God’s grace in our hearts. Spiritual accompaniment also expresses the communitarian nature of our journey to perfection, since together we are members of Christ’s body, sons and daughters of the Father and sharers in the life of the Spirit. As our teacher in the art of discernment we can look to the Blessed Virgin Mary, who leads us to Jesus, who urges us not to fear, but to trust in him and in his words of eternal life.
I offer a warm welcome to the English-speaking pilgrims taking part in today’s Audience, especially the groups from Israel and the United States of America. To all of you and your families, I offer my prayerful good wishes for a new year filled with joy and peace. God bless you!
RM
TR: KG
