Using Feelings as Part of Discernment
by Fr. David M. Knight
July 20, 2024
Fifteenth Week of Ordinary Time
Saint Apollinaris, Bishop and Martyr; BVM
Lectionary 394
Mi 2:1-5/Mt 12:14-21
Micah’s prophecy has three parts:
I: Micah 1:1 to 3:12: The impending judgment of the Lord and its causes, Israel's sins. Censure of Judah's leaders for betrayal of their responsibility.
II: Micah 4:1 to 5:14: The glory of the restored Zion. A prince of David's house will rule over a reunited Israel. (St. Matthew's Nativity narrative points to Christ's birth in Bethlehem as the fulfillment of this prophecy.) A remnant shall survive the chastisement of Judah, and her adversaries shall be destroyed.
III: Micah 6:1 to 7:20: The case against Israel, in which the Lord is portrayed as the plaintiff who has maintained fidelity to the covenant. The somber picture closes with a prayer for national restoration and a beautiful expression of trust in God's pardoning mercy. Note that each of these three divisions begins with reproach and the threat of punishment, and ends on a note of hope and promise. (Adapted from “Introduction,” New American Bible Revised Edition.)
Micah 2:1-5 points out something that should be obvious and raises a question that should also be obvious. But we may not be sufficiently conscious of either.
We should see the obvious causal relationship between “plan” and “work out-accomplish”; and between “covet” and “seize-cheat.” When we let our thoughts dwell on something, and our desires be drawn unchecked, we are probably going to end up doing what we think about and wish for. It is a principle of discernment that we need to keep monitoring our feelings:
If I want to make a good decision... I have to mature in dealing with all the forces that are inside me. ... I have to be, as much as possible, in contact with my emotions... to know what is moving me. But, on the other hand, I have to be able to distance myself from those emotions.... Affective maturity is the ability to feel and to live in a certain sense with my own emotions, but at the same time, it is the capacity to control or to renounce the desires of these emotions. (See See Franz Meures, S.J, “The Affective Dimension of Discerning and Deciding,” Review of Ignatian Spirituality XXXIX, 1/2008, sjweb.info/documents.)
The obvious question is: “Why did God’s people keep turning away from him?” Just as obvious: “Why do we?”
In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus “withdraws” (he never “flees”), in response to conflict and opposition. In Matthew 12:14-21 he does it when the “Pharisees began to plot” against him. (See Matthew 4:12; 12:15; 14:13; 15:21.) Jesus will talk to anyone who is sincere. “He will not break a bruised reed or quench a smoldering wick.” But he won’t get into shouting matches. “He will not wrangle or cry aloud, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets.” If we really don’t want him or his message, he may just “withdraw” from us and leave us alone. Nothing could be worse. So, we need to keep checking our desires: deep down, are we for him or not? What about our openness to his values on particular issues that touch us? Is his silence about them ominous?
Initiative: Take your feelings seriously. Which way do they incline you?
Reflections brought to you by the Immersed in Christ Ministry
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