The Discernment of Spirits: St Ignatius’ Rules for Choice-Making

This is part two of a three-part series on St Ignatius’ Rules for the Discernment of Spirits. Ignatius’ Rules for the Discernment of Spirits is found in the Spiritual Exercises, a 30-day retreat for one who wants to grow deeper in relationship with God. An element of the retreat is on discernment and decision-making.

Understanding the Inner Movements

Ignatius provides this list of rules as a pre-cursor to any actual choice-making. More often than not the choices that are before us are between good things, which is why it can be so challenging to make a decision. The ways the evil spirit tries to draw us away from God tends to be subtle and amidst the various good choices we’re making. He wants us to know and understand the ways God communicates with us interiorly so we will be better equipped to make sense of any decisions before us.

There are four ways Ignatius’ rules help us:

  • First, they help us become aware of our inner life.
  • Second, they help us understand what those inner movements mean, where they come from, and where they are leading us.
  • Third, they help us judge the right course of action — in other words, how we’re to respond to those interior movements.
  • And finally, Ignatius’ rules help us to know how to act in times of consolation and desolation.

The Tactics of Spirits

There are two lists of rules. The first set contains 14 rules. I would call these general guidelines for understanding how the good and evil spirit works – in other words, what are the basic tactics of the good and evil spirits. The first two rules give us a general foundation, a picture of how the spirits work with someone who is moving away from God and someone who is moving closer to God.

RULE 1
For those moving away from God, or spiritually regressing, the evil spirit tries to convince us that evil is good. It will make self-centred behaviour seem appealing and comfortable. The good spirit, on the other hand, will sting our conscience, raise doubts about the path one is taking, and encourage a different course.

RULE 2
For one who is spiritually maturing and growing closer to God, the spirits use the opposite tactics. The evil spirit will give us doubts about our path, create within us a false sadness about the things that will be missed, and discourage us from our movement toward God. On the other hand, the good spirit will console and encourage our path through peace and joy.

Practical Experience of Discernment

Reflecting on these tactics, the author shares a personal experience: I spent two and a half years as a Jesuit, and when I was discerning to leave religious life I had all these thoughts within me about what I would be losing if I left – community, ministry opportunities, free meals, educational opportunities… There was a sort of sadness, which was real, but it caused me to put off making a decision. It paralysed me. It gave me doubts. When I eventually decided to leave the Jesuits I found a great peace and joy, a sign of the good spirit working.

Defining Consolation and Desolation

The next two rules are Ignatius’ definitions of consolation and desolation:

RULE 3
Spiritual consolation is an increase in faith, hope, love, and interior joy; growing toward God; inflamed with love and peace in one’s Creator. All is seen in the context of God, the giver of all good gifts. We may even be moved to tears because of our sins and failures, yet consoled because we know we have an infinitely compassionate and loving God. In consolation we may feel moved to serve and love God more deeply.

RULE 4
Spiritual desolation is the opposite of consolation. We may find ourselves weighed down by a darkness of the soul, feel disquiet, not feeling hope and love. There may be a dryness in prayer or a feeling of separation from our Creator.