Given that discernment is for the purpose of choosing to do God’s will as against all other choices, let’s turn to Guiding Principle 3: Inspiration will not contradict truth.
Here is a simple anecdote to demonstrate this guiding principle:
A young unmarried couple who have been hanging out together for several months now find themselves alone in the guy’s apartment. They are both practicing Catholics and decide to say the following prayer together, “Lord, you know we want to do your will. You also know that we are in love and are looking forward to living as a married couple. If it is your will that we refrain from physical intimacy this evening, reveal your will to us by having someone come and knock on the door within the next 20 minutes.”
What’s wrong with this discernment tactic?
Again, the Guiding Principle here is that The Holy Spirit’s inspiration will not contradict his revealed truth.
The Holy Spirit will not, cannot, ask us for anything that contradicts His will as expressed by the more normal means and to the larger Catholic community: the Word of God, the teaching of the Church, and the demands of our vocation. “When God puts inspirations into a heart, the first he gives is obedience,” says St. Francis de Sales. Furthermore, inspirations generally flow in the same direction as duties applicable to our state and do not divert us from them but help us to fulfill them.
In Christ, Ken.
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