Q) I made the decision to go on a trip with friends during this pandemic. We were planning on being safe, of course, and I came across the words “don’t cancel the trip” randomly in a book I was reading. But now I feel uneasy and I wonder if the Holy Spirit is trying to tell me something, or if it’s just me overthinking or even the bad spirit trying to confuse me and raise doubts.

A) Thank you for writing and for your question. Right off the bat, I would like to share something I was taught many years ago. This line has stuck with me, and I have returned to it multiple times every single day of my life. It is this: “A disciple is a decision-maker.”

And this is what you and I are called to be: disciples who make decisions.

One of the things that the rest of your letter indicated was the number of “signs” that seemed to indicate that you should go: a thought that occurred to you while in prayer, another person telling you that you should go on the trip, and a couple of others. You also indicated that there were some “signs” that seemed to indicate that you shouldn’t go: an uneasy feeling and your tendency to overthink and over-analyze your decisions. This should be addressed first.

First, the positive. We do believe that the Lord continues to speak to us. God is active in our lives and he definitely does communicate with his people. He hears our prayers and can answer them in any number of ways. In addition, it is true that God can speak through signs, through dreams, through other people, and through our desires. And sometimes he does.

We need to affirm those points.

And yet, we also need to affirm that God always speaks in clarity. What I mean by that is that, if God has a definite will for you at a given moment, he will make it absolutely clear to you what his will is. This doesn’t mean that he will always speak in an audible voice (I’ve not yet experienced that particular blessing, but I know many people who have), but it does mean that you will know his voice and what it is that he is saying. When a decision falls under the perfect will of God, he gives you all that you need to know that will and choose it. That is one of God’s many gifts of grace: his speaking in clarity and giving the strength to do his will.

The ordinary way in which God communicates this knowledge and strength is through the Church. He has revealed his heart and character, his will and commands, through sacred Scripture and sacred tradition. He also gives us his grace through the sacraments. We don’t know everything, but we know enough to be able to choose his will.

But while God’s perfect will is real, and we always want to be attuned to doing it, there are many decisions that fall under the permissive will of God, situations in which God does not necessarily will “this not that,” but instead, permissively, wills “this or that (or that or that or that).” We often have multiple options that could all fall under the category of God’s permissive will. God gives us an overwhelming amount of freedom. He gives us a choice.

In fact, exercising this freedom honors him. God has created us with an intellect and a will. The perfection of these gifts lies in knowing God and choosing his will above all things. But the normal exercise of these gifts is another way that we honor him. By gathering input and counsel, by weighing our options and consequences, and by freely choosing as best we can, we are using the gifts that God has given us.

There is no “perfect” choice. At least not in the sense that most of us use it. Many of us are tempted to desire the perfect choice in order to spare ourselves. We think, “If I just make the perfect choice with regard to career/college/spouse/etc., then I will be happy.” But the “perfect” choice (in that sense) does not give us a life free of pain and suffering. In this world, “perfect” simply means “in line with God’s will.”

I could be mistaken, but it seems like you are looking for signs rather than using your intellect to examine the data, assessing what needs to be assessed and then making your own decision. Sometimes we do this because we want some sort of certainty or guarantee that everything will be OK. What this will come down to is noting that you may want certainty more than anything else, but this world is not certain. I invite you to become more and more comfortable with being uncomfortable.

Because this world is dangerous. To make a decision like this is dangerous. To not make a decision like this is dangerous.

Since God has not spoken about the evil or good of traveling when there is a virus, we simply do our best to make an informed and wise decision. And then we take responsibility for any consequence that follows our decision.

Of course, keep praying and asking the Lord to enlighten you, but he doesn’t need to give “signs.” He has already given you his Church and a brain. A disciple is a decision-maker.

Father Michael Schmitz is director of youth and young adult ministry for the Diocese of Duluth and chaplain of the Newman Center at the University of Minnesota Duluth.