Rules for the Discernment of Spirits – First Week – [313-322]

Introduction:

Saint Ignatius gives us important rules for discerning well thoughts we experience. We want to meditation and search for God’s will in our lives, but even this, must be done smartly and without being deceived. In this conference, we will discuss the Rules for Discernment of Spirits for Week One.

Saint Paul on discernment of spirits:

“… test everything; hold fast what is good, abstain from every form of evil. May God sanctify you…and may your soul and body be kept sound…He who calls you is faithful and will do it.” (1Thes5,21)

The life of St. Ignatius: He learned how to discern

Ignatius had a conversion when he was 30 years which impacted what motivated his activity — in his younger years he was moved by desires for fame, glory, and romance. He began to notice that these were impulsive desires and that they were desires which did not always agree with God’s plans, the result being that Ignatius detected feelings of being unsatisfied.  It became abundantly clear to Ignatius that finding the Will of God was practical and even necessary, if he was to live a happy life.  

“God sees and knows what is best for us, and as He knows all, He points out the way to follow.  But we, even with His grace, have a hard time finding it, and may have to try several ways before we travel by that which is evidently the one for us.” – (Ignatian Methods of Prayer, Brou,P24)

Ignatius was known for his examination of conscience. His intensity in examining his conscience stemmed from his conviction that there was a will of God and his desire to find it. He did the examination almost continually throughout his day.  He had the gift to do this without becoming scrupulous. 

Examples from the life of Ignatius:

Ignatius had a natural inclination to give himself to great things. At 30 years of age, after his conversion, he decided that he wanted to go to Jerusalem to live where our Lord had spent his life on Earth. And so he went. He traveled to Barcelona to make this trip. On the way, he decided to stay in a town for a few days — and ended up remaining there for 10 months.  Later saying that he learned more during this time than he did the rest of his life. At first, He was doing what He thought was the will of God (to go to Jerusalem — after all, it was very generous), but on his way, God’s providence intervened and detained him for 10 months. Ignatius was being trained in discerning God’s will. Still, there would be many occasions in the future where he would need to practice finding the will of God. He learned over time how to discern the truth.

• Learning that it was not the will of God he always did the most impressive things: Ignatius actually damaged his health by fasting too intensely. He tried to outdo those he had read of in the lives of the saints…ruining his stomach which troubled him the rest of his life.
• He was thrown into prison by the Spanish Inquisition: because of his unorthodox style, he was thrown into prison by the Inquisition at the University of Salamanca. He had to ask himself, what was the will of God, for me, in this situation? Was it to preach and be arrested, or to evangelize in another way.  Where these consequences because of prudence or pride?
• When Ignatius and his companions formed the Society of Jesus (something they did not originally plan to do), Ignatius would actually sacrifice those things he enjoyed the most (teaching, directing souls, working in hospitals). By prayer and discernment, Ignatius knew God willed him to spend the last part of his life in service to the new order, acting as the General Superior.

Rules for the discernment of spirits: Week One [313]

The actual Rules for Discernment are listed one-by-one in the video, but in this document. It would be good for the person watching the video to take note of each of the rules.