Tubrocharge Spiritual Growth with the Virtue of Supernatural Prudence

Supernatural Prudence: Discerning God’s Will

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While natural prudence is focused on attaining authentic good so that we can live the truly good life that God has planned for us, supernatural prudence is focused on knowing the good of God Himself. Natural virtue is aided by grace, but supernatural virtue is complete cooperation with grace.

There is a strong connection between the supernatural virtue of prudence and four of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. The Gifts of the Holy Spirit that enter into our intellect so that you can know God more intimately are

Knowledge: The Gift by which the Holy Spirit helps us to know how to best use created goods to best increase our relationship with God.
Understanding: The Gift by which the Holy Spirit gives us deeper insight into spiritual truths.
Wisdom: The Gift by which the Holy Spirit helps us to see the world through God’s eyes.
Counsel: The Gift by which the Holy Spirit aides our decisions of conscience and our conscience formation.

These gifts increase our prudence through the power of grace. As we cooperate with grace and exercise the virtue of supernatural prudence, we become better at discerning God’s will. Sometimes we are able to discern God’s will ahead of time – knowing what choices He wants us to make. But most of the time we see God’s will in hindsight. We pray about our choices, then do the best we can with what we know, and we trust that God’s will is done. Then we look back and see how all the pieces fit together better than we could have planned them.

Discerning God’s Will With Supernatural Prudence

The most important discernment we make in our life is our vocation. Our vocation is our particular “school of love.” It’s the arena in which God calls us to learn to love with complete selfless abandon. Eventually, we are called to love everyone this way. But first, we need to learn how. So God calls us each to a specific school of love that fits us best. This is one time that we really need to work hard to discern where God is calling us.

But even after we have followed our vocation we have to continue to discern how God is calling us to love more completely within our vocation. Spouses need to be sensitive to opportunities to sacrifice for each other, to make changes for each other’s sake, and to love each other more completely. God will shape your heart if you listen to His promptings.

Finally, some people are given the special charism of spiritual discernment. Some – like Padre Pio – are able to read hearts. Others – like St. John Vianney – are sensitive to spirits. These are special forms of the supernatural virtue of prudence that is given to a few disciples for the service of the entire Church.

Supernatural prudence is a vital virtue to develop. Paired with the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, it leads us to greater intimacy with God. So pray for this great gift of grace and exercise it by learning and thinking about God and seeking Him in prayer. If you’d like help building this and other spiritual virtues that make up the lay rule of life, I invite you to check out the special opportunity below to get more involved with From the Abbey. We’re dedicated to helping you learn and live your faith within your daily lay life.

Brought to you by Jeffrey S. Arrowood at From the Abbey, dedicated to helping you rediscover the JOY of learning and living your faith so you can grow in intimacy with God.

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Posted in Human Virtue, Moral Life in Christ and tagged Catholic Spirituality, Discernment, intimacy with god, prudence, Spiritual Gifts, Supernatural, supernatural prudence, supernatural virtues, virtue, virtues

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Gifts of the Holy Spirit Empower Our Adventure: Gift of Counsel on October 8, 2014 at 5:48 pm

[…] Tubrocharge Spiritual Growth with the Virtue of Supernatural Prudence While natural prudence is focused on attaining authentic good so that we can live the truly good life that God has planned for us, supernatural prudence is focused on knowing the good of God himself. Natural virtue is aided by grace, but supernatural virtue is complete cooperation with grace. […]

Discerning God’s Will With Supernatural Prudence

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