Nazarene virtue: Discernment.

Discernment "with Nazarene eyes".

Discernment is a concrete exercise of Christian life, which aims at discovering God’s will in any given situation. Its contents are varied: charisms, signs of the times, the organization of communal or of group life, pastoral options etc. can all be the object of discernment.

Discernment demands certain requirements on the part of the person(s) or community. Living discernment supposes a certain maturity of Christian life, and at the same time, the inclusion in one’s own life of elements of growth and of formation. Practice enables us to enumerate a number of criteria that helps those wanting to enter a process of discernment.

Nazarene Spirituality confers certain characteristics on the individuals, groups and communities who practise it, and it offers some specific criteria to those wanting to incorporate the “Spirit of family” into the practice of discernment in order to capture the signs of times and of places “with Nazarene eyes”. The expression “Nazarene eyes” translates the point of view of he or she who lives the mystery of Nazareth, and who tries to see and to interpret a given situation in order to discover God’s will and to implement it in his or her life. When the heart has the Nazarene seal, it is possible to read the Gospel, the reality of life and one’s own history with “Nazarene eyes”.

Here are some of the criteria for practising discernment starting from the mystery of Nazareth:

· ask oneself if the situation considered includes the dynamics of the Incarnation: the divine becomes human to enable us to grow from within and to surmount it;

· there are situations where the Gospel is lived before being announced (as in Nazareth);

· the “transcendence” values are united to the “condescendence” ones, which makes us become more humane;

· the act of faith in the mystery of the Incarnation also applies to human activities and in view of the Reign of God;

· the maturing and the growing processes are slow and gradual;

· anything which build the individual, the family, or social relationships, is positive;

· any good news brings hope;

· check on the links that might be established with the beatitudes;

· ask oneself always when facing any situation, what “the Nazarene thing to do” would be.