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Discernment of Spirits: Acquiring the Heart of God
• God is speaking to us at every moment of every day—even in times of darkness and
doubt.
• We have been made for intimate union with Him, and this relationship is conveyed in and
through our human experiences, the affective movements of our hearts, and is always
congruent with the truth revealed by God’s Word (Scripture and Tradition), as taught by
the Church’s Magisterium (2 Peter 1:20-21).
Possible cases for discernment:
• An elderly person who is facing chronic illness is beset by discouragement.
• A man has returned home from a great retreat experience and is facing some doubts about
his relationship with God.
• A married couple facing a rift in their relationship and not knowing where it comes from
or what to do about it.
Discernment concerning movements at the spiritual, rather than surface or emotional, level.
St. Ignatius of Loyola
• Rules for Discernment of spirits (The first 14 rules)
1. Be Aware
2. Understand
3. Take Action (accept/reject)
DAILY EXAMINATION OF CONSCIENCE (Examen)
Try to do this at the same time every day- whatever time is best for you. This takes only ten
or fifteen minutes. St. Ignatius considered this to be one, if not the, most important spiritual
exercise we can do.
1. Relax in the presence of God; become aware of God’s loving presence in and around
you.
2. Think about the previous 24 hours and give thanks to God for the blessings and grace
you received, e.g. lovely weather, a child’s smile, handling a difficult situation well.
3. Ask for the grace to see things clearly and honestly, to see reality as Jesus sees it.
4. Reflect prayerfully over your day and note where you accepted God’s invitation to
love and where you rejected that invitation. Examine your actions, your thoughts,
your words, your interactions with others. Pay close attention to the times where you
had a strong reaction to something/ someone, either good or bad.
5. Praise God for the times you accepted his invitation to love and ask forgiveness of the
times you rejected that invitation.
6. Spend a few minutes thinking about your concerns and struggles and resolve to
approach them differently during the following time period, not only your sins but
also your openness to God. Tell God you need his help.
Close the Examen with the Lord’s Prayer or any prayer of your choosing.
Two Contrary Movements
•
In his first two rules, Ignatius distinguishes two different directions in life, and the
contrary ways the good and bad spirits interact with us.
• First: going from mortal sin to mortal sin.
– Enemy seeks to propose apparent pleasures and encouragement, usually
through the imagination.
– Good spirit seeks to sting and bite their consciences using rational power and
moral judgment.
•
Second: In persons who are intensely purifying their sins, going from good to better:
– The evil spirit will bite, sadden, and place obstacles, disquieting with false
reasons.
– The good spirit will give courage and strength, consolations, tears,
inspirations and quiet.
Spiritual Consolation:
• On the third level of the heart, beyond the surface and psychological.
• Spiritual Consolation: becoming inflamed with love for our Creator and Lord, tears
of repentance, moved towards transformation, prayer is easy and delightful.
• Not something we can cause, but only something to be received with joy.
Spiritual Desolation:
• Darkness of soul, movement to low and earthly things, lack of confidence, without
hope, without love, finding oneself totally slothful, tepid, sad, and as if separated
from one’s Creator and Lord.
• The thoughts that come from this are contrary to the thoughts that come from
consolation.
In time of spiritual desolation…
• Never make a change to the resolutions born of spiritual consolation. (rule 5)
• …It is very advantageous to change ourselves intensely against the desolation itself,
as by insisting on more prayer, meditation, or suitable penance. (rule 6)
• …consider how the Lord has left you in SD, and how with His help you will come
out of it. (rule 7)
Plans of attack:
• When you are in Spiritual Consolation, to take strength and plan how you will act in
time of Spiritual Desolation.
• Spiritual Consolation: have a humble heart.
• Spiritual Desolation: have a trusting heart.
The enemy of human nature is like…
• …A licentious lover, who wants his evil advances to be kept in the dark and secret.
– He wants us to keep his temptations, thoughts, and movements to ourselves,
to not share them with a good confessor or spiritual director.
– The enemy of human nature thrives in darkness.
• …a captain and chief of an enemy army, pitching his camp, and looking at the forces
or defenses of a stronghold, attacks it on the weakest side.
– Helms Deep, The Two Towers, by JRR Tolkien
Strengthening the weak areas
• Opening to Grace.
• Pinpointing weak areas:
– Areas of trauma or sin
– Places where there is a lack of freedom
• Allowing the Truth of who we are to be spoken and believed.
• The Grace of the Sacraments.
For further reference:
www.discerninghearts.com --great resources, both audio and written.
Fr. Timothy Gallagher, The Discernment of Spirits
Fr. Marko Rupnik, Discernment: Acquiring the Heart of God