Memorial of St. Ignatius of Loyola, Priest
Today we celebrate the Memorial of the great founder of the Jesuits, St. Ignatius of Loyola. There are many reasons why I appreciate Ignatius’ spirituality and contributions to the Church, but most of all because of his insights regarding his Rules for the Discernment of Spirits as part of his Spiritual Exercises. The “rules” deal with ways to interpret the states of consolation (joy, peace, gratitude) and desolation (depression, anxiety, fear, doubt) that people typically experience in the course of cultivating a spiritual life. St. Ignatius of Loyola proposes “rules” of discernment which help us understand: 1) How the spiritual life works 2) How the Holy Spirit operates vs. the devil 3) What spiritual consolation looks like vs. desolation 4) How to fight temptation and become free from spiritual oppression.
If we reflect on our spiritual experiences, we can usually identify times when we are struggle with the false spirit, or the “inner pull” away from God’s plan and away from faith, hope, and love. The false spirit is also referred to as “the evil spirit” or “the enemy of our human nature.” In contrast, we also know when we are guided by the true spirit, or he “inner pull” toward God’s plan and toward faith, hope, and love (which is also referred to as “the good spirit”).
The purpose of the Rules is for becoming aware and understanding to some extent the different movements which are caused in the soul, the good, to receive them, and the bad to reject them. The key question in interpreting consolation and desolation is: Where is the movement coming from and where is it leading me?
In the Gospel, Jesus describes that “the Kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field,
which a person finds and hides again, and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” In light of St. Ignatius’ insights to the spiritual life, it’s worth reflecting on what gives us that deep, unshakable, and lasting joy? There are many things in this world that are very attractive and exciting at first, but that joy quickly fades. It is only in God that we find our joy and happiness, for the Kingdom is worth the sacrifice, for it is only in God that our hearts find true peace. We can listen to St. Ignatius’ advice in a letter to someone seeking his spiritual counsel: “There are very few persons who realize what God would make of them if they abandoned themselves entirely into His hands and let themselves be formed by His grace.”
Reflection by Fr. Paul Sheller, OSB
Posted in Articles for Ordinary Time, Daily Reflections