Happy St. Candida’s Day! We have reached the end of the catechesis on discernment. We have walked through them together with Mother Candida and tried to listen to what the Spirit is whispering in our hearts today.
That, as Graciela invited us at the inauguration of the Santa Candida exhibition space, this celebration leads our inner gaze to the present and to what we wish to work on with hope, that awakens more than our admiration and gratitude, the question of what can take us, beyond ourselvesto improve our world; that illuminate the searches that each one of us is making in our own time; that we discover some proven” keys to face the present and even the future; that we put in connection with a vital confidence capable of making us “saints”, men and women of God, open to the needs of those who are near or farther away.
Here is the last catechesis on spiritual accompaniment. Remember that it is very easy to deceive us if we go alone. St. Candida always sought with whom to contrast what she lived, what she prayed, what she felt and the decisions she made. Who accompanies you in this adventure of following Jesus and building the Kingdom?
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Summary of the catechesis
Today we conclude the cycle dedicated to discernment, and we do so by talking about spiritual accompaniment. Letting ourselves be accompanied, that is, confronting our life with another person who has experience in this area, being open -both the one accompanied and the one accompanying- to the action of the Holy Spirit, is of great help in getting to know ourselves and thus being able to unmask deceptions, confusions or doubts that impede our following of the Lord.
The person who accompanies does not replace God, but walks alongside the person accompanied and encourages him/her to read what is moving in his/her heart, which is the privileged place where the Lord speaks. The model par excellence in the art of discernment and accompaniment is the Virgin Mary. She talks little, listens a lot and meditates on her heart. She does so with humility, without considering herself an expert or self-sufficient. Mary, disciple and missionary, teaches us not to be afraid, to praise God in every circumstance of our lives and to “do whatever he tells us” (cf. Jn 2:5).
