May 6, 2026 // Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Easter
Read the Word // Open your Bible to today’s Gospel: John 15:1-8
Reflect on the Word //
I pulled the dog-eared book off the shelf in preparation for an interview for my new podcast. Father Dave Pivonka, TOR, the President of Franciscan University of Steubenville, was going to walk me and future listeners through the “tests” for decision-making laid out by the late Father Michael Scanlan, TOR, in What Does God Want? As I flipped through the creased pages, I realized how much the book had shaped my ability to know and follow God’s will.
In the introduction, Father Scanlan reassures readers that the questions he posits for discernment need not be considered in any particular order.
Except for one.
There is one vital question that we need to ask before even beginning to consider any action: Is the decision I am considering in line with Church teaching?
This is what Father Scanlan calls the “conformity test.” And if the answer is no—if the opportunity or idea or proposed action violates what God has already revealed through Scripture and through the teaching of the Catholic Church, entrusted with its interpretation and application—then we must not take the matter any further.
In the Gospel for today, Jesus explains this concept using the image of a vine: “Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me” (John 15:4). Apart from the Church, separated from its wisdom and life-giving sacramental grace, we cannot expect to flourish, to bear fruit.
God loves us, sweet sister, and He has provided guardrails—trellises—for our flowering. When we stay faithful to what He’s already revealed, our decisions will become easier and far more fulfilling and fruitful.
We may not always understand completely or find it easy to follow God’s revealed will in Scripture or the teaching authority of the Church, but we should find it freeing that there are solid, Spirit-given foundations on which we can and must make our decisions. If we want to follow His will, we’ll never find it apart from the place He promised He’d remain forever: His Church.
Relate to the Lord // Is there a decision that needs to be made in your life? Consider this question in prayer: Is the decision I am considering in line with Church teaching?
Claire Dwyer writes with the desire that all women see the sacredness of their stories in light of Salvation History. Speaker, Retreat Leader, Author of This Present Paradise, senior copywriter and content editor for Avila Foundation / Spiritualdirection.com, and co-founder of the PraiseWriters community, she knows firsthand the power of words to set a fire on the earth. She lives in Phoenix with her family. Find out more about her here.
Get Your Planner 📒
Be a Woman of the Word
Walk with Jesus
