Episode Transcript
Speaker 0 00:00:00 <inaudible>
Speaker 1 00:00:27 At that time, Jesus was led into the desert by the spirit to be tempted by the devil, the name of the father and son, the Holy spirit. Amen. Today, we're going to talk a bit about one of the most eminently practical teachings, the great Saint Ignatius of Loyola, and that's the discernment of spirits. It's a set of rules given to us by Saint Ignatius. These rules give us the means by which we can discern. We can become aware, detect and understand just what spirit is working on us at any one time, the good spirit or the evil spirit then act accordingly. So we want to beat you strive to become aware of what his journey in our hearts and thoughts, and then reflect on those stirrings so we can understand what is of God and what is not. And then act appropriately accepting what is from God or rejecting.
Speaker 1 00:01:21 What is from the enemy by the end of this sermon, everyone here should have a much deeper appreciation of how these spirits work in your life. And we're only going to cover the first two rules. Cause they're the basis of understanding the rest of the rules, all told there are 14 rules proper for beginners. And although this should be obvious, bare stating always remember that there's no proportion between the good spirit and the enemy. They're not equal. The devil is certainly dangerous, but compared to the Lord, our God, he's just a bit of nothingness being held in existence. All you have to do is to learn, to recognize and reject the actions of the devil and open our hearts to the Lord. Now, for the most part, what I'll say is just a transcript. It's taken from some of the several brilliant conferences of father, Timothy Gallagher and ablate of the blessed Virgin Mary.
Speaker 1 00:02:13 And I've made some additions from his book called the discernment of spirits and Ignation guide for everyday living. I'll put the title of the book as well as links to his conferences in the bulletin next week. So almost everything I say today is just quoted from his work. Okay? The rules for the discernment of spirits said, Ignatius got these rules from experience. And the best way to understand these rules is to look and experience and move from that spirit experience to understanding the rule itself. So we'll start by exp by considering the experience of another great Saint Saint Augusta Augusta was brilliant and his father had him study, but he reached the age of 15 family. Finances were tight. And so Gustin spent a year in idleness, which is when things took a wrong turn. He's longing to leave home for the big city of Carthage to begin his studies of rhetoric.
Speaker 1 00:03:09 He's looking for, to being free of all moral boundaries. Santa Gustin describes his own moral state. At that time quote in my youth, I burned to get my fill of evil things. I dared to run wild and different and dark ways of passion, close quote. I burned to give my fill of evil things. I dared run wild and different and dark ways of passion. There's nothing really new under the sun. He's driven with an imagination full of central delights, burning with desire to live life with all the restrictions removed. He's looking with longing to escape the small town and get to the big city. So he goes to Carthage. The following year, he does brilliantly in his studies jumps right into a life of promiscuity, has a child out of wedlock, gets into Eastern religions, all the rest and all this goes on for the next 20 years.
Speaker 1 00:04:12 But something else also begins to happen. Something in him is empty. He can't find peace. He's troubled, anxious, he's unsatisfied. Something is missing in his life. So there are two movements which largely describe these 20 years of his life. He's dominated by this overwhelming impulse, this burning to get his full feel of evil things. And yet at the same time, he has this growing dissatisfaction and inner bitterness and emptiness that won't leave him in peace. And so it happens at one day. Augusta is sitting at home with a friend when another stops by and tells him a story that you just heard about two acquaintances who are minor officials and the Imperial court. They'd been out for a walk and entered the hot house of some devout Christians. And there, they found a copy of the life of st. Anthony of the desert desert by st.
Speaker 1 00:05:08 Athanasius. One of the officials began reading the book and learned how the young Anthony had responded decisively to our Lord's words to the rich young man, if you want to be perfect, go sell what you have and give it to the poor and come follow me, Anthony, of course did just that they were both completely struck by this account. And both officials decided to immediately do the same. And so they did after telling this story, Santa Guston's friend takes his lead without the faintest idea that this is just stirred up a storm in the heart of Augustan Augustan can't help, but compare his life with those of the two men who knew more than hear the call of God, then they respond to it. He describes bitterness and the anguish that fill is hard after this conversation, quote, I was in torment. Reproaching myself, more and more bitterly than ever is I twisted and turned in my chain in my heart.
Speaker 1 00:06:10 I kept saying, let it be now. Let it be now. And merely by saying this, I was in the point of making the resolution. I was in the point of making it, but I did not succeed close quote. He continues. I was held back by mere trifles, all my old attachments. They plucked at my garment of flesh and whispered, are you going to dismiss us from this moment? You will never be allowed to do this thing or that forevermore, these voices seem to reach me from behind as though they were stealthily plucking at my back, trying to make me turn. When I wanted to go forward. They kept me from tearing myself away from shaking myself free of them and leaping across the barrier to the other side. And then he has an experience from the Holy spirit. Personified is the virtue of continence. Well, I stood trembling at the barrier.
Speaker 1 00:07:03 On the other side, I could see the chase beauty of continence in all her serene, Unsullied joy with her, a great numbers of the young and people of all ages. She smiled at me to give me courage as though she were saying, can you not do what these men and women do? Do you think they find the strength to do it in themselves and not in the Lord? Their God? Why do you try to stand in your own strength and fail, cast yourself upon God and have no fear at this point, Santa gusty contained himself no longer. And he thinks himself under the fig tree in the garden, as his tears begin to fall and through his tears, he hears the voice of a child beyond the guard wall saying, take and read, taken, read Sandy Guston. So stopping my tears. I got to my feet for, I could not, but think that this was a divine command to open the Bible and read the first passage I should light upon. So I quickly returned to the bench where I'd laid, put down Apostle's book. I snatched it up, open it and in silence, read the paragraph on which my eyes first fell, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness not in quarrelling and jealousy, but put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh to gratify its desires.
Speaker 1 00:08:31 I wanted to read no further, nor did I need to. For instantly, as a sentence ended, there was infused in my heart. Something like the light, a full certainty in all the gloom of doubt, vanished away, close quote, his life has changed forever. Now, how do we make sense of all the different threads that are woven through this experience that burning to get his fill of evil things that imagination filled with all the central delights and pleasures and all the rest that weariness that emptiness, that bitterness, that inability to find peace, those voices, stealthily plucking at his back. Why even try you're too weak. How many times have you tried and failed the voice of the Holy spirit figured here as continence, smiling at him to give him courage saying, look at all the others who did it, who are no stronger than you trust in God as he did it in them.
Speaker 1 00:09:30 He'll do it. You, he won't let you doll. It's this kind of experience that said Ignatius is describing in the first two rules. So with that in mind, let's turn to the text of the first rule. The first rule in persons who are going from mortal sin to mortal sin, the enemy is ordinarily accustomed to repose apparent pleasures to them, making them imagine central delights and pleasures in order to hold them more and make them grow and their vices and sins. And these persons, the good spirit uses a contrary method stinging and biting their consciouses to the rational power of moral judgment. So Saint Ignatius says it and the persons who go from mortal sin to mortal sin, like the young Augustan, this is what we can expect in terms of spiritual experience and such persons. The enemy is ordinarily accustomed to propose apparent pleasures to them, making them imagine central delights and pleasures in order to hold them more and more and Crow and their vices and sins.
Speaker 1 00:10:43 Now by enemy in the first place, he means the devil, but this also includes the flesh by which we mean those tendencies within our own fallen nature, which inclined us strongly towards sin PQP sins and falling the world. The influences around us in the world, for example, in the media or in certain non virtuous relationships, which unless they are resisted will pull us away from God. So when Saint Ignatius refers to the enemy, that's what he means the world to flesh. But most particularly the devil. So when someone like the youngest is heading away from God and towards serious sin, the enemy is ordinarily accustomed to propose apparent pleasures to them, making them imagine central delights and pleasures in order to hold them more and make them grow in their vices and sins. And you can see the enemy doing just that. And the young Augusta we've already heard it in my youth. I burned to get my fill of evil things. His imagination was filled with central lights and it works. miHealth him away from God for 20 years, take a college. Sophomore stopped going to mass when he came to college and since got involved in the party lifestyle and watching the internet on his computer and phone. So he's basing himself on worldly media, seeing things he shouldn't have seen what goes on in his imagination.
Speaker 1 00:12:08 What Saint Ignatius is pointing out here is that when a person is in that situation of moving away from God and towards serious sin, the part of our humanity in which the enemy works is the imagination by filling it with central images. So the sophomore gets a phone call at 10 o'clock one night from one of his friends who says, Hey, there's a bunch of us going down to Daytona beach for spring break. Would you like to come along? What goes through his imagination? Which spirit is at work here, which spirit works to hold men more and more in their vices and sins. Once we realize that this is how the enemy is ordinarily accustomed to act in that spiritual situation, please, God, we'll all be able to see it more clearly, be able to respond. Let's turn to the second part of this rule.
Speaker 1 00:13:03 Now that we see what the enemy's doing, let's consider what the good spirit is doing. When st. Ignatius speaks to the good spirit, he means above all the Holy spirit, but also the good angels who are God's messenger sent to strengthen enlightened courageous. He also means influences around us in the world. People, places, experiences, books, which will lead us towards God. God is constantly working around us in the world. For example, the story told to Santa Gustin by his friend was could instrument of the good spirit. And so was that phrase from the 13th chapter of the book of Romans. Now it should be no surprise that the good experience spirit does exactly the contrary of the enemy. If the enemy does one thing, the good spirit is going to do exactly the contrary. So if the enemy attempts to move us away from God and towards serious sin, the good spirit is going to do exactly the opposite and attempt to hinder that movement.
Speaker 1 00:13:59 And so Saint Ignatius says in persons who are going from mortal sin to mortal sin, the good spirit uses a contrary method stinging and biting their conferences through the rational power of moral judgment. We can see that in the twisty and turny of Saint Augustan, it's that discomfort that inability to find peace. It's that weariness that emptiness, that won't allow them to come to rest. That's what awakens him to the need to make the only change that will ever make his heart happy. As he famously said, our hearts are restless until they rest in you. So the enemy works in the imagination of a person, this situation, but the good spirit works. And the reason the rational power of moral judgment stinging biting take a 41 year old man who hasn't depended church for 20 years now, who isn't always faithful to his wife, he's willing to make crooked business deals. So there he is in his car, driving home from work one day, the radio's off. He's not talking on his cell phone. He starts thinking, look, why are you living
Speaker 2 00:15:02 The way you are?
Speaker 1 00:15:04 You know, you make your wife fun, happy. Why do you do it? You know, you're not really happy yourself living this way. How long are you gonna go on like this? When you look back on your life, 10, 20 years from now, at the way you're living today, are you going to be happy with what you see now, those are thoughts which are stinging and biting. They're uncomfortable thoughts stirring within this man. And he has a choice. It's as simple as just reaching down and turn it on the radio and it all be over with right then.
Speaker 1 00:15:38 But we can also see that if he's willing to allow those thoughts to work, he's just a hair breath away from a change in a conversion and a whole new life and communion with God. That's the action of the good spirit stinging and biting. We speak of God as a God of love and peace. And he is, but he's above all a God of love who loves us too much to ever just simply let us go. And he'll stay in bite until our hearts see, and they make the only change that can possibly make us happy. So let's say the 41 year old man does listen to the action of the good spirit and comes back. He makes a good confession, pours out the story of the bitterness and emptiness and anguish of his life, which for him has been a clear sign of how very far away God is from him.
Speaker 1 00:16:26 But in point of fact, the priest can show him that very bitterness and emptiness is the clearest sign that God has always loved him far too much to let him go. That's the action of the good spirit in a person who's headed away from God. So that's the first rule. When a person is heading away from God and towards serious sin, the enemy will fill the imagination was central images to keep the person on that trajectory. Well, the good spirit will sting and bite the conscious through the rational power, moral judgment to waken the person to a need for a change. And if the person is open, a new life can begin. We'll turn to the second rule in the persons who are going on intensely, purifying their sins and rising from good to better. The service of God. Our Lord, the method is contrary to that in the first rule for then is proper for the evil spirit to bite saddened and placed obstacles, disquieting with false reasons that the person may go forward and is proper to the good spirit to give courage and strength, constellations, tears, inspiration, and quiet, ease, and, and take away all obstacles.
Speaker 1 00:17:41 So the person may go forward and doing good. So life of that 41 year old man has changed direction. Now he's striving to move away, not from serious sin, but all sin. He's striving to overcome sin and move towards God. So used to allow himself to see certain things, the media, or go to certain places. He doesn't want that anymore. He's removed those things from his life. He's going to confession frequently. He's begun to pray more. He's taken the sacramental life seriously. He's striving to love his family and be honest and upright in his business deals. So he's moving towards God. Now it's going to be the enemy. Who's gonna attempt to hinder that movement towards God and the good spirit that's going to facilitate that Saint Ignatius explains the actual evil spirit on this type of person. The method is contrary to that. And the first rule for then is proper for the evil spirit and sending nations.
Speaker 1 00:18:35 Menches for things to bite sadden, place obstacles, disquiet with false reasons so that the person may not go forward. So let's take a quick look at each of those four to bite. In other words, upset to trouble to cause the person to lose his peace. As he strives to go towards God, a man who is burning with the love of God and actively rising in God's service, putting sin out of his life just absolutely does not want anything that will separate him from the love of God. The enemy does not begin by trying to lead that person to sin. Eventually, if he can, the enemy will try that, but that's not how he begins. That's important to realize he doesn't begin by trying to get somebody to sin his tactic and such a person is routed to upset him with a biting action that will trigger a sense of anxiety, diminishes peace, and undermine his delight in the service of the Lord.
Speaker 1 00:19:32 Remove some of the joy, removes some of the peace and interfere with his service of God and his peace of mind. And that approach is effective. If he's not aware of the attack and does not reject his biting action, it will in fact, diminish his energy through rising from good to better sadness. Now we're not talking about a natural, healthy sadness like we have in response to the death of a loved one, any healthy human heart will of course feel that kind of sadness. What Saint Ignatius is talking about is a different kind of sadness. The kind of heaviness of heart, about a relation with ship with God, our vocation, our prayer life sitting nations explains the sadness in the letter to a nun quote. We find ourself sad without knowing why we can not pray with devotion nor contemplate, nor even speak or hear the things of God with any interior taste or relish close quote.
Speaker 1 00:20:29 So this is a very effective tactic, unless we're aware of it, understand it, reject it. That sadness will undermine our spiritual vitality. We'll lose heart and gradually ceased to go forward towards God, which is exactly what the enemy in tins. This type of sadness in fact is one of the clearest signs of the enemy obstacles. That's precisely the kind of action against that. We saw the enemy against Saint Augustine's. He starts to spiritually awake. He writes, I was held back by mere trifles, all my old attachments. They plucked at my garment of flesh and whispered, are you going to dismiss us from this moment on, you will never be allowed to do this thing or that forevermore. And he explains it. Those interior voices kept me from tearing myself away from shaking myself free of them and leave me across the barrier to the other side.
Speaker 1 00:21:21 So these voices placed obstacles in Saint Augustine's path towards God. They just Hartman him and effectively impede his progress. We go back to the 41 year old man, his car, the stinging bite of his consciousness, conscience. Why are you living the way you live? You know, you make your life unhappy. Why are you doing these kind of thing? And he welcomes and accepts the action. The evil, a good spirit. He comes back to church, makes a good confession for the first time in 20 years begins to go to mass on Sunday. He's become a man who's striving to purify himself from sin. Now he's in the second spiritual sec situation. So the second rule applies to him. This Sunday's at mass. He loves what he's happening in his life. His marriage is beginning to change. The family bonds are getting stronger and that real anguish and emptiness he felt for so long as beginning of the light.
Speaker 1 00:22:11 And he loves what's happening now that his life is changing. And he decides that he's going to start spending 10 minutes a day, reading scripture. But later that night, he starts thinking, who are you kidding? You've been away from church for 20 years. You've never read the scriptures. How are you going to understand them? If you try to read them and how long has this little enthusiasm of yours going to last? These are all obstacles thrown in the path. This man who's striving to rise from good to better. And the service, the Lord, a litany of questions. How can you, who are you kidding? Are you serious? These are all obstacles and impediments. They're suggestions of one reason after another. Why it's going to be too difficult, all to lead the dedicated person to cease from going forward in rising from good to better. It's a classic action of the enemy.
Speaker 1 00:23:05 The person seeking God needs to be aware of understand and reject these movements. Disquieting with false reasons. This occurs when good people, people rising from good to better get it all thought out, spiritually speaking. So they start sorting out their life. But then they're really troubled. They review their spiritual situation and find one reason after another why they're deficient and the result is they become trouble. They lose their peace. This disquieting then diminishes their strength and falling the Lord. Another classic tactic of the enemy. It has to be rejected. As soon as it's recognized, let's turn to the second part of the second rule. The second part of the second rule is Saint Ignatius says it is proper to the good spirit to give courage and strength, constellation and tears, inspirations, and quiet easily take away all obstacles so that the person may go forward and doing good.
Speaker 1 00:23:59 The good spirit gives courage and strength. We remember the voice of the continence. Speaking to Saint Augustan. She smiles at him first to give him courage and then says, it's not so hard. Look at all these others. They've done it. There are no stronger you trust in God as he helped them. He'll help you. So we can see the good spirit giving Santa Gustin, courage and strength in a powerful way. That was the key moment, right then that courage is tranq led to the tears. Let it the conversion, the change in his heart, constellation and tears constellation, or when the soul becomes inflamed with the love of the Lord tears, tears of love or sorrow, cheers of SAR for sin or the like they're explained by more detailed by sending Ignatius in the third rule. But these are something the good spirit gives to so many rising from good to better inspirations.
Speaker 1 00:24:50 And inspiration is when we get an interior light, we see confusion gives way, and now we know what we need to do. Cause all of a sudden we see what we need to do. Giving quiet of heart, this deep inner peace. It's the opposite of the turmoil and trouble of the evil spirit. So person, even if their life is chaotic and all the things around them are really going crazy. If they have this peace, they have deep inner peace in the depths of their soul, which can't be fate. It's something that can only come from the Holy spirit, even if things are chaotic on the outside. So that's another thing that the good spirit gives and the easy take away. The OB, all the obstacles. It's not too hard. You can do it. The 41 year old man who decides to pray with scripture and then has all these discouraging thoughts.
Speaker 1 00:25:36 Why bother it's too difficult. You'll never understand them. And as he's thinking, all these thoughts and on the verge of giving up his three year old daughter comes in and gives him a hug and a smile. And that lifts up his heart. And he says to himself, I'm going to start tomorrow. The good spirit is quite as hard taken away those obstacles and give him courage and strength, quick review. And then we'll close. The first rule when a person is heading away from God and toward serious sin, the enemy will fill the imagination with central images to keep the person on that trajectory. Well, the good spirit was stinging bite the conscience through the rational power, moral judgment to wake the wake and the person to the need for a change. The second rule, when a person is striving to purify his sins and rise from good to better in the service of God, our Lord, the evil spirit interferes by bite saddening and placing obstacles, disquieting with false reasons so that the person cannot go forward. And the good spirit gives courage and strength, constellations and tears, inspirations, and quiet ease, and to take away all obstacles. So the person may make progress and doing good. Starting today, strive to be aware of what is stirring in your hearts and in your thoughts reflect on those Stearns. So you can understand what is of a God and what is not. And then act appropriately accepting what is of God and rejecting what is of the enemy.
Speaker 0 00:27:18 <inaudible>.
