Not my will but yours be done, O Lord

Discernment: Step 2 of the Ignatian method of discernment is  to be totally open to what God wants, setting aside that toward which one is  personally inclined.  St. Ignatius is suggesting that the petitioner be totally indifferent, totally detached from the answer God gives when saying to the Lord: Lord, which state in life do you want of me?  Are you calling me to be married? To remain single? Or to enter religious life?  He asks that we neither desire one vocation over another but that we desire only  that which God desires of us  and to pray in that vein.  In other words, if open, our prayer might go something like this: Lord, show me what you want of me? Reveal your will to me.  In the words of Jesus spoken in the Garden: "Not my will but yours be done, O Lord." Or the words of Mary at the Annunciation:  "Behold the handmaid of the Lord. Be it done to me according to your will." 

Source: Discernment of Spirits by Warren Sazama, SJ, National Religious Vocation Conference, Chicago, IL 60615.

Vocational discernment according to the Ignatian method

Step I of the Ignatian method of discernment is to think of the end for which we have been created:  1) to praise and glorify God and 2) to work out our salvation.  We have been placed on this earth to make choices both in terms of becoming the persons God meant us to become and choosing that state in life in which, over time, we will become our best selves, giving highest praise to God our Creator and working out the details of our salvation, a gift given to us at a great price: the death of His Son Jesus Christ.  Where best and how best can we achieve these goals and come to know Jesus personally and develop a deep friendship with Jesus, our Savior, both of which are necessary if we are to reach our end: glorifying God and achieving our salvation, that is, accepting the gift of salvation and all that is necessary to realize this gift, our complete transformation into Christ Jesus, a life-long task.

Source: Discernment of Spirits by Warren Sazama, SJ, National Religious Vocation Conference, Chicago, IL 60615.