On Discernment

by Jules Philip V. Hernando (College 1994, Theology 2001)

I have not thought about the subject of discernment for a long time.  Not since my seminary days.  This is not to say that I do not practice discernment at all, because I do.  I could not help it being a product of the Jesuits and all.  

Being a teacher of students who are still in their formative years, I also could not afford not to practice discernment. The times we are in and the many voices that call for our attention and affection demand that we discern and soon after, get involved, socially, that is. So, I have to always ask myself, year in and year out, what subject matter do I include in the curriculum?  What literary readings do I require my students to read? What interpretations of the texts do I lead my students to?  Which social issues and realities will we, as a class, focus on and link the text to?

Let me present here a song that I often use in my classes to introduce my students to the subject of discernment and gradually and hopefully convince them to include in their life decisions their country and the poor.  It is an old song that is included in the soundtrack of the movie Sister Stella L.  While I have not seen the movie in its entirety, I know about the story that the film wants to convey and about this song that has affected and shaped me in innumerable ways:

Sangandaan
By Pete Lacuna

Walang kumplikasyon
Ang buhay mo noon
Kalooban mo’y panatag
Kalangitan ay maliwanag
Ang daan ay tuwid at patag
…sa buhay mo noon.

Ngunit bawat pusong naglalakbay
Dumarating sa sangandaan
Ngayong narito ka
Kailangang magpasya
Aling landas ang susundin ng puso?

Saan ka liligaya?
Saan mabibigo?
Saan ka tutungo?

Kay daling sumunod
Sa hangin at agos
Aasa ka na ang dalangin
Gagabay sa iyong damdamin
Ngunit saan ka dadalhin
Ng hangin at agos?

Alam mong bawat pusong nagmamahal
Dumarating sa sangandaan
Ngayong narito ka
Kailangang magpasya
Aling landas ang susundin ng puso?

Saan ka liligaya?
Saan mabibigo?
Saan ka tutungo?

The song begins with a description of a reality that is true to everyone of us: we used to live uncomplicated lives.  We were once young and free from any worry and anxiety.  However, this peaceful existence could not and should not last forever.  For as we traverse through life, we arrive at a crossroad of choices and decisions for happiness or failures, and various goals.

The song speaks of an alternative to this life of choices and that is to go with the flow, to let the strong winds, the rising and ebbing of tides, or the rushing of waters take over our lives.  This is the easy way out and the straighter path to follow but something calls us out of this life of indifference and that is none other than the call to love.

When I was a seminarian years ago, it seemed simpler to make decisions as to what social and political issues I get to involve myself in. With the likes of Jaime Cardinal Sin and former President Corazon Aquino leading the way, choosing which fences to sit on appeared to be easier and righteousness seemed to be on our side.  We appeared to be winning in all the battles we, at San Jose, chose to get ourselves involved in.  We were one with the cardinal when he asked people to gather at the Quirino Grandstand to prevent former President Ramos from seeking another term. We were there at the so-called Jericho March that tried to encircle the senate building during the impeachment trial of former President Estrada.  And of course, how can I fail to mention our part in the movement that led to the resignation of the latter from the presidency?

None of our Jesuit-formators forced nor even asked us to join the GOMBURZA, the Simbahang Lingkod ng Bayan of the Jesuits, or our very own leaders in SAPI on the streets of EDSA, Commonwealth, and Manila. We were never told to give blood to the earthquake victims of 1990 or transform San Jose into a relief goods dropping center in 1991 when Mount Pinatubo erupted or into the headquarters of SemNet in 1992.  We were only guided by our idealism borne out of our studies at Ateneo and LST,  and our desire to grow in charity—in the love of God which can never be separated from the love of neighbor and one’s very own self, as nurtured by the examen and individualized spiritual direction.

This brings to mind the teachings on discernment of one of my favorite saints, Catherine of Siena. Her thoughts about the subject, which belongs to a different tradition as that of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, are tightly intertwined with her teaching about growing in charity.  Her notion of discernment involves “both growth in union with God and growth in the capacity to practice unselfish care for self, others, and created reality.  The capacity to discern depends on charity.”  It is a resultant product of the “person’s capacity for love and truth, capacities for which the person is created. The capacity for discernment and the quality, as it were, of a person’s discernment is inextricably tied to the process of conversion and the growth of one’s potential for truth and love” (Villegas,1997). 

Villegas, D. L. (1997). Discernment in Catherine of Siena. Theological Studies 58, pp. 19-38. Retrieved from http://cdn.theologicalstudies.net/58/58.1/58.1.2.pdf.