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Discernment

of Spirits

Various Studies Available

All studies are virtual and require signup. Cost varies per study depending upon the study you choose to participate in. You may be required to purchase study materials not included in cost. In-person studies may be available to parishes depending upon location and cost of travel.

Praying

Scripture

Oremus

All studies are virtual and requires signup, along with purchase of Oremus study materials thru Ascension Press. Cost for those materials is not included in the study fee. In-person studies may be available to parishes depending upon location and cost of travel.

Why We Offer These Studies

In order to deepen our relationship with The True Presence of Christ, we need to be intentional about practicing our faith in every way.  This is very important as it helps to foster the spiritual growth that is needed.  One of the key things it helps us do is to listen to the Holy Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit better giving weight to the Good Shepherd, as Jesus said that his sheep hear his voice and listen to him.  When we practice our faith it helps to hone our spiritual senses to the Good Spirit rather than the enemy. It helps us to put the enemy aside as we continue to grow in holiness toward heaven because we become more in tune with the Lord and less with the world.  A good example of this can be found in the book Interior Castle written by St. Teresa of Avila. Learning to pray scripture daily helps to support learning and rccognizing the spiritual movment we have going on all day long in our daily lives. Pairing the two studies: discernment of spirits and  praying scripture supports this spiritual growth on a much deeper level. It is recommended, although not required to at least have an introduction to discnernment of spirits before learning to pray scripture.  If you do not recognize the spiritual movement, it can be more difficult to get the most our of learning to pray scripture.  It can be done, but is definitely more difficult.


LEARNING HOW TO DISCERN

BE AWARE

We must be aware of the spiritual movement.

UNDERSTAND

Then we must meditate and contemplate.

TAKE ACTION

Then we may make a decision.

st. ignatius of loyola





DISCERNMENT OF SPIRITS

Learning to be aware of spiritual movement in in daily lives, so that we may understand it, then take action by accepting or rejecting it.


I heard a priest once say, People make the most important decisions of their lives without discerning." This includes: marriages, finances, employment, vocations, children, housing, etc.. There is great truth in that statement!  Most of us do not know about the spiritual movements always taking place in our daily lives. It happens every moment and is a battle between good, evil and ourselves.  If we don't know that it exist how can we make decisions when we are blinded to it. 

Discernment of Spirits is actually a gift from the Lord given during our Baptism. Jesus says in scripture: "My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one can take them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one can take them out of the Father's hand.  The Father and I are one.  This is the Good Spirit of Holy Spirit that is part of the Most Holy Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit who speaks to us gently guiding us toward him and our eternal home with him in Heaven. John 10:27-30 God is always working in our daily lives so intimately to keep us safe and hold on to us, he loves us so much, he created us and wanted us to be.  He does not leave us we leave him.

"We know that we belong to God, while the whole world is under the evil one. We know, too, that the Son of God has come and has given us discernment to recognize the One who is true. And we are in the One who is true, for we are in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life."


In opposition of that we have the evil spirit or  enemy, the Lord tells us very clearly in sacred scripture what the enemy is made of and to beware.  He says, "He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in truth, because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he speaks in character, because he is a liar and the father of lies." John 8:44

So if we have these two opposing spirts pulling us in different directions, it is no wonder we become confused and often make mistakes in our decisions. Everyone has experienced a moment where we say to ourselves, "What was I thinking?" It happens to each of us. If we were more aware of those spiritual movements, understood what they mean, then we could make better decisions in our lives and would experience less suffering, anxiety, pain, frustration, so on and so forth. Understanding that there is a third human component in there where we are talking to ourselves.  We each have a spirit. During a discernment of spirits class, the priest actually said we may be talking to ourselves, our own spirit.  It is important to learn which voice we are listening to: the Good Spirit, Evil Spiit/Enemy or our own spirit. Well, I don't know about you, but I am pretty sure I don't want to be consulting myself. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LEARNING TO PRAY AND DISCERN TOGETHER TO KNOW HIM MORE

Learning to pray is for both adult men and women, Catholic and non-Catholic to help strengthen faith and create a more intimate relationship with The True Presence of Christ.

 

 

 

 

 

 

PRAYER

Learning to pray scripture is an ancient practice of the church done by Jesus himself everyday.

Prayer is an intimate reciprocal conversation with God. Many of us do not know this, but when we pray we are actually already responding to God's invitation to have a conversation with him. Many times our prayers are petitions and lamentations, sometimes they are devotional prayers we have received through practicing our faith in our daily lives like the Rosary or Divine Mercy Chaplet. Of course we have the  prayer our Lord, Jesus Christ gave us: The Our Father prayer.  All these are good prayers and we should keep praying these prayers.

Would you like to experience a deeper more intimate conversation with the Lord? This is possible through an ancient practice of the church called Lectio Divina.   It is something Jesus himself practiced daily by praying sacred scripture at various times throughout the day based upon Jewish tradition.

There are many different methods people have used to better understand or discern what God is saying to us when we pray scripture.  Fr. Mark Toupes of Ascension Press created a very easy program to help adults learn how to pray in this way.  Here is what he says on their website about it: "Oremus teaches you the essentials of an effective and fruitful prayer life. Over eight weeks you will learn the simple yet profound steps of Catholic prayer. Following Church Tradition and the wisdom of the saints, you will learn to talk to God and hear his voice in Scripture, in your heart, and in ordinary moments. You will become more aware of his close presence, will learn to overcome distractions and dryness, and will recognize desolation and consolation as normal prayer experiences. As you grow closer to God, you will also grow in your relationship with those around you."