Discernment

Discernment

By Tammy Townsend Denny, TI Executive Director

By now, you probably have heard that I will be leaving my position as executive director of TI on July 31 (if you haven’t received the news yet, please check your email for a letter that went out from our TI board of directors on June 28). I have accepted a new position as associate director of The Leadership Collaborative, an organization which fosters transformational leadership for Catholic sisters and their associates.

This decision involved a lot of discernment, a word we hear frequently in Catholic circles. But what does it mean to discern?

Discernment was not even in my vocabulary until I started working with Catholic sisters. Their influence taught me that to discern is to pause, pray, and listen for God’s guidance. My spiritual director helped me understand that to discern is to spend time with questions that may not have obvious answers. It is an invitation to delve more deeply into the divine mystery. And she recommended the book Decision Making & Spiritual Discernment: The Sacred Art of Finding Your Way, by Nancy L. Bieber.

At Mass, the new pastor at our church talked about discernment by sharing his vocation story. His path to the priesthood began in earnest when he went to Adoration to discern his vocation and pray for God’s guidance. As he left Adoration, a woman stopped him and said, “I usually don’t do this, but I had a vision of you as a priest.”

As I discerned my next steps, I also went to Adoration, praying for God’s guidance and listening in the silence. I was hoping a stranger would approach and share visions of my future, but the chapel was quiet, and the parking lot empty.

Too often, I am guilty of praying as if God were a prayer-answering vending machine. Insert a Hail Mary here; get an answer there. It doesn’t work like that most of the time, at least for me. Yes, there are stories of immediate answers, like the priest’s vocation story. But many more times, there is silence. What do we do with the silence?

I am reminded of a conversation Jan Richardson writes about in her book In the Sanctuary of Women. During a walk with her friend Brother David, a Franciscan friar, she asked him, “What’s discernment like for you?” 

Brother David shared with her a story of Saint Francis and Brother Masseo, who had come to a crossroads on their journey: “Not knowing which path to take, Saint Francis tells Brother Masseo to stand at the center of the crossroads and spin himself around. When Masseo finally falls down, Francis and his dizzy brother set off in the direction in which Masseo had landed.” 

Richardson goes on to explain that while the story “may strike us as silly,” it is a reminder “that on those occasions when there’s no one path that’s obviously the right one to take, it’s often better to set off in some direction if the alternative means staying stuck at the crossroads. God knows how to make use of any path.”

As I discerned my path, I prayed. I journaled. I read. I talked with trusted advisers, both spiritual and professional. And I considered spinning around in circles like Brother Masseo. Ultimately, I trusted the call and path that led to a soul-warming calm.

Change is disconcerting even with Spirit-led discernment. Please know that I am working with the TI Board of Directors to make this transition as smooth as possible. I am available even after July 31 to assist with questions. And be assured that the TI office is fully operational. We are here to support you!

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