On Discernment: A Reflection on Abba Joseph of Panephysis 8

I once heard an old priest say that people are wrong to think that sin is titillating, exciting, and creative: There are so few ways to sin that it’s boring, but there are infinite ways to be holy, so that’s where the real excitement, creativity and wonder lie. It’s something I’ve thought about often over the years, and the more I think about it, the truer I realize it is. Not just in terms of the banality of sin, but even more about the openness of holiness and faithfulness. And because this is true, it means that when we’re trying to discern between two paths in the life of faith, it’s rarely a case one being the correct path, or ‘God’s will’, and one being the wrong path. Often, two paths might be equally right as far as God is concerned; yet we still need to make a call and choose one. And that’s rarely easy. Today I’d like to look at a Saying from Abba Joseph of Panephysis that touches on this issue of discerning between two good paths.

A brother asked Abba Joseph this: ‘I want to leave the monastery and live as a hermit.’ The elder said to him, ‘Wherever you see your soul at peace and unhindered, stay there.’ The brother said to him, ‘But I am at peace both in the monastery and in the solitary life; what then do you want me to do?’ The elder replied, If you are at peace both in the monastery and in the solitary life, put these two thoughts as though in a balance and wherever you see your thoughts will profit most and make progress, that is what you should do.’ (Abba Joseph of Panephysis 8)

The monk who came to Abba Joseph for advice was debating between two vocational paths: he could continue to live in monastic community, or he could go off on his own and lived as a hermit. Abba Joseph’s answer comes in the form of two questions, which I think are helpful for all of us in our own discernment processes.

The first question can be read in a few different ways. It could mean that we should pick the option that feels the most right in our heart and most enables, rather than inhibits, the life that suits us the best. This is a ‘keep it simple stupid,’ approach to discernment. If it feels right in our deepest heart, it’s probably the right call. If it opens up the opportunities we need in order to fulfill our vocation, it’s probably the right call. But, since in the context of monastic vocation, peace of soul was one of the primary goals to be pursued, we could also give this a more practical interpretation: Pick whichever option is the most effective for you. Finally, we could interpret this assuming that spiritual peace is the goal of all legitimate spiritual practice; in this case, the question is basically which is the path that provides the least distraction and greater opportunity to cultivate inner peace. Thankfully, for most of us, all of these interpretations will largely lead us to the same place. It’s really about asking which option is the best fit for us.

But if, like this monk, we’re very easy-going and can see both options before us fitting easily, the second question asks us to weigh them as in a balance to see which will be the most profitable and help us make the most progress. Of course, we need to remember that in the spiritual life, profitable is not about making money, but about bearing good fruit. And progress is about making us more like Christ.

What I find interesting is that Abba Joseph only asks the second question after the first one fails in helping make the call. I think this is a helpful hint that more often than not, in matters of vocation, we can trust our hearts to know what’s best for us. If we find the place where we fit, the good fruit will follow.