Ignatian Discernment
Ignatian discernment is the spiritual practice of noticing the movements within your heart and soul, identifying the thoughts, desires, and emotions that motivate them, and using these insights to decide where God is leading you.
If you have ever done any hill-walking you will know how it feels when the fog comes down and you can’t see a step in front of you…. A wise walker, lost on the mountains, will turn to the compass when this happens, and for the inner journey there is a compass too. It is the tool we might call discernment. Discernment grows out of the habit of reflecting on our daily experience and noticing the points of consolation and desolation – seeing each day where God is active in our lives and making choices in line with the deepest centre of ourselves, where we are at one with him.
- Margaret Silf, author of Inner Compass
What is Ignatian Discernment?
Ignatian discernment, sometimes called “discernment of spirits,” is the spiritual practice of noticing the movements within your heart and soul — your desires, thoughts, emotions — and identifying where they are coming from and where they are leading you.
Consolation: Do they come from God? Do they inspire love, peace, and joy? Do they lead you to greater love and a desire to serve others?
Desolation: Do they come from a selfish place within? Does God’s love feel absent? Do you find yourself drawn inward, focused on your own desires to the exclusion of the needs of others?
For those who have cultivated this spiritual practice, Ignatian discernment can be a very useful and effective tool for making all kinds of decisions.
St. Ignatius did not introduce the idea of “discernment” into Christian spirituality, but (as with many facets of Ignatian spirituality) his descriptions of how he himself practiced the art of discernment have resonated through the centuries. He offers a number of rules for discernment in The Spiritual Exercises, which are helpful reminders about how to approach decision-making. First among those rules: discernment only takes place when a decision must be made between two seemingly good options. When one option is immoral, there is no discernment to be made — we must always choose what is moral. You can read more about St. Ignatius’s rules for discernment here.
Discernment is an art or habit that is cultivated over time as we become more attuned to our interior movements and deepen our relationship with God. The better we become at noticing consolation and desolation, the better equipped we are to make decisions that align with God’s will.
A Recommendation.
If you aren’t familiar with the Ignatian Examen, we recommend you begin here before going too much deeper with “discernment.” In Ignatian spirituality, practicing discernment is an art or habit that is cultivated over time. Praying the Examen — a prayer of reflection on your daily experiences — is foundational to this Ignatian method of decision-making.
Article.
Jesuit 101: Finding Our Way through Ignatian Discernment
by Reynaldo Belfort Pierrilus, SJ (5 minute read)
The Jesuit Post
Go deeper.
Read “Some Ignatian Principles for Making Prayerful Decisions,” by Warren Sazama, SJ (9 minute read).
Video.
What is Ignatian Discernment?
Matt Wooters, SJ, summarizes Ignatian discernment as “noticing what is pulling at you in your life” in this short video interview. (2 minutes, 31 seconds)
Go Deeper.
What’s discernment? And how can it help me discover God’s will for my life?
Jesuit Connections discusses Ignatian discernment with Adam Rosinski, SJ.
(59 minutes, 31 seconds)
We must carefully observe the whole course of our thoughts. If the beginning and middle and end of the course of thoughts are wholly good and directed to what is entirely right, it is a sign that they are from the good angel.
- St. Ignatius Loyola, The Spiritual Exercises, 333
Books.
The Discernment of Spirits: An Ignatian Guide for Everyday Living
by Timothy M. Gallagher, OMV
Always Discerning: An Ignatian Spirituality for the New Millennium
by Joseph A. Tetlow, SJ
by Stefan Kiechle
But unless an individual has the focus and the confidence for discernment in uncharted situations, that person is likely to be a passive obeyer of codes and commandments, not responding to the most important commandments of all: to love God with heart and soul and to love one’s neighbors as oneself.
- Monika K. Hellwig, “Finding God in All Things: A Spirituality for Today” (from “An Ignatian Spirituality Reader”)
Consolation & Desolation
Understanding what is meant by ““consolation” and “desolation” is key to Ignatian discernment. These terms do not primarily describe emotional states; positive and negative emotions can correspond with consolation and desolation, but not always. In the simplest terms, “consolation” is when the soul experiences the love of God, and “desolation” is when God seems absent.
Here’s how Ignatius defines these terms in The Spiritual Exercises:
Consolation
“I call it consolation when an interior movement is aroused in the soul, by which it is inflamed with love of its Creator and Lord, and as a consequence, can love no creature on the face of the earth for its own sake, but only in the Creator of them all. It is likewise consolation when one sheds tears that move to the love of God, whether it be because of sorrow for sins, or because of the sufferings of Christ our Lord, or for any other reason that is immediately directed to the praise and service of God. Finally, I call consolation every increase of faith, hope, and love, and all interior joy that invites and attracts to what is heavenly and to the salvation of one’s soul by filling it with peace and quiet in its Creator and Lord.”
- The Spiritual Exercises, 316
Desolation
“I call desolation what is entirely the opposite of what is described [as consolation], as darkness of soul, turmoil of spirit, inclination to what is low and earthly, restlessness rising from many disturbances and temptations which lead to want of faith, want of hope, want of love. The soul is wholly slothful, tepid, sad, and separated, as it were, from its Creator and Lord. For just as consolation is the opposite of desolation, so the thoughts that spring from consolation are the opposite of those that spring from desolation.”
- The Spiritual Exercises, 317