Opening ourselves to listen to the Spirit’s voice requires particular interior dispositions: the first is the attention of the heart, favoured by silence and by a self-emptying that demands asceticism. Equally fundamental are self-awareness, self-acceptance and repentance, combined with a willingness to put one’s life in order, abandoning whatever might emerge as an obstacle and regaining the interior freedom necessary to make choices that are guided only by the Holy Spirit. Good discernment also requires attention to the movements of the heart, as we grow in the capacity to recognize and name them. Finally, discernment requires the courage to engage in spiritual combat, as there will be no shortage of temptations and obstacles that the Evil One places in our path.
TheoFonsAt the sources of the faith