A little more than a year ago, Pope Francis finished a series of fourteen Wednesday audiences dedicated to the theme of discernment. The series seems to have been greatly overlooked or forgotten, which is rather unfortunate.
At the beginning of the series, the Pontiff noted that “discernment is an important act that concerns everyone, because decisions are an essential part of life.”[1]
His statement raises two important questions, what is discernment, and how can we practice it?
In what follows, I take a look at the Pope’s audiences, and add some thoughts from Saint Ignatius of Loyola. Ignatius was not only the founder of the Society of Jesus, the religious order to which Pope Francis belongs, but also the author of “Spiritual Exercises,” a style of retreat that emphasizes discernment.
What is discernment?
The verb discern comes from the Latin discernere meaning “to separate, set apart, … distinguish, perceive” from dis- “off, away” and cernere “to distinguish, separate, sift.” When we discern, we try to perceive what it is that God wants from us in a concrete situation.
To discern then, we need to distinguish or to sift between all the influences that might be affecting us.
Of course, God will reveal Himself, but we must discern between the spiritual and worldly. Our own desires and wants, as well as the world and its influences and the devil and his temptations affect us. This is why the Pope emphasized the need to pray,[2] to know ourselves (and hence our weaknesses and temptations that distract us),[3] the desires that have accompanied us throughout life,[4] and our own life experiences.[5]
Looking back at our life experiences is particularly important and yet sadly overlooked. As the Pope himself noted: “Our life is the most precious ‘book’ we have been given, a book that unfortunately many do not read, or rather they do so too late, before dying. And yet, precisely in that book, one finds what one pointlessly seeks elsewhere.”[6]
When we look back on our lives, we can see the ways that God has called our attention in the past. Since He knows us perfectly, He knows what we listen to and what calls us to Him.
Desolation
After the audiences dedicated to the conditions for discernment, the Pope dedicated two audiences to “desolation.”[7] In colloquial speech, we might simply substitute “sadness” “for “desolation” but, as the Pope points out, “desolation” has a very specific meaning for Saint Ignatius:
Desolation has been defined as follows: “Darkness of soul, disturbance in it, movement to things low and earthly, the unquiet of different agitations and temptations, moving to want of confidence, without hope, without love, when one finds oneself all lazy, tepid, sad and as if separated from his Creator and Lord” (Saint Ignatius of Loyola, Spiritual Exercises, 317).[8]
This desolation is spiritual; it isn’t simply “feeling down” or “bummed out.” Rather, it is a spiritual state where we feel inclined to what is lowly and earthly, and not to heavenly things.
Desolation / Sadness
Francis also emphasizes that desolation can teach us (although here he calls it sadness).
“It is important to learn how to read sadness. We all know what sadness is: all of us. But do we know how to interpret it? Do we know what it means for me, this sadness today?”[9]
He continues, noting that often desolation is an invitation to grow. But to grow in what way?
Causes of Desolation
In the Spiritual Exercises, Ignatius goes into greater detail regarding the causes of desolation. He explores the reasons we find ourselves in that state of spiritual sadness. At point 322, we are told:
“The principal reasons why we suffer from desolation are three:
“The first is because we have been tepid and slothful or negligent in our exercises of piety, and so through our own fault spiritual consolation has been taken away from us.
“The second reason is because God wishes to try us, to see how much we are worth, and how much we will advance in His service and praise when left without the generous reward of consolations and signal favors.
“The third reason is because God wishes to give us a true knowledge and understanding of ourselves, so that we may have an intimate perception of the fact that it is not within our power to acquire and attain great devotion, intense love, tears, or any other spiritual consolation; but that all this is the gift and grace of God our Lord. God does not wish us to build on the property of another, to rise up in spirit in a certain pride and vainglory and attribute to ourselves the devotion and other effects of spiritual consolation.”
In other words, desolation is an invitation to grow, either by overcoming our own laziness, by learning to trust in God and be patient, or by growing in humility.
Consolation
Another spiritual setting in which we could find ourselves is consolation. The Holy Father dedicated two audiences to this topic.[10] Consolation is completely the opposite of desolation. As Ignatius defines it in point 316, consolation is:
“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.”
This is a spiritual happiness, and not just a happiness in general. All the effects are spiritual: love of God, increases in faith, hope, and love, and interior joy that draws us to heaven.
But the Pope tells us that we need to be careful: sometimes there are false consolations in the world. But these can be recognized because they do not remain. As time goes on, the fervor we feel calms, and we are left feeling less at peace, more confused, or with less joy than we had before.
Lasting good effects is one indicator that we have followed God’s will.[11] Yet we must still be vigilant in our lives and attentive to God’s voice amid the world’s noise.[12]
Discerning God’s will
In his last two audiences on discernment, Francis emphasized the need to discern God’s will, using the elements already indicated, but also giving some more.[13] In particular, he mentions the Word of God, the Church’s doctrine, a strong life of prayer, and the assistance of someone to accompany the spiritual journey. All of these tools help us to sift through the various voices that call out to us so as to listen to the one voice that truly desires the best for us.
The spiritual life is a life-long journey. In these audiences, Francis reminds us of the need to continually consult God’s roadmap for us. Hopefully we can take these lessons to heart enter into the Easter season.
[1] Pope Francis – General Audience – Wednesday, 31 August 2022.
[2] See Pope Francis – General Audience – Wednesday, 28 September 2022.
[3] See Pope Francis – General Audience – Wednesday, 5 October 2022.
[4] See Pope Francis – General Audience – Wednesday, 12 October 2022.
[5] See Pope Francis – General Audience – Wednesday, 19 October 2022.
[6] Pope Francis – General Audience – Wednesday, 19 October 2022.
[7] See Pope Francis – General Audience – Wednesday, 26 October 2022 and 16 November 2022.
[8] Pope Francis – General Audience – Wednesday, 26 October 2022.
[9] Pope Francis – General Audience – Wednesday, 26 October 2022.
[10] See Pope Francis – General Audience – 23 November 2022 and 30 November 2022.
[11] See Pope Francis – General Audience – Wednesday, 7 December 2022.
[12] See Pope Francis – General Audience – Wednesday, 14 December 2022.
[13] See Pope Francis – General Audience – Wednesday, 21 December 2022 and Wednesday, 4 January 2023.
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Author: Fr. Nathaniel Dreyer
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