Discernment: From Spirituality to Ethics

Abstract

The theme of discernment has been reduced to the field of spirituality with a clear reference to religious and priestly life. However, in Saint Paul it has an undeniable ethical application, linked to the Christian vocation in general. On the other hand, spirituality is the base and foundation of the Christian ethos. Therefore, the theme of discernment constitutes a bridge between spirituality and the Christian ethos, capable of establishing itself as a method of reaching concrete ethical judgments.  Traditionally, in Moral Theology, two methods were applied: deontology (the application of the norm to reality) and teleology (the purpose determines the ethics of the act). The article proposes a third method: ethical discernment that presupposes a consequence and a coherence between professed faith and daily living. The article begins with a study of the term discernment in the theological thought of Saint Paul, then moves on to the rules of discernment in the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius of Loyola and ends with a more complete understanding of its meaning in the reflections of Pope Francis.  Once the meaning of the term discernment is elucidated, it becomes clear that this term constitutes a solid bridge between spirituality and ethics, being a method of converting the spiritual experience into an ethical commitment. It ends with the proposal of a concrete method for the formation of an ethical judgment.