First of two parts
On 23 November, I arrived at the Centro de Espiritualidad San Ignacio – Jesuitas Salamanca in Spain for the first stage of what would be a three-year initiative to form experts in Discernment in Common. Ignite the Way was an event I had been looking forward to, along with nearly 100 participants, including Jesuits, lay collaborators, religious and diocesan priests from all over the world. Now, as I look back, it was not only a profound learning experience but also a spiritual journey for me personally and for us together.
In his opening address, Fr General Auturo Sosa reiterated that the Society of Jesus initiated this project in response to an important need of the synodal Church. As people of God, we are called to share a vision inspired by the Beatitudes. However, we live in a different world marked by polarisation, marginalisation, and suffering; every day we hear the cries of the “anawim” and the mourning of Mother Earth. While the Church has a mission to counteract this reality, Father General noted, “We often feel powerless and paralysed. This is where discernment comes in.”
He emphasised the need for discernment when the Christian community finds itself at the intersection between Jesus’ message and the concrete challenges of the reality in which we live. We need discernment to know what God wants. As we desire to follow Jesus closely and love him deeply, we need to be awakened by the Spirit and set out with hearts on fire.
Rooted in theological and biblical foundations, discernment’s focus is not to find the best solution to a problem but to find God’s will. Part of the grace of being human is the ability to discern God’s will. The more we know, love, and follow Christ, the more we attune ourselves to His way. Discernment is the transformation of desire: as we learn God’s desire, our own desire is changed. Further, discernment in common is also the creation of community – throughout the process of discernment, we become the community God wants us to become.
During the conference, we listened to representatives from different parts of the world sharing their experiences of discernment in common and synodality. These testimonies evoked the image of the Contemplatio in the Spiritual Exercises: God labouring in the world and inviting us to collaborate in His mission. Through our prayers and spiritual conversation, there emerged a consensus about God’s initiative in moving the Church along the path of synodality. The God who is labouring now invites us to co-labour with Him by sharing our gifts in accompanying discernment in common. We were consoled in recognising that it was God who called and brought us together from all over the world.
Another message from Father General that resonated with us was the need and desire for “togetherness”. The conference covered a variety of topics beyond theological and biblical foundations, including synodality, our history, inner disposition, building a discerning group, discerning spirits in a group, building the curriculum of forming facilitators of discernment in common, and the profile of a facilitator, among others. Besides plenary sessions, there were also testimonies, case studies, individual prayer, reflection, spiritual conversations, group discussions, and the “Emmaus” walk.
In addition to the richness of the presentation, the generosity of the whole assembly was a crucial contributor to profound learning. From the presenters at the front, to the plenary, and into small groups, the willingness of each of us to share authentically – and sometimes even vulnerably – strengthened our sense of “togetherness”. It was not a coincidence that the Gospel reading on the first day was the widow’s mite (Luke 21:1-4). As I contemplated this passage, I saw how my personal capacity and effort were like two small coins when compared to the complexity and the challenges we faced. However, when I looked around and saw each of us offering our two small coins, together we gathered a whole basket of shiny coins!
