By Bishop James Conley
St. Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Society of Jesus, wrote a great spiritual work entitled Spiritual Exercises. In the Spiritual Exercises, he gave 14 rules for the discernment of spirits. For St. Ignatius, the goal of the discernment of spirits was the identification of the spiritual realities happening within the soul.
Ignatius knew from personal experience that there are many stirrings within the human heart: joy and sorrow; hope and despair; fear and anxiety. By examining these stirrings through discernment, we can identify those that are of God and those that are not. Thus, the Christian knows what movements in the heart should be accepted and what should be rejected.
Those who discover the discernment of spirits in their spiritual lives are greatly rewarded. Ignatius essentially gives names to the spiritual things that are going on within us, and that is liberating.
Among these spiritual realities that he identifies are spiritual consolation and desolation. He describes consolation as happening “when some interior movement is caused in the soul, through which the soul comes to be inflamed with love of its creator and Lord....”
The Lord gives us spiritual consolation so that we know that he is for us, that he loves us, and that he wants us to know his presence in our lives.
Ignatius describes desolation as the contrary to consolation: “darkness of soul, disturbance in it, movement to low and earthly things, disquiet from various agitations and temptations, moving to lack of confidence, without hope, without love, finding oneself totally slothful, tepid, sad, and as if separated from one’s Creator and Lord.”
In this state, the soul is disquieted. Those in spiritual desolation will likely find it difficult to pray and conduct their spiritual exercises. While God grants spiritual consolation, he permits spiritual desolation. He allows it so that we might seek him out in fidelity and constancy.
The fifth rule in Ignatius’ discernment of spirits is a crucial one in our overall spiritual health, and is worth our reflection. He states: “in time of desolation never make a change, but be firm and constant in the proposals and determination in which one was in preceding such desolation....”
This rule is good, practical advice, advice that we might give a friend. Whenever someone is unsettled, we would advise not to make a major life decision. We know the danger of making choices while angry, sad, or feeling apart from God.
Perhaps the Lord allows us to suffer spiritual desolation so that we will continue turning to the source of all of our blessings, that is, God himself. Even in desolation, our hearts can hope and trust in him.
This fifth rule of constancy and fidelity in prayer and devotion to the Lord, even if we are desolate, is also good advice for all of us at this time of frustration and uncertainty as we continue to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic.
The entire world is waiting for a COVID-19 vaccine to end the pandemic. Recent news reports have given us some hope that a vaccine might be available soon, but it is not here yet.
We long to get back to our normal way of life. We need to have real, in-person conversations instead of those mediated through video conferencing. We need to stop living in fear. We need the strife and tension that has arisen between people due to this pandemic to end.
When we really engage and practice Ignatius’ discernment of spirits, the Lord blesses us with a greater trust in him, as we learn to abandon ourselves to his divine providence. We learn to seek serenity and peace even amidst the external problems of the world or internal desolation within us.
We cannot personally stop the pandemic. We can’t always even control the stirrings within our own individual hearts. We can, however, live in the providential moment. We can turn to the Lord right now.
Right now, the Lord gives us the liturgical season of Advent. As we hear the prophecies of the Old Testament prophets at Mass, we take on their attitude of expectation as they awaited the coming of the Messiah. We, in a sense, place ourselves in the shoes of the ancient Israelites, our ancestors in the faith.
Consider how their entire lives were oriented towards this long-expected Messiah. Their very identity as a people was one of expectation and hope.
I encourage Catholics to discover St. Ignatius’ discernment of spirits as a great treasure for their spiritual lives. Everyone has these stirrings within the human heart: joy and sorrow; hope and despair; fear and anxiety, but not everyone knows what to do with them. Ignatius helps us to recognize their meaning and put our trust and hope in the living God.
