Discernment focuses attention on what is actually happening in the heart of every man and every woman. In the Bible, the term “heart” is used to indicate the central point of interiority of the person, where listening to the Word that God is constantly addressing to us becomes a criterion for evaluating our life and our choices (cf. Ps 139). The Bible considers the personal dimension, but at the same time underlines the community dimension. Moreover, the “new heart” promised by the prophets is not an individual gift, but concerns the whole of Israel, within whose tradition and salvation history the believer takes his place (cf. Ezek 36:26-27). The Gospels follow the same line: Jesus insists on the importance of interiority and he locates the centre of the moral life in the heart (cf. Mt 15:18-20).
TheoFonsAt the sources of the faith