April 23, 2024 - The saints have all experienced desolations and abandonment of soul. “How impervious to things spiritual, my heart!” cries St.

August 21, 2024 - Desolation = from the Latin desolatus, ... depletes energy for living.” · Spiritual Desolation = an affective heaviness that directly impacts my relationship with God....

August 10, 2022 - Within the Catholic tradition, spiritual desolation often involves the sense that one is left alone by God.

February 12, 2022 - “The ninth: there are three principal causes for which we find ourselves desolate. The first is because we are tepid, slothful or negligent in our spiritual exercises, and so through our faul…

May we consider another aspect of spiritual desolation that goes beyond the “dark night of the soul” and touches many who might find their souls in jeopardy at their death. Here we are speaking of those who by-pass Purgatory, and suddenly find themselves in a darkness from which there is no-return.

September 12, 2011 - Ignatius, who says in his Sixth Rule: "… it is very advantageous to change ourselves intensely against the desolation itself, as by insisting more upon prayer, meditation, upon much examination, and upon extending ourselves in some suitable way of doing penance." My prayer for you and me is that when spiritual desolation comes, we might face it courageously, like a stallion, galloping through a dense forest in the sure hope of reaching green pastures.

September 29, 2025 - Other times, it may come from physical fatigue or emotional depletion—natural causes that require rest, not guilt. These kinds of dryness differ from true spiritual desolation, which includes discouragement, loss of hope, and temptations.

August 2, 2024 - Our spiritual dryness, physical discomfort and emotional pain are distorted by the enemy, in order to tell us lies about ourselves and about God. Saint Ignatius Loyola tells us that it is precisely at such times that we must take authority over ...

July 15, 2022 - Desolation is the feeling of disconnectedness, dryness, and distance from God. An in-turning, focus on self or the inability to go beyond our limited perception of the moment. I don’t claim to know much about Ignatian Spirituality, but since my spiritual director is a Jesuit, I have come ...

I encourage Catholics to discover St. Ignatius’ discernment of spirits as a great treasure for their spiritual lives. Everyone has these stirrings within the human heart: joy and sorrow; hope and despair; fear and anxiety, but not everyone knows what to do with them.

January 15, 2025 - In the Ignatian tradition, discernment involves two key words: consolation and desolation. Margaret Silf describes the role of these words in discernment.

April 23, 2014 - As we considered in previous columns, ... for spiritual desolationSt. Ignatius discerned that desolation is the result of following the false logic of counter-inspirations....

January 12, 2022 - Margaret of Cortona explains periods of spiritual desolation well: “In times of desolation, God conceals himself from us so that we can discover for ourselves what we are without him.” A painful truth, to be sure, but one that is a stark ...

January 14, 2026 - In Catholic spirituality, spiritual dryness or desolation is a lack of spiritual consolation in one's spiritual life. It is a form of spiritual crisis experienced subjectively as a sense of separation from God or lack of spiritual feeling, especially during contemplative prayer.

March 29, 2017 - For me, all is lost.” Is not this to realize our miserable condition? What a difference between describing it and feeling it! In this way, desolations exercise us in the life of faith; they detach us from the spiritual gifts of God, and they produce in us a deep understanding of ourselves, a great fund of humility.

Consider the role of hope in facing spiritual desolation. How can the teachings of Ignatius and the experiences of saints inspire hope in times of discouragement? How has the universal nature of the spiritual struggle, as discussed in the podcast, resonated with your own experiences? In what ways does knowing that saints faced similar challenges provide encouragement for your spiritual journey? Discuss the importance of sharing personal stories and experiences in the context of Catholic spirituality.

November 3, 2022 - Moving on to the following rules, we see that Ignatius now gives instruction on how to deal with spiritual desolation. This is a "crucial issue," according to Father Gallagher, and we learn "how to reject the work of the enemy" in these times.

July 22, 2025 - The archbishop also emphasized the importance of understanding the ups and downs of the spiritual life and how these ups and downs can help younger people transition to an adult faith. But perhaps the most compelling part of our conversation was his description of an extended period during which he felt a sense of “desolation,” or darkness in his prayer life, before eventually experiencing a profound reawakening.

August 6, 2022 - Desolation could be caused by sin or inaction in prayer and the spiritual life. When in the state of Mortal or Grave sin, or even just in the state of a large build up of venial sin, desolation sets in because I have removed myself from God’s ...

June 15, 2021 - Ignatius of Loyola to the inner state characterized by darkness, dryness, torpor, agitation, melancholy, earthly-mindedness, and an acute sense of distance from our Lord and Creator.