Recalling what Mother Teresa once wrote, “My secret is very simple: I pray. Through prayer, I become one in love with Christ. I realize that praying to Him is loving Him.” Today, reflecting on Mother Teresa’s words, Deacon David reminds us - to pray to God is to love God. It is in our prayer, in our discernment, in our love of God where we will learn what God indeed wants for and from us. Deacon David encourages us to begin or renew our discernment journey by asking where might we begin? How do we stay committed? And how might we build a daily habit of prayer making it the center of our lives and grow in our relationship, our friendship, with God?

St. Teresa of Avila once shared a vision in which she heard God say to her, “If you wish to find Me… seek Me within yourself.” Today, Deacon David reflects on those words in light of Pope Leo’s recent insights on discernment and the hidden pathways of the heart. In a world filled with noise and constant distraction, finding quiet moments can be difficult. Yet, Deacon David encourages us to return more often to our inner stillness—the quiet center within—where God is waiting to be found.

In Christian discernment we turn to scripture and the Church’s teachings and look to how people in both the Old Testament and the New Testament turned to God, relinquished their fears, discerned God’s will, and lived to serve Him.

Next, we look to these people as examples for our own lives, losing any fear we may have in discerning God’s will, and next go out and live the lives God desires us to live.