Saturday, May 17, 2003 12:00 PM

Discernment

Fr. John Abberton, spiritual guide to TLIG in England and Wales, writes:

Lately, I have become very concerned about what seems to be a lack of good discernment in TLIG. I cannot go into details since it involves people and events, and I do not want to mention names. In any case, it is something for all of us to ponder.

I have recently had to deal with someone who needed deliverance who was claiming to have received private revelation from God. The material was dangerous and heretical and I had no problem in seeing this. The person could not. Many times we can be misled by the enemy (or his agents) to see something as coming from the Holy Spirit when it has actually come from ourselves. May I stress this point? Not everything that is wrong or distorted comes directly from satan. Much of it, perhaps most of it, comes from us. We are imperfect people and our own egos, misguided views, poor reasoning, lack of good theology as well as other subconscious psychological motivations and plain pride all play their part in one way or another. We need a proper and humble self knowledge and we should pray to be protected from our own foibles and compulsions.

Those who receive locutions, private revelations of one kind or another, inspirations and the like, are not normally the discerners of their own material. In some extraordinary cases (I believe Vassula is one of them) the gift of discernment is present as a special gift of the Holy Spirit. I believe that it is a serious mistake for members of TLIG to assume that they have the same gift. In most cases, we need spiritual directors and we need to grow in our understanding of doctrine. This does not mean that there are not cases when we are led to pursue something because we have an inner sense that it is right, but common sense and a sound spirituality would suggest that we consult with a good spiritual director. This is necessary because consulting with others of ”like mind” may not bring out the whole truth. Often we can be led to consult those who will say what we want to hear. It is also necessary when consulting a spiritual director to present as much of the case as possible. A director can be misled by edited versions of our inspirations or ambitions. Often, it is only later that the Director will say, ”If you had told me that, I would have said something different.”

TLIG is an extraordinary movement of the Spirit. Our Lord is close to us and speaks to each one of us, but that is precisely why we should be more careful than we were before we became involved with it. Taking our weaknesses with us, we have become part of a movement for holiness and renewal. We must be very careful, even about what seem to be good inspirations. Everything must be tested in prayer, and self knowledge is something we all need (to the extent that God allows), so that our spiritual lives can gradually be purified of those elements that cause distortions and misguided ambitions.

Yes, the enemy is powerful and clever, but don’t blame him for everything that goes wrong. We are not only fighting him, we are fighting our own weaknesses and hidden motives. One of the psalms speaks of ”hidden sin”. I often think of the subconscious when I read that, and how careful I must be to allow the Holy Spirit to guide me through the tangled paths that I cannot clearly see or clear through my own efforts.

Let us have our feet firmly planted on the ground as we offer our hearts and minds to the Lord. Jesus Himself walked this good earth and it is good to feel the ground beneath our feet. We are not yet floating in the clouds.

Fr. John Abberton