Andy Otto recognizes the body’s role in prayer and discernment. In his article, “The Body Knows: Ignatian Discernment and Felt Sense,” Otto writes:
Ignatius didn’t set out to develop a theology of embodiment. He was just paying attention to what his body was already doing. And out of that attentiveness came one of the richest traditions of spiritual discernment in Christian history.
That same bodily attentiveness is something for us to recover. The ability to pause long enough to notice what the body is registering: where something settles, where something resists, where the direction of greater life can be felt before it can be named. This is grace, which is to say, gift.
Take a few moments today to consider what your body might be telling you. Notice pains, tensions, and reliefs, and speak to God about what you discover.
How has your body helped you in your discernment?
