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?

March 17, 2017 - ... As we learn to recognize when we are in desolation and consolation, we can respond accordingly: changing course (through prayer, community, discernment, spiritual direction) when in desolation, and staying the course when in consolation.

January 15, 2025 - We are really only talking about our orientation, and the bottom line is this: which direction is our life taking us—toward God [consolation] or away from him [desolation]? Here are some of the main symptoms of desolation and the most commonly experienced blessings of consolation. ... Tell God how you feel and ask for help. Seek out companionship. Don't go back on decisions you made in consolation.

April 1, 2022 - “All of us are guilty of DUI, so to speak—we are driving under the influence of movements within us of which we are hardly aware.”1 The purpose of the discernment of spirits is to become more aware of these movements.

December 22, 2020 - Consolation and desolation instead have everything to do with God and our sense of the relationship. Is it close or distant? Rich or dry? Fulfilling or bland? Now career, relationship, and where we live can have spiritual significance, but the ...

December 19, 2025 - In times of consolation, it is common to experience a deep sense of God’s presence and love, an increased desire for prayer and spiritual practices, greater clarity in discernment and decision-making, a heightened awareness of God’s work in our lives and the world, and tears of joy or sorrow that lead us closer to God. Consolation is a gift from God, and there is nothing we can do to create it for ourselves. Therefore, St. Ignatius wisely counsels us on how to respond to consolation and use these periods to prepare for future desolation.

It is an interior movement of the soul to love God first, and all other things in Him. It is a growth in virtue or joy which lead a man to strive for love of God. Spiritual desolation, on the other hand, is the de-motivation of the soul which makes one apathetic, feeling separated from God, ...

June 12, 2024 - Because, as in consolation it is rather the good spirit who guides and counsels us, so in desolation it is the bad, with whose counsels we cannot take a course to decide rightly. Sixth Rule.

December 29, 2025 - Consolation and desolation aren’t ... how God and the enemy move in our hearts. By paying attention, we can grow in discernment, resist temptation, and follow Christ more faithfully....

September 13, 2023 - It is these “spiritual movements” produced in the soul that we need to become attentive to and discern. Ignatius distinguishes between consolation and desolation, so let’s take a look at those.

August 4, 2024 - Consolation and our actions to embrace this gift are necessary components of discernment. The other side of the coin is looking at desolation and how we reject the movements of the false spirit so that we can move back towards God.

December 31, 2018 - And it is especially important if we are examining whether or not we are in a state of consolation or desolation. That’s why we thank God for the spirituality of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, who gave us his “Rules for Discernment.” This is to examine the interior movements of our hearts more closely and consider whether we are making steps toward or away from God.

November 23, 2022 - These two inner movements are present in every journey of faith. By learning to recognize them, we begin to understand how God is at work in us — and how the enemy of our souls tries to discourage us.

Usually when one ponders these realities, there is stirred up consolation or desolation in one’s heart which can light the pathway to a decision. Finally, when a decision is made, St. Ignatius invites an individual to bring the decision before God and offer it to God.

February 17, 2021 - 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. Rule IV. Spiritual Desolation.

October 28, 2025 - Usually, these terms refer to the ... that feeling (desolation). By faith we know that God is always thinking of us, with us, interested in our lives, and loving us with a personal, determined love....

Ignatius explained in his "rules ... and consolation. The consolations are when we feel the spiritual highs, the closeness to God, and even we sometimes see a glimmer of fruit of our efforts....

March 26, 2024 - Spiritual discernment of spirits involves becoming sensitive to these movements, reflecting on them, and understanding where they come from and where they lead us. Introduction to Discernment of Spirits Good and evil spirits, consolation and desolation, and rules for discernment.

November 3, 2024 - Did they experience peace, joy, trust, harmony? Or did they experience disturbance, darkness, disquiet? Ignatius calls the positive inner movements consolation (Exx 316) and the negative ones desolation (Exx 317). ... We arrive here at the centre of Ignatius’ vision of spiritual discernment.