"What am I to do?" - Discerning the Will of God in Everyday Decisions with Fr. Timothy Gallagher - Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts

DWG5 – Listening for God’s Voice – The Discernment of God’s Will in Everyday Decisions with Fr. Timothy Gallagher – Discerning Hearts Podcast

Mar 20, 2017

Guest

Fr. Timothy Gallagher, O.M.V

Fr. Timothy Gallagher, a priest and Ignatian spiritual director known for teaching discernment, discusses praying with Scripture to deepen knowledge of Christ. He talks about how daily Gospel prayer shapes desires. He highlights silence as essential for hearing God and offers practical ways to create quiet. He also explores retreats, examining experience, and recognizing God’s voice in vocational choices.

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ADVICE

Pray Daily With Scripture For Discernment

Pray daily with Scripture to develop intimate knowledge of Christ that informs decisions.
Fr. Timothy Gallagher describes Richard entering the Zacchaeus scene and receiving Jesus' gaze, then resting in that presence as a regular practice.

ANECDOTE

Richard's Zacchaeus Encounter Changed His Prayer

Richard entered the Zacchaeus scene in Ignatian prayer and experienced Jesus' full attention, then rested in that welcome.
That single daily moment of receiving Jesus' gaze transformed his prayer and illustrated intimate knowledge of Christ.

INSIGHT

Gospel Prayer Trains Your Heart To Recognize God

Repeated Gospel prayer trains the heart to recognize God's voice by absorbing Jesus' choices and way of being.
Ignatian retreats focus on Gospel scenes so one's preferences align with Christ's over time.

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Listening for God’s Voice – “What am I to do?” The Discernment of God’s Will in Everyday Decisions with Fr. Timothy Gallagher

Fr. Timothy Gallagher and Kris McGregor discuss the importance of praying with Scripture and embracing silence as spiritual means to aid in discernment and the transformative power of engaging with the Word of God daily, allowing individuals to develop an intimate knowledge of Christ and grow in love for Him. Through prayerful reflection on Scripture, one becomes attuned to the voice of God and gains clarity in discerning His will.

Creating space for silence in one’s life, which enables individuals to hear God’s voice amidst the noise of the world.

Discerning Hearts Reflection Questions:

The Role of Scripture in Discernment: How does praying with Scripture, as described by Fr. Timothy Gallagher and Kris McGregor, deepen our relationship with God and aid in discerning His will?
Embracing Silence: Why is silence essential for discernment, and how can we create spaces of silence in our daily lives, despite the busyness of modern culture?
The Universal Call to Holiness: What does the concept of the universal call to holiness entail, and how does it intersect with the specific discernment of vocations?
Discerning Vocations: In what ways does discernment play a role in choosing a vocation, whether it be marriage, celibacy, priesthood, or religious life?
Recognizing God’s Voice: How can individuals know that they have heard God’s voice clearly enough to discern His will in matters such as vocation or career choices?

From The Discernment of God’s Will in Everyday Decisions:

“Three Times in which a Sound and Good Choice May Be Made

The first time is when God Our Lord so moves and attracts the will that, without doubting or being able to doubt, the devout soul follows what is shown to it, as St. Paul and St. Matthew did in following Christ our Lord.

The second time is when sufficient clarity and understanding is received through experience of consolations and desolations, and through experience of discernment of different spirits.

The third time is one of tranquility, when one considers first for what purpose man is born, that is, to praise God our Lord and save his soul, and, desiring this, chooses as a means to this end some life or state within the bounds of the Church, so that he may be helped in the service of his Lord and the salvation of his soul. I said a tranquil time, that is, when the soul is not agitated by different spirits, and uses its natural powers freely and tranquilly.

If the choice is not made in the first or second time, two ways of making it in this third time are given below.”

Father Timothy M. Gallagher, O.M.V., was ordained in 1979 as a member of the Oblates of the Virgin Mary, a religious community dedicated to retreats and spiritual formation according to the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. Fr. Gallagher is featured on the EWTN series “Living the Discerning Life: The Spiritual Teachings of St. Ignatius of Loyola”. For more information on how to obtain copies of Fr. Gallaghers’s various books and audio which are available for purchase, please visit his website: frtimothygallagher.org

For the other episodes in this series check out Fr. Timothy Gallagher’s “Discerning Hearts” page

The post DWG5 – Listening for God’s Voice – The Discernment of God’s Will in Everyday Decisions with Fr. Timothy Gallagher – Discerning Hearts Podcast appeared first on Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts.