Day 81. The Call: Four Ways of Listening
The Spirit’s power is infinitely, exquisitely delicate, such as no created person could possibly exercise on another or even imagine. So, far from merely moving us like puppets or automatons, when the Holy Spirit moves us through discernment to choice and action, he calls us to actualize our most real selves under control of the freedom which he creates in us.
Jules J. Toner, S.J.
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all you strength.” (Mk. 12:30) We have learned that listening is the first act of love (Day 49). In discernment, then, we love God by listening to him with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind and with all our strengths.
Listening with your heart means that God can speak through your feelings and emotions. Listening with your soul means that God can speak directly to your deepest inner being. Listening with your mind means that God can shed light through your intellect as you weigh the pros and cons of various vocations. Listening with your strength means that God can reveal his will through your abilities and gifts.
St. Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits), is the Church’s leading authority on the discernment of spirits. His 30-day discernment retreats are still widely used today by Christians seeking God’s will on tough questions. What follows is an attempt to introduce some of his approaches to discernment. While there are other sources that do a better and more thorough job, I hope this will serve to familiarize you with a few of his main principles and encourage you to take the Ignatian model as a very reliable guide.
Let’s start by looking at the introduction of Ignatian rules of discernment: Rules 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. And these rules are more proper for the first week.
To become aware and to understand, then, is our part in this listening relationship. Earlier we called it “paying attention.” St. Ignatius is about to direct our focus to spiritual feelings that, for many people, are already familiar. You’ve probably experienced them without knowing exactly what they mean. Spiritual consolations are felt when we are under the loving guidance of what Ignatius calls the “good spirit.” Spiritual desolations, on the contrary, indicate the action of “the enemy.”
Spiritual consolations are movements of grace deep inside that are first felt in our emotions. For this reason, I’ve placed the Ignatian model under the heading of “listening with all your heart.” Our saint’s great insight is that consolations and desolations show us the proper seasons of the heart for discernment. Godly decision-making can occur during times of spiritual consolation. On the other hand, in times of spiritual desolation it is best to make no major decisions at all.
A spiritual consolation is not the same as a good mood, and we’re certainly not buying the modern mantra of, “follow your feelings.” These consolations have a specifically spiritual direction to them – a God orientation – that is deeply felt. Either it hits you unexpectedly and for no apparent reason – or its impact far surpasses the usual effect of whatever inspired it. Ignatius’ definition appears as the third rule for the discernment of spirits:
I call it consolation when some interior movement is caused in the soul, through which the soul comes to be inflamed with love of its Creator and Lord, and, consequently when it can love no created thing on the face of the earth in itself, but only in the Creator of them all. Likewise when it sheds tears that move to love of its Lord, whether out of sorrow for one’s sins, or for the passion of Christ our Lord, or because of other things directly ordered to his service and praise. Finally, I call consolation every increase of hope, faith and charity, and all interior joy that calls and attracts to heavenly things and to the salvation of one’s soul, quieting it and giving it peace in its Creator and Lord.
Rules for the Discernment of Spirits #316
Notice that the feelings involved with spiritual consolations can be joyful or sorrowful. Though most often associated with joy and peace – a serene sense of satisfaction in God’s love – a spiritual consolation may also move you to grieve over personal sin, or feel remorse for the sufferings of Christ. The common thread in these feelings is that they clearly lead us toward union with God and Godly things rather than toward the world and worldly things.
Desolations are also felt in the emotions. In rule four St. Ignatius continues:
I call desolation all the contrary of the third rule, such as 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. For just as consolation is contrary to desolation, in the same way the thoughts that come from consolation are contrary to the thoughts that come from desolation.
Does this sound familiar? Have you experienced desolations over the course of this novena? Again, it’s not about being in a particular mood. We’re not speaking of loneliness or depression. It comes over you from time to time: an “I don’t want to hear it” attitude toward all things of God. It’s a restless “itch” in the soul. It’s the dark and desperate experience of feeling like you’re a million miles away from God; that he can’t or won’t hear your prayers; that your whole spiritual life is basically a sham and that you are a phony. There can also be a sudden attack of the most vivid and disturbing temptations combined with the strong feeling that they are irresistible.
When we experience spiritual desolations, there’s a sort of panic reaction. We may feel that we’ve offended God, or that he’s abandoned us or that something in our spiritual life has gone off the tracks. Naturally, the impulse is to make a big change. “I must be doing something wrong. I’ve got to fix this.” Ignatius’ priceless wisdom is clear on this point: “Make no change.” He encourages a firm resolve to hang tough on our basic commitments to prayer – and even to adopt modest penances – but never to make big decisions about God’s will in such times of darkness.
One characteristic common to both consolations and desolations will help us recognize them. They both make absolute claims on time by using “always” and “never.” For better or worse, they make us feel like, “it will always be this way and it will never be that way again.” So, in a spiritual consolation, you think God will never be distant again; in a spiritual desolation, that he’ll never again be close.
Once we are equipped to recognize spiritual consolations and desolations, we can use them with remarkable accuracy to navigate according to the good spirit’s leading.
Novena Prayer
Jesus says: Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Pier Giorgio responds: To live without faith, without a patrimony to defend, without a steady struggle for truth – that is not living but existing.
Let us Pray: Blessed Pier Giorgio, teach me silence in the face of personal humiliation and unjust criticism. But guide me to be courageous like you in standing on the side of God’s truth. Help me to be faithful to Him in all things, so that His will may be done in and through my life. Show me how to persevere in the struggle for those things which are holy and honorable.
Blessed Pier Giorgio, I ask for your intercession in obtaining from God, Who is the source of grace and truth, all the graces necessary for my spiritual and temporal welfare. I confidently turn to you for help in my present need: (in your own words, ask for the Lord to give you the grace to recognize spiritual consolations and desolations).
A Book of Prayers in Honor of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, by Rev. Timothy E. Deeter
Novena Prayer
Jesus says: Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Pier Giorgio responds: To live without faith, without a patrimony to defend, without a steady struggle for truth – that is not living but existing.
Let us Pray: Blessed Pier Giorgio, teach me silence in the face of personal humiliation and unjust criticism. But guide me to be courageous like you in standing on the side of God’s truth. Help me to be faithful to Him in all things, so that His will may be done in and through my life. Show me how to persevere in the struggle for those things which are holy and honorable.
Blessed Pier Giorgio, I ask for your intercession in obtaining from God, Who is the source of grace and truth, all the graces necessary for my spiritual and temporal welfare. I confidently turn to you for help in my present need: (in your own words, ask for the Lord to give you the grace to recognize spiritual consolations and desolations).
A Book of Prayers in Honor of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, by Rev. Timothy E. Deeter
Make it My Own
Daily Discernment Workbook
BRAIN STORM
1. Spiritual or Natural? I Make the Call
We’re learning to “become aware” of our feelings in a way that helps us distinguish between natural and spiritual consolations. Looking over the following examples, I decide which ones are spiritual consolations and which are only natural. Look out! Don’t draw hasty conclusions.
The other day when I was visiting a church and in adoration I realized I don’t have to do my make-up exam until later this week which took a lot of pressure off me. I felt so relieved!
Spiritual or Natural?
Why?
I was at a football game and as the marching band came out on the field with all the fans cheering loudly I was unexpectedly struck by this powerful awareness that our arrival in heaven will be this and so much more as we glorify God with the angels and saints. It filled me with incredible hope and peace! I still remember that moment.
Spiritual or Natural?
Why?
I took part in a community clean-up day where we picked up trash in parks in the inner-city. At the end of the day we were informed that the initiative had collected and disposed of over two tons of trash as well as gathering several hundred pounds of recyclable materials. Afterwards I felt really good about what I did.
Spiritual or Natural?
Why?
When I was a freshman, I was sitting in the common room of my residence hall talking to another student about the Bible. We sort of realized together that even if there are things about it we don’t understand the truths in the Bible are amazingly clear when you open your mind to them. I came away with this deep satisfaction, because I found myself saying things I was sure came directly from God’s guidance. As I prayed later I heard a question in my heart: Would you like to do this for a living? I felt like God was asking if I wanted to do college ministry. I said, “Yes.”
Spiritual or Natural?
Why?
A QUOTE TO NOTE
2. Don’t Grab at Grace
A spiritual consolation can be so powerful that we shift from thinking about God to thinking about what we’re experiencing. Here’s what one noted spiritual writer advises:
The time during which the experience is given is not a time to reflect on it (unless something appears which is clearly from an evil force). To begin reflecting on the experience while it is happening will only hinder it and possibly end it altogether. When the experience has ceased, then is the time or occasion critically to examine and evaluate it and, if genuine, to interpret it as evidence pro or con about an alternative for choice.
Discerning God’s Will, Ignatius of Loyola’s Teaching on Christian Decision Making Jules J. Toner, S.J., St. Louis: Institute of Jesuit Sources, 1991
Has this ever happened to me? A strong and consoling experience of God’s love comes over me and I think – This is amazing! What is this feeling? How can I keep it and make it last longer? If so, what happened when I tried to “grab at the grace”? Even if I’ve never had such an experience, why do I imagine God withdraws consolation when we grab at it?
3. Raising My Desolation Consciousness
When we’re in a time of spiritual desolation, we can be tempted to panic: “Something’s wrong! I’ve offended God!” It’s true that our feelings of disconnection and distance from God may be caused by our own neglect of spiritual practice, but supposing we’ve been faithful and there’s nothing we’re aware of having done to offend God, how can we “become aware” of the activity of God when God seems a million miles away? Writer Timothy Gallagher uses an example from Bl. Angela Foligno’s spiritual diary to illustrate the need for greater “Desolation Consciousness.”
Blessed Angela of Foligno recounts an experience of deep and prolonged spiritual desolation:
During this period I was in a state of great stress, for it seemed to me that I felt nothing of God, and I also had the impression that I was abandoned by him; nor was I able to confess my sins. On the one hand, I thought that perhaps this had happened to me because of my pride, and on the other hand, I perceived so clearly the depths of my many sins that it did not seem to me that I could confess them with adequate contrition or even so much as say them. It seemed to me that there was no way which I could bring them out in the open. Nor could I even praise God or remain in prayer. It seemed to me that all that was left of God in me was the conviction that I had not suffered as many trials as I deserved and, similarly, that I did not want to fall away from his grace by sinning for all the good or evil or sufferings that the world has to offer, nor did I want to assent to any evil. I was in this intense and terrible state of torment for more than four weeks.'
Gallagher continues:
"Let one who is in desolation consider how the Lord has left him in trial." [Ignatius] If Angela, while submerged in her four weeks of interior pain, can move beyond her spontaneous reaction of fear and helplessness and consider that this is a trial that God permits in a loving providence guiding her life, then she will cross the threshold described above. The heaviness of the spiritual desolation may not lift immediately or totally, but she will be strengthened to endure what she now knows, in faith, to have meaning in the eyes of an infinitely wise and loving God.
Excerpted from: The Discernment of Spirits; an Ignatian Guide for Everyday Living,
Timothy M. Gallagher OMV, The Crossroad Publishing Co.
Have I ever been in spiritual desolation? If so, what was my reaction? Did I recognize it as a trial from God, or did I try to “fix” it by making rash and undiscerned changes in my spiritual life?
Not Feeling It? All this talk about spiritual consolations and desolations is new. It’s not unusual that people draw a blank when first asked to describe experiences that fall into either category. Don’t be discouraged! Awareness takes time. Meanwhile, it helps to remember that God works with people in quieter ways, so consolations and desolations are not the only means by which God guides. Below I write some other ways God can lead and has led me.
4. Pay Attention! God Speaks in the Everyday Events of Life
Author Henri Nouwen practiced a daily awareness of God that energized his writing with immediacy and transparency that inspired many. As I read this excerpt, I consider, “how aware am I of God?”
Recently I was standing at the corner of Bloor and Yonge streets in downtown Toronto. I saw a young man crossing the street while the stoplight turned red. He just missed being hit by a car. Meanwhile, hundreds of people were moving in all directions. Most faces looked quite tense and serious, and no one greeted anyone. They were all absorbed in their own thoughts, trying to reach some unknown goal. Long rows of cars and trucks were crossing the intersection or making right and left turns in the midst of the large pedestrian crowd.
I wondered: “What is going on in the minds of all these people? What are they trying to do, what are they hoping for, what is pushing them?” As I stood at that busy intersection, I wished I were able to overhear the inner ruminations of all these people. But I soon realized that I didn’t have to be so curious. My own restlessness was probably not very different from that of all those around me!
Why is it so difficult to be still and quiet and let God speak to me about the meaning of my life? Is it because I don’t trust God?...Is it because I wonder if God really is there for me? Is it because I am afraid of God? Is it because, deep down, I do not believe that God cares what happens at the corner of Yonge and Bloor?
Still there is a voice – right here in downtown Toronto. “Come to me, you who labor and are overburdened, and I will give you rest. Shoulder my yoke and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your soul. Yes, my yoke is easy and my burden light” (Mt. 11:28-30).
Can I trust that voice and follow it? It is not a very loud voice, and often it is drowned out by the clamor of the inner city. Still, when I listen attentively, I will hear that voice again and again and come to recognize it as the voice speaking to the deepest places of my heart.
Here and Now, Henri Nouwen
How can I become more aware of God’s voice in my daily life? What seems to be keeping me from growing in this? Below I write one resolution I’ll put into practice for the next three days to be more aware of God as I go about my day. [One suggestion: Exit Prayers – say a prayer every time I exit a building during the day thanking God for what just happened, and asking for his leading in what’s coming up next].
Conclude with
“Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit.
As it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be.
World without end, Amen.”
1 Weeds Among the Wheat by Thomas Green, SJ or The Discernment of Spirits; an Ignatian Guide for Everyday Living, by Timothy M. Gallagher, OMV are excellent resources to learn more
Suggested answers to #1. “I Make the Call”
Make-up exam. We say “natural” even though the experience happens in the context of prayer. It’s natural because there’s not a specifically God-directed message that’s communicated. The reaction described could just as easily happen somewhere outside adoration since it has to do with relief from a pressure situation.
Stadium Experience. We say “spiritual” because the insight comes unexpectedly and leaves a lasting impression. In the fervor of cheering fans, it’s true, there’s a lot of emotion flowing. But if it’s just the enthusiasm of the moment, it’s quickly forgotten. That such a unique, spiritual insight would be given and remain with the person makes it most likely a spiritual consolation.
Community Clean-Up. We say “natural” because it’s natural to experience good feelings from doing something positive for the community. Even though it’s a charitable work and very pleasing to God it doesn’t mean God is necessarily speaking in a direct and personal way through those good feelings.
A Future in College Ministry. We say “spiritual” because God follows up on the experience with a personal question that is memorable and has a vocational dimension. The conversation by itself might simply be ordinary, stimulating discussion and the insights offered might be a mix of mere human insight and Holy Spirit inspiration. But the invitation to make a response based on the experience moves this to “higher ground.”.