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BEHOLD, THE GIFT OF TIME
IN THE GOSPEL OF LUKE the angels proclaimed to shepherds the good news of the savior’s birth. These same shepherds then went to Bethlehem in search of the Holy Family to make "known the message that had been told to them” by God’s heralds. Mary heard these accounts and, according to Luke “kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart.”
Mary was entering the process of discernment—the pondering, weighing, measuring, and observing that is essential to forming opinions, deepening faith, and making wise choices.
Five years ago we launched the “Discernment Matters” column in the VISION E-Vocation newsletter. Our goal was to help conserve and promote the art of discernment during a time of political, religious, and social tumult. With award-winning writer Alice Camille as our featured columnist, we have tried to showcase not only how to discern, but why to discern. We hope you, our readers, have benefited from our insights and unlocked for yourselves the treasure that this ancient Christian practice offers—namely the gift of time.
Discernment gives us permission to slow down—something we moderns are not very good at—and avoid overreacting and making snap judgments. It encourages us to mine the riches of our faith and seek sage counsel from inside and outside of our inner circles.
As our gift to you, the editors of VISION Vocation Network have done a little discerning of our own and sifted through five years of columns to find a special gem from each year for your review now.
—Christmas blessings, The VISION Vocation Network editors
• Conversation starter (January 2017)
• Take the lead (September 2018)
• Lessons from the Trinity (March 2019)
• Ponder your distractions (December 2020)
• Defining hope (January 2021)
Read all of Alice Camille’s “Discernment Matters” in our online archive of past E-Vocation newsletters.
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