Avoid despair and build defences

BRENDAN McMANUS SJ :: Ignatius Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits, struggled with severe scruples early in his life. Incredibly, it almost led him to take his own life and came to a head as he despairingly considered throwing himself out a window. It was Ignatius’ capacity for self-awareness and reflection that saved him, realising that this seemingly ‘good’ impulse was in fact deeply destructive. This led to a new insight, realising that paradoxically he was being attacked by a ‘bad spirit’ through what initially appeared to be a good thing (i.e. being scrupulously conscientious). He called this the ‘angel of light’ deception, as he found himself waking up to the fact that there are two ‘spirits’ or ‘voices’ working on us, and that we need to be aware and tuned into the ‘fruits’ or end results of these movements, making sure that they are good all the way through, beginning, middle and end.

Ignatian spirituality deals with the discernment of these spirits. It is about recognising and responding to the different internal movements or moods that influence our decisions and spiritual life.

Based on his experience St. Ignatius provides guidelines for distinguishing between good and bad spirits, which can lead one towards or away from God. One can’t be naïve therefore in merely letting things drift or being passive, the consequences are too serious. Rather we have to wake up to the reality that we need to be aware and diligent to avoid the subtle tactics of the ‘bad spirit’ who unchecked will lead us to rumination, ruin and despair, realities very much in evidence in our contemporary age.

One of the central concepts of Ignatian spirituality and discernment is that the human person is a ‘battleground’ or struggle between opposing forces of good and evil. Respecting our free will, this means that as well as a ‘good spirit’, our basic disposition towards God and good, there is an ‘evil spirit’, a destructive force that manipulates, undermines and enslaves people.

The bad spirit is actively working against the human person, undermining good and influencing the human heart for evil. Pope Francis, Jesuit trained, is very explicit on this point, that there is a reality to evil and a deliberate “campaign, the opposition of the evil one”. Combating it requires diligence, attentiveness and grace to resist its pressure. Obviously the goal is to protect oneself, remain centred in God and make the right decisions.

Ignatius’ Spiritual Exercises devotes a large section of ‘rules for discernment’ to describing the two movements and their characteristics. Courage and craftiness are needed in equal measure to protect oneself and outsmart a wily opponent who tends to exploit weak points. Take the perfectionist person for example. Their weakness is the impossible striving for perfection, a desire that is only good up to a point and then becomes destructive. This provides the ‘access point’ for destroying someone’s peace of mind and wreaking havoc with their lives. The answer is to get perspective and achieve balance, knowing what is ‘good enough’.

The most graphic image Ignatius uses regarding the discernment process is that of the castle or fortress (SpEx no. 327). The human person embodying the good spirit is like a castle protecting themself against the subtle attacks of the bad spirit. Though it is medieval imagery, it is easy to picture oneself as a castle, complete with stone ramparts, fortifications and the vigilant defenders. Ignatius appears to be cautioning against complacency or ignorance, though he underlines the problem of naivety above all.

The greatest error, given that you accept the need for protecting yourself as a ‘castle’ prone to attack, is to underestimate your enemy. This would be to assume, for example, that the enemy will make a full-frontal attack where your troops are concentrated on the front walls and entrance, the strongest point. Any strategist knows that the wily attacker will go for the weak point and will use every ruse to divert attention. It is the inevitable weaknesses, cracks, and hidden entrances that have to be watched.

Like a good strategist, knowing one’s weak point is crucial in avoiding the calamity of having one’s fortress overrun and one’s well-being seriously compromised. For many of us it is tiredness, some vice or other, a tendency to excess for example, that can bring about our downfall.

On the other hand, just simply knowing and acknowledging weakness gives us a way to deal with it (e.g. getting help with it, avoiding certain situations or people). And to prevent the worst excesses, Ignatius would say ‘shore up the defences’ or ‘look to your weak points’.

The really ‘good news’ is that all human beings are fundamentally good ‘castles’, created by God. though with flaws, and even being overrun or attacked shouldn’t surprise or dispirit us. Any fortress can be rebuilt or retaken and often it can take experiences of our weaknesses and much humble learning to accept that we need God’s power and protection.

In this way, mistakes can be valuable lessons for learning new strategies and better ways of living with courage. Losing a battle or two and learning the lessons can be useful in terms of winning the war. One of the interesting implications is that one doesn’t have to be vigilant all the time obviously, just strategic and sensible, carrying out routine checks on particular weak points. Also, it pays to be discerning rather than permanently suspicious, reviewing things that seem to be good while questioning them, and being open to new possibilities and learnings.

The two basic movements within a person are consolation and desolation. The word ‘consolation” is a technical term from the Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius, and it has a very particular meaning. It is often translated as a felt sense of God’s presence, a sense of light and life, but that is only one of its meanings. It also means to move towards an increase of faith, hope and love.

To do what God wants can sometimes be challenging and not always pleasant. Paradoxically you can be going through a difficult time, grieving or acting against injustice, and be in consolation as you know you are doing the right thing. It’s like staying up all night to care for an ill person, not pleasant superficially but satisfying inside. The key to it is recognising the deeper feelings (peace/rightness), not the superficial ones (enjoyment/distaste) inside yourself. And to note the direction in which you are travelling, towards the light (personal growth, serving others, and experiencing genuine happiness) or away from it.

One of the key Ignatian ‘rules of thumb’ is to act against ‘desolation’ (dryness and emptiness) and to being taken to dark and isolating places. We all have an inbuilt ‘compass’ or orientation towards the good (God) and can identify the sense of unease that accompanies of getting off track. We have to learn how to read this compass accurately, through being tuned in to our inner moods and feelings, and obviously we have to act on this information to orient ourselves, keeping ourselves in consolation and in the light in different situations.

The challenge is to be able adapt to changing circumstances and to be flexible. Sometimes, we need to stop, reflect, get our bearings, and take our time. At other times we need to act fast to avoid danger, respond to a need. It all depends on the circumstances as to what the best thing to do is.

Sometimes we need to respond with compassion and kindness to people, but sometimes we need to be assertive and strong. Reading the situation accurately dictates how we should respond and doing ‘what I always do’ won’t always work. There is no one hard and fast rule but rather lots of ‘rules of thumb’ such as be aware, don’t make hasty decisions, and work out what your options are. Even realising that we always have options is a useful insight; the bad spirit normally tries to present one ‘destructive’ option as the only one.

It is interesting to watch Jesus in the Gospel stories and see how he is always out on the road, in consolation, and meeting new situations and challenges. He is more than aware of temptations and the snares of the evil one, and always responds in creative and loving ways. This consolation that Jesus models is essentially about the direction of travel or being on track, that is doing God’s will. The key question for us then is: is this choice bringing me towards God or away from God; towards life, people and connection, or into isolation, rumination and withdrawal? Therefore, when facing difficulty, the question is always what do I need to do to get back on track, how do I deal with the obstacle in my path, and what will it take to solve this issue?

Our challenge is to ‘stay in consolation’ and avoid desolation, keep our ‘compass’ working well through prayer and reflection; not to be naive about the challenges we face, but be adaptable and nimble on our feet; and recognise the greatest trap of all is desolation’s inertia i.e. feeling that we are totally lost, that God has abandoned us and that we are useless and have no options- always a sign of desolation and the bad spirit. Becoming aware of this desolation and acting against it is the way out. We need to trust ourselves and the suggestions below; working through this process will help reorient our ‘inner compass’ and will indicate the right direction.

To start from a solid foundation we need a number of fundamental assumptions:

1. People are fundamentally good, created by God, and God deals directly and actively with each person.
2. The person can detect this communication from God via this ‘movement of spirits’ with some practice and application.
3. God wants to bring the person to a place of peace and balance (there is an opposite force too obviously that seeks chaos and ruin)
4. The person has a choice about their lives and the ability to respond to God’s love and live in consolation. It’s never too late and no one is beyond God’s love and mercy.
5. Sometimes the person needs help, guidance and structures to keep themselves on track. It is a balancing act.

Guidelines for keeping on track using St Ignatius’ ‘rules for discernment’

1. Know where you are, be aware and read the signs. Recognise whether your thoughts, feelings, and inner movements are consolation or desolation. Which direction are they bringing you?

2. Don’t make decisions in desolation or make any major changes, wait till you are more balanced. Especially don’t listen to those negative thoughts that come in the early hours, when your mind can wander and invent all sorts of negative imaginings. In desolation, remind yourself of past consolations, trusting that consolation will return, and avoid making significant decisions. Keep doing the good things: prayer, sacraments, exercise, healthy diet etc.

3. Nurture consolation and being close to God: Normally we all need structures, prayer and routines to keep us on track. If you are in consolation, give thanks for that, stay there and keep on course. When in consolation, consciously prepare for potential desolation by storing up or ‘banking’ spiritual strength and insights.

4. Deal decisively with desolation: you need to act quickly against desolation, don’t let it dominate or persist; it can be reversed with some prompt and courageous action. You awlays have choices and there is always something you can do.

5. Do the opposite of what desolation suggests: Desolation and the bad spirit tries to isolate you, keep you trapped, believe the worst of yourself and others. You have to do the opposite of what it suggests: connect yourself to others, reach out for help, believe that there is good in you and others, talk to a mentor or friend, get involved in some activity, club, group (this is very hard initially but gets easier). Keep on track and keep believing in the good (God); keep doing the right things even if it doesn’t feel great initially. Remember it’s not about the superficial feelings.

6. Know your vulnerable points or weakness, check these for the workings of the bad spirit and act to ‘shore up the defences’.

7. Be vigilant that things are genuinely good. Watch out for the ‘angel of light’ trap, seemingly good things that can lead you to a bad place, e.g. perfectionism, scruples, excessive guilt or shame. These weakness areas are regularly exploited by the bad spirit, precisely because they are so apparently worthy and noble, and as a result are never examined or discerned adequately.

8. Keeping balanced. Ignatius learnt something important about living a balanced life because during he had acted in extreme ways during his own lifetime, e.g. he engaged in excessive fasting that damaged his health. Things are good up to a point and then they can turn bad. Think of how we have to balance many things in our lives, for example, finding the optimal amounts of stress, exercise, food, social life etc. knowing that ‘point’ of balance is the work of discernment.

9. Bring your thoughts and secrets out into the light, talk them over with someone in a confidential setting. The bad spirit thrives on secrecy and hiddenness, having the courage to talk about these worries and obsessions robs them of their power and gives you a better perspective; we need other people, accountability and other perspectives.

10. Filter your thoughts especially. Not all thoughts are from God, some can be really destructive and can creep in unnoticed. Somewhat naively we tend to assume that if we have a clear and distinct idea in our heads then it must be true (especially at 4am in the morning!). We need to filter and examine our thoughts, weigh them carefully and figure out if they are genuine or not. Same applies to your imaginings and fantasies, watch where they bring you.

11. Practice discernment regularly. Clear a space so that we can listen to what is coimg up within us. There is an inner sense, or ‘nose’, that we can develop for deciding which ‘voice’ or spirit to listen to. There is a palpable sense of unease, ‘wrongness’ and death that accompanies the ‘bad’ voice, and equally a sense of rightness, ease and life that accompanies the ‘good voice’.

12. Do the daily Examen. Gently do a daily review of your thoughts and feelings to notice the consolation and desolation, lights and shadows which are always there, helping to identify the influences of good and bad spirits. Especially initially focus on developing gratitude (the first step); noticing where the gifts that you have received; don’t move on until you feel the gratitude.