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Article: “How do i know i’m experiencing God?” -  when acting on short term decisions, the evil spirit tries to get people to rationalize bad behavior and attitudes while God’s spirit gets us to raise questions about our behavior.

however, with long term decisions, the good and bad spirits act in opposite ways. so, the bad spirits will tend to raise doubts and questions that promote inner turmoil, while God’s spirit will encourage us to increase peace, love, and joy.

Article 2: “How do I know that a choice is right?” - Ignatius references Paul’s words which says the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, etc. The key point here however, is not focusing on whether our choices will bless us, but if they will bless those around us. (I think that’s what the article is trying to say)

Article 3: “The devil comes cloaked as an angel of light” - God is not the only source of pious thoughts. The human heart is a battleground and our choices will dictate which spirit will have mastery over it (the evil or the good). The first step in discerning which spirit is influencing one’s life is by first recognizing that the evil spirit may not always come off as evil.

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7 qualities for discernment of spirits:
openness
generosity
courage
inferior freedom
habit of prayerful reflection on ones experience
having ones priorities straight
not confusing the end with the means

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St. Ignatius: How to Make Prayerful Decisions

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St. Ignatius: How to Make Prayerful Decisions

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First, there are seven attitudes or qualities required for an authentic discernment process:
1) openness
2) generosity
3) courage
4) interior freedom
5) a habit of prayerful reflection on one's experience
6) having one's priorities straight
7) not confusing ends with means

Second, there are three distinct times or situations for decision making:
1) feel inner clarity or certainty about what to do
2) we feel inner conflict about what to do, 3) there is not much of anything going on inside and we feel clueless

Third, we should practice any of the following discernment techniques (based on your situation):
1) putting before our mind what it is we want to decide about
2) pray for the grace to “try to be like a balance at equilibrium, without leaning to either side”
3) pray for God to enlighten and move us to seek only what is most conducive to God’s service and praise
4) imagine a person we never met who seeks our help in how to respond to God’s call in the same decision we are considering
5) imagine ourselves at the end of our lives either on our deathbed or after our death standing before Christ our Judge
6) use our reason to weigh the matter carefully to attempt to come to a decision in line with our living out God’s will in our lives
7) when a decision is made, we should turn again to God and beg for signs of God’s confirmation that the decision is leading us toward God’s service and praise

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The bad spirit raises doubts and questions that cause inner turmoil and self-absorption, while the good spirit tries to encourage us and to increase our peace, joy, faith, hope, and love.

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Faith is not just an intellectual affirmation of truths; faith is a verb. Faith is a graced response to our self-revealing God. This goes for the faith of the church as well as for the faith of the individual who is trying to discern a path through life.

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"But when you are thinking or praying and grow consoled or disconsolate—well, test those movements"

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Later Ignatius had other occasions to discern “spirits” and to note how the evil spirit cloaks himself as an angel of light for those who have advanced a bit in their journey into a deeper intimacy with God. It is characteristic of the evil angel, who takes on the appearance of an angel of light, to enter by going along the same way as the devout soul and then to exit by his own way with success for himself. Over and over again Jesus warned his hearers that the real enemy was Satan. Jesus faced this enemy and refused to use the strategies and means of the evil one to carry out his vocation.

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The evil spirit tries to get people to rationalize their behavior and attitudes 

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The evil spirit tries to get people to rationalize their behavior and attitudes 

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“Now instead of the spirit of the world, we have received the Spirit that comes from God, to teach us to understand the gifts that he has given us” (1 Corinthians 2:12). Serious disciplines cherish this gift and put it to good use.

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"The Ignatian approach to good choices emphasizes freedom. Making a free decision means that we set aside our own preferences and preconceptions and strive to be free of social pressures and psychological strains"

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When there is no doubt, all you need do is act in the right direction
When feelings are unsettled, you have to interpret
When emotions are calm, you weigh the pros and cons

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Some basic practices are also easy to figure out. When you have made a good decision to serve God better and after awhile go into desolation, you should not change the decision; it’s hardly a good spirit moving you. When you are feeling down, you would do well to pray a little more and increase the help you give to others.

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Discernment - discovering God's will for our lives - is not always easy. But there are a few basic rules that can help you get started.

1. Trust that God loves you madly, more than you love you. And trust God will communicate what's best for your well-being.

2. Be kind to yourself and don't fret. God is like a good coach, and looks for your best effort, not perfect decisions.

3. Search your heart to identify your desires, attachments, habits, and lifestyle. Ask God to help you set all of that aside so you want only what God wants.

4. Identify if you're in consolation or desolation. In desolation don't make any new decision. And don't change a decision made in consolation. Instead, pray more, ask forgiveness for sin. Wait.

5. When in Consolation - Listen to your affectivity (feelings) because God speaks through them. Clarify your strongest feeling. Then ask God what value you hold that generates that feeling, and whose standard it falls under: God or evil.

6. Imagine the outcome and consequences of each option. How will you feel about a particular choice on your deathbed? How might God respond to the choice?

7. Discernment requires community. Talk to someone about your decision. Get a reality check. Hear yourself talk about the choice.

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Discernment - discovering God's will for our lives - is not always easy. But there are a few basic rules that can help you get started. Trust that God loves you madly, more than you love you. And trust God will communicate what's best for your well-being.

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In group decision making, the isolation of pros from cons, and the uninhibited expression of arguments, both pro and con, by each participant.

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ignation contemplation through imagination. our heart tells us which choice will bring us closer to jesus

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Spirits change roles. The evil spirit clouds your day with desolation to lead you away from God, while the good spirit fills your day with trust and love of God. And a final, easily grasped pattern: a spirit that works in light and openness is good, while a spirit cloaked in secrecy and deception is evil.

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Ask the question and listen for God's call 

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Ask the question and listen for God's call 

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ask a question once your heart is prepared. the answers will not necessarily come all at once but you will open the door to listen for Gods call and you must listen and be observant for any answers

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"We had been washed in baptism and confirmed in our belief and given the eucharistic nourishment in memory of Him. But there seemed to come a time when the Lord was calling us to take some further step." - Constitutions of the Congregation of Holy Cross, 1:2

In Scripture, we find many stories wherein God's call was made manifest through some spectacular event, like a burning bush, an angelic messenger, or Christ Himself standing on the seashore. The reality is that our call will likely come in a much more subtle manner.

Coming to an understanding of our call is a matter of discernment. It is a prayerful handling of the manifestations of God's will that come to us through our skills and abilities, our hearts' desire, the circumstances of our lives, and the encouragement of others.

There is no set program that will lead us through discernment to a definitive answer. And yet there are steps that we can take.

These steps begin with preparing your heart which then leads to asking the questions and listening for God's call. Along this process it is helpful to access aids to discernment as well as address any fears and questions that come up along the way.

Entering into the process of discernment requires a level of preparation. A key focal point for this preparation is your heart. It is a powerful tool in the process of discernment and it is important to spend time preparing it.

Once your heart is prepared, the answers will not necessarily come rolling in. The next step is to consider the questions that need to be asked and ask them of yourself.

God's call does not always come clearly or in the manner that you are anticipating, yet the call will come. Consider some of the ways that you can be attentive to hearing God's call.

Discerning God's call is not always an easy process, yet there are several aids that are time tested for assisting you in opening your heart, asking the question, and listening for God's call.

Fears and uncertainties can often derail the discernment process. Here we address several common fears and questions.

If you have any questions about the discernment process or are unsure of how to move forward in your discernment, Contact Us in the Office of Vocations. We'd be happy to talk with you.

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"We had been washed in baptism and confirmed in our belief and given the eucharistic nourishment in memory of Him. But there seemed to come a time when the Lord was calling us to take some further step."

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"For people who have closed themselves off from God’s grace, the good spirit disturbs and shakes up. It stirs feelings of remorse and discontent. The purpose is to make the person unhappy with a sinful way of life. On the other hand, the evil spirit wants such people to continue in their confusion and darkness. So the evil spirit tries to make them complacent, content, and satisfied with their distractions and pleasures."

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Approach to Good Choices
-“making a free decision means that we set aside our own preferences and preconceptions and strive to be free of social pressures and psychological strains”
-“need to gather all the relevant info about all our alternatives and carefully weigh all the circumstances and likely outcomes”

Discernment of Spirits
-“spiritual discernment of spirits involves becoming sensitive to these movements, reflecting on them, and understanding where they come from and where they lead us”

Vocations
-“a renewed appreciation of the call has allowed us to understand that God had a hope, a dream, a vocation for EACH of us”
-“we can have multiple vocations: for example, one person could be married, a parent, a minister at a church, and a visitor of the sick”

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to understand the difference between consolation and desolation we must notice the direction of our attention as we go through the experience

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to understand the difference between consolation and desolation we must notice the direction of our attention as we go through the experience

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Having a clear understanding of what you want to achieve, and acknowledging that while making a complex pros and cons list.

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To discern or decide well, a person must be:

1. ready to move in any direction that God wants, therefore radically free;

2. open to sharing all that God has given him or her, therefore radically generous;

3. willing to suffer if God’s will requires it, therefore radically patient;

4. questing for union with God in prayer, therefore radically spiritual.

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Release your attachment and aversions. Normally we’re reactively choosing things out of these two which are driven by fear. Once you release these emotions, a more authentic, unbiased, and clear you can make a better decision.

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Prior to Vatican II There was an unspoken rule for discernment prevalent in the Catholic Church that the more unpalatable of two choices was the one to lean toward, since it was more likely in accord with God’s will.

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Allow the Holy Spirit to influence your desires. If you give it enough time, the Holy Spirit will guide you in the direction that best suits you

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Ask which choice will be most representative of your authentic self, meaning you have to reach an "absolutely necessary inner freedom"

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3 circumstances in which decisions are made according to Ignatius

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3 circumstances in which decisions are made according to Ignatius

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1. when there is no doubt- knowledge from god
2. when feelings are unsettled- discernment can help us decide
3. when emotions are calm- the ability to rationally weigh pros and cons

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Spirits change roles. The evil spirit clouds your day with desolation to lead you away from God, while the good spirit fills your day with trust and love of God. And a final, easily grasped pattern: a spirit that works in light and openness is good, while a spirit cloaked in secrecy and deception is evil.

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When making a decision, set aside your own personal preferences and preconceptions and put work into deciding what’s best by gathering information and the weighing pros and cons

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make pros and cons list, ask friends their opinion = third time choice because confirmation of gods blessing comes from discernment of meaning of emotions or feelings

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Must state the issue as a positive, concrete choice and be as specific as possible

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The best criterion for deciding whether an experience or a choice or a way of acting is of God or not is to ask whether we find ourselves "blessed" in the sense of having "courage and strength, consolations, tears, inspirations and peace."

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"a process of clarification whereby a person – by his intimate knowledge of Christ – examines his/her internal and external movements and drives, whether they lead him/her more to God or away from God; this discernment facilitates a decision about the way which he/she is supposed togo before God.”  

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According to the article, when you are feeling down, you should try to 'increase the help you give to others.' Doing so can help boost your mood and put you in a good headspace for responsible decision making

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The issue has to be practical, real, an issue you have the right to make the decision and you must be able to obtain the necessary information to decide intelligently

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Critical thinking

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Don't react, learn to respond. Take a moment before responding to words or an action to make sure you are saying/doing what is best

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mediation