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INTENTION : |
FOR FORMATION IN DISCERNMENT.
Let us pray that we might again learn how to discern, to know how to choose paths of life and reject everything that leads us away from Christ and the Gospel.
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Formation for discernment is fundamental for navigating a complex world. The Holy Father's prayer intention for July 2025, focused on formation for discernment, highlights the importance of developing the ability to make wise decisions guided by the Spirit in an increasingly complex world.
For the Holy Father, discernment is more than a skill; it is a spiritual path to learn to recognize the Lord's presence in our daily decisions and to choose paths that bring us closer to Him, in docility to His Spirit. Choosing "paths of life" that reflect the Gospel's style means not only rejecting everything that distances us from Christ but also actively seeking ways of living that promote justice, love, and peace according to the style of Christ. Discernment involves the ability to identify and reject those attitudes, behaviors, and situations that lead us away from life (John 10:10).
Formation in the art of discernment is essential. This includes prayer, personal reflection, the study of Scriptures, and spiritual accompaniment. The Holy Father encourages all the faithful to cultivate a deep relationship with Jesus, as it is through this relationship that we can recognize His voice amid so many voices and have the necessary clarity for our decisions.
Although discernment has a profound personal dimension, the Pope, in various writings, also emphasizes its communal aspect. Learning to discern together, listening to the experiences and perspectives of others, enriches our own discernment process and helps us recognize the Holy Spirit's action in community life. This is typical of the synodal style.
In a world marked by the rapidity of change and the complexity of global challenges, discernment becomes an essential skill for navigating with wisdom and compassion. This month is a time to ask for the grace of discernment to face these challenges with faith and trust in the Lord, to live the Gospel more authentically in our current world.
ATTITUDES FOR DAILY LIFE
Learning to discern
"To learn to live, you have to learn to love, and for this it is necessary to discern... Good discernment also requires self-knowledge... Often we do not know how to discern because we do not know ourselves well enough, and so we do not really know what we want." (Francis).
Do you take time to enter your heart, in the silence of prayer, to discern your decisions? Stay attentive to the Spirit of the Lord to discover your deepest desires and make life- giving decisions.
Feeling and distinguishing one's own emotions
"Examination of conscience helps a great deal... what happened today? What happened? What made me react? What made me sad? What made me joyful? What was bad, and did I harm others? It is about seeing the path our feelings took, the attractions in my heart during the day." (Francis).
Take breaks during your day to discover what's happening in your heart, what brings you joy or makes you sad, what emotions are aroused by the things you experience. The Lord speaks to you through the emotions you feel. Listen to His voice to decide according to the emotions that lead you to life.
Recognising inner movements
"It is important to know ourselves, to know the passwords of our heart, what we are most sensitive to, in order to protect ourselves from those who present themselves with persuasive words to manipulate us, but also to recognize what is truly important for us, distinguishing it from current fads or flashy, superficial slogans." (Francis).
What is important to you? Does it align with what God wants for you? Let Francis' question resonates within you: "Am I free, or do I let myself be carried away by the feelings of the moment, or by the provocations of the moment?"
Embracing what opens me to life
"The good habit of calmly rereading what happens in our day, learning to note in our evaluations and decisions what we give most importance to, what we are looking for and why, and what we eventually find. Above all, learning to recognize what satisfies my heart." (Francis).
Is Joy the fruit of your decisions in general? Do you have the habit of reviewing your day? This will give you clues about where you are heading, and what is beneficial for you to choose more and more that Life that Jesus desires for you, and for those around you.
Reject what leads me to death
"Temptation does not necessarily suggest bad things, but often haphazard things, presented with excessive importance. In this way it hypnotises us with the attraction that these things stir in us, things that are beautiful but illusory, that cannot deliver what they promise, and therefore leave us in the end with a sense of emptiness and sadness." (Francis).
Seek someone who can teach you to discern, a guide, the community, to decode that secret password of your heart that manifests in many ways. How do you decide? Where do your choices lead you? By their fruits you will know them.
MONTHLY PRAYER
To learn to live, one must learn to love...
Sometimes we take the wrong path on the journey of love!
Because, to love, one must know how to discern...
Holy Spirit, light of our understanding, serene impulse of our decisions,
grant me the grace of attentive listening to Your voice,
to discern "the passwords" of my heart,
that which I am most sensitive to,
to understand what is truly important to me and
to rid myself of what disturbs my heart.
I ask for the grace to learn to pause
to become aware of my way of acting, of the feelings that inhabit me and,
of the recurring thoughts that condition me, and that I often do not notice.
I want to know myself and understand my deepest desires
so that my decisions lead me to the joy
that comes only from You.
Even if I have to go through uncertainties and hardships,
even if I have to fight, think, and seek...
In the end, Your joy in me is the fruit of the right decision.
Grant me to know myself more to know You more,
to love You more and serve You. Amen.
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