Discernment does not reach maturity through reflection alone. While prayer, counsel, and interior clarity are essential, God’s will is ultimately confirmed through lived experience. Formation therefore teaches the necessity of “going out and trying.” This step requires courage, humility, and trust, for it places discernment into the concrete realities where God’s guidance becomes unmistakably clear.
Trying the path does not mean rushing into commitment. It means taking honest, appropriate steps that allow a vocation to be tested in reality. Discernment that remains purely theoretical risks becoming stagnant, while discernment that is lived becomes clearer, freer, and more grounded.
Courage to Act Without Absolute Certainty
Formation teaches that God rarely grants absolute certainty before action. Instead, He invites the discerner to move forward with reasonable clarity and trust. Waiting for perfect assurance often leads to paralysis rather than prudence.
Courage in discernment is not recklessness; it is obedience to what is presently known. When a man acts sincerely, prayerfully, and under guidance, even imperfect decisions are gathered into God’s providence. Formation encourages the discerner to take the next right step, trusting that God will correct the path if necessary.
Testing Desire Through Experience
Trying the path allows desire to be tested honestly. A desire that appears compelling in imagination may weaken when confronted with daily reality, while another may deepen and mature. Formation teaches that this testing is not a threat to discernment, but a safeguard against illusion.
In discerning marriage, this testing takes the form of courtship. In discerning a profession or occupation, it involves entering the work itself. In discerning religious life, it requires speaking with superiors, visiting the community, and participating in its rhythm of prayer and fraternity. Only through experience can desire be confirmed or purified.
Mutual Discernment
Discernment is never a solitary process. Formation emphasizes that vocation is always discerned mutually. Just as an individual discerns whether a vocation suits him, the Church, the community, or another person discerns whether the individual is suited to that path.
In religious life, this mutual discernment is especially important. A community must prayerfully determine whether a man possesses the freedom, stability, and disposition required for its way of life. When all parties are in agreement, discernment reaches a moment of confirmation. When agreement is lacking, the discerner is invited to receive this as guidance rather than rejection.
Signal Graces in Lived Experience
It is often through lived experience that signal graces become most evident. Formation teaches that these graces appear not as dramatic signs, but as steady confirmations: a growing peace, a sense of belonging, and the perception that events are unfolding with coherence and meaning.
These confirmations should be interpreted with care. Formation cautions against mistaking emotional excitement for divine affirmation. True signal graces endure over time and remain present even when enthusiasm fades or challenges arise.
Accepting Affirmation and Denial
Trying the path inevitably leads to moments of affirmation or denial. Formation teaches that both outcomes are gifts. A clear “yes” brings responsibility and commitment; a clear “no” brings freedom and redirection. Neither should be received with pride or despair.
Denial, when received humbly, often prevents deeper suffering and opens the soul to a more fitting vocation. Formation emphasizes that God’s will is not proven by persistence alone, but by obedience to truth as it unfolds.
Growth Through Risk and Trust
Trying the path requires vulnerability. The discerner risks disappointment, misunderstanding, or failure. Formation teaches that these risks are part of growth. God forms the heart not only through success, but through surrender and trust.
By stepping forward honestly, the discerner learns to rely less on self-protection and more on God’s guidance. This reliance fosters freedom and prepares the soul for lifelong fidelity, whatever the vocation may be.
Confirmation Through Peace and Stability
Confirmation of a vocation does not usually come as a single moment, but as a growing stability. Formation teaches that when a path is truly from God, peace deepens, freedom increases, and the soul becomes more rooted rather than restless.
This peace does not remove difficulty, but it anchors the heart. Over time, the discerner recognizes that choosing this path leads him closer to God and enables him to live more fully in charity.
Discernment as a Step Toward Holiness
Ultimately, discernment is not about choosing the most impressive or secure path, but the one that leads most surely to holiness. Formation reminds the discerner that vocation serves sanctification, not the other way around.
By courageously trying the path placed before him, the discerner cooperates with God’s grace. Whether the outcome is confirmation or redirection, discernment lived faithfully always bears fruit, forming a heart capable of trust, obedience, and love.
Trying the Path as an Act of Obedience
Formation also teaches that trying the path is an act of obedience rather than self-assertion. By stepping forward within the guidance of the Church, a man entrusts his discernment to God rather than insisting upon his own clarity. This obedience protects the discerner from isolation and grounds his actions in communion.
When a path is pursued with obedience and openness, even missteps are received by God and used for growth. Formation emphasizes that God does not abandon the sincere discerner; He guides, corrects, and confirms through obedience lived in trust.