Discernment: From Spirituality to Ethics

Main Article Content

Tony Mifsud
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4653-3019

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.

Keywords:
Discretion of Spirits Discernment Ignatian Spirituality Rules of Discernment Ethics Consolation Desolation Teleology Deontology Pauline Theology

References

Aquino, T. (1994). Suma de Teología. Madrid: Biblioteca de Autores Cristianos.

Benedicto XVI. (2005). Deus caritas est,.

Cowan, M. & Futrell, J.C. (1982). The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola: a Handbook for Directors. New York: La Jacq Publishing.

Crisóstomo, J. In Matth.

De Loyola, I. (2010). Ejercicios espirituales (Vol. 26). Linkgua.

Francisco. (2013). Evangelii Gaudium, 24 noviembre.

Francisco. (2016). Amoris laetitia, 19 marzo.

Francisco. (2019). Christus Vivit, 25 marzo.

Iparraguirre, I. & Dalmases, C. (1963). San Ignacio de Loyola. Obras completas. Madrid: BAC.

Juan Pablo II. (1981). Familiaris consortio, 22 noviembre.

Juan Pablo II. (1988). Christifedelis laici, 30 de diciembre.

Juan Pablo II. (1992). Pastores dabo vobis, 25 marzo.

Juan Pablo II. (1993). Verititas splendor.

Lonergan, B. (2006). Método en Teología. Salamanca: Sígueme.

Martínez, J. L. (2017). Discernimiento y Moral en el Magisterio del Papa Francisco. Revista Medellín, Vol. XLIII, No. 168.

Masiá, J. (2017). Los obispos japoneses, con Amoris Laetitia, antes y después. Revista Religión.

Rahner, K. (1963). Lo dinámico en la Iglesia. Barcelona: Herder.

Rawls, J. (1977). A Theory of Justice. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press.

Rojas, H. (2019). Exhortación apostólica Christus vivit: Toda vida cristiana es vocación. Mensaje, 679.

Ruíz Jurado, M. (2002). El discernimiento espiritual: teología, historia, práctica. Madrid: BAC.

Ubieta, J. A. (1967). Biblia de Jerusalén. Bruxelles: Desclée de Brouwer.

Article Details

Author Biography

Tony Mifsud, Universidad Católica del Norte, Antofagasta

Doctor en Teología Moral por la Universidad Pontificia de Comillas, España. Profesor del departamento de Teología, Universidad Católica del Norte, Antofagasta, Chile.