Mother Angelica, foundress of EWTN (The Eternal Word Television Network) has a three-question test to determine God’s will. Everyday life presents us with major decisions: Should I marry this person? Should I take that job? Should I make this large purchase? Mother’s three question test can help us to evaluate our decisions and see how they measure up to God’s highest good for us. Her three-question test is as follows:
1. Is this for the greater honor and glory of God?
2. Is this for the benefit of my family/my loved ones?
3. Will this serve to make me more holy?
If the answer to any of the above is “No,” then one has the answer to: “Is this the will of God for my life?”
Discerning Principles
If one still seeks more by way of aiding the mind and heart in discernment, a priest on EWTN has provided six general principles to further assist us. Reading these principles, one finds that they expound upon Mother’s above mentioned questions. The six general principles aiding us further in discovering God’s will are:
1. Is the idea in accord with Sacred Scripture/ Sacred Tradition?
2. Does it involve an element of faith? Does it strengthen faith?
3. The idea comes to you while praying.
4. The idea fosters your interior and exterior charity towards others while fostering hope within you.
5. The idea is often repeated again and again within your intellect while at the same time it is in accord with both human reason and faith, and it brings you great peace.
6. The idea grows stronger within you over time.
Again, if one answers no to any of the above, then one has gained significant guidance regarding whether a decision properly corresponds to the will of God. Of course, talking about major life decisions with one’s confessor can help, too, in discerning and in understanding God’s will. Voicing the dilemma to one’s confessor also can serve to validate what one’s own heart and conscience have already been dictating to a soul.
Scriptural and Catechetical Instruction
The Catechism of the Catholic Church affirms that as baptized persons we have the duty to seek “to find and to fulfill God’s will in everything” [1] (CCC, 2520), and Christ says, “Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother” (Mk 3:35). Moreover, the Catechism states one “can also enter deliberately into the divine plan by their actions, their prayers, and their sufferings,” thus becoming “ ‘God’s fellow workers’ and co-workers for his kingdom”[2] (CCC, 307). This means that any sufferings that come about from one’s decision to follow God’s will can be powerfully offered up in prayer, uniting one to Christ in God’s plan of salvation.
Lastly, the desire for God is written within the human heart by God and is the means by which He draws all men/women to Himself. The more conformed we are to His will, the more we approach the very truth and happiness He is calling us to in this life and for eternity[3] (CCC, 27).
[1] Catholic Church. (1997). Catechism of the Catholic Church (2nd Ed., p. 603). Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana.
[2] Catholic Church. (1997). Catechism of the Catholic Church (2nd Ed., p. 81). Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana.
[3] Catholic Church. (1997). Catechism of the Catholic Church (2nd Ed., p. 13). Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana.
