Father Nicholas Nelson: Rules for the discernment of spirits

One of St. Ignatius of Loyola’s greatest contributions to the church is known as his “Rules for Discernment of Spirits.” These 14 rules are necessary, because the soul is moved by diverse spirits, and it is important to discern these spirits so that one may follow the good and repel the bad. 

Father Nick Nelson Handing on the Faith

By spirits, Ignatius means affective stirrings or movements of the heart: joy, sadness, hope, fear, peace, anxiety, etc. 

The evil or bad spirit can be several things, such as demons, our own weak tendencies which spring from egoism and disordered sensuality, individuals who can lead us away from God to some extent, and bad worldly thinking. The good spirits can also be several things, such as God, angels, theological virtues implanted in us from baptism, influences for good (saints, holy family members, good friends, the Bible, catechism, and other good books). 

The purpose of these rules is to get us to do the right thing. Here are the steps to responding. 

First, we must become aware of the stirrings in our hearts. Many people don’t even acknowledge that they are feeling particular ways. They just react according to their passions. 

Second, we must understand these stirrings. By reflecting on the stirrings, we then understand what is from God and what is not. It’s important to continue to study the Bible and the Catechism of the Catholic Church to form our consciences and to know what is truly from God. 

Finally, we must take action. It’s not enough just to be aware and to understand the stirrings, we must accept and live according to what is of God and reject and remove from our lives what is not of God. 

The first two rules are fundamental and so timely for our world today. The first is this, “In persons who are going from mortal sin to mortal sin, the enemy is ordinarily accustomed to propose apparent pleasures to them, leading them to imagine sensual delights and pleasures in order to hold them more and make them grow in their vices and sins. In these persons, the good spirit uses a contrary method, stinging and biting their consciences through their rational power of moral judgment.” 

How many times have you heard “follow your heart” or “love is love”? Well, not so fast. Right? That depends on if we are living a godly life or not. How many people do you know who are in unhealthy and immoral relationships but tell you that they are so happy and so it must be good? They say they feel so good, and therefore God must be OK with it. Well, they feel that way because those “feel good” stirrings aren’t, in fact, from God, but from the enemy who wants you to continue to live that sinful lifestyle. 

How many times has someone told you not to make them feel guilty? Well, it’s not you, it’s actually the Lord. In these persons, the pricks and guilt a person feel come from God, moving them to repentance and conversion. 

The second rule is the opposite. “In persons who are going on intensely purifying their sins and rising from good to better in the service of God our Lord, the method is contrary to that in the first rule. For then it is proper to the evil spirit to bite, sadden, and place obstacles, disquiet with false reasons, so that the person may not go forward. And it is proper to the good spirit to give courage and strength, consolations, tears, inspirations, and quiet, easing and taking away all obstacles, so that the person may go forward in doing good.” 

I hope we all can relate to this rule. It can be difficult to do good. We need to fight against the bad feelings, realizing it is the evil spirit trying to get us to give up and turn away from God. 

St. Therese of Lisieux is a great example of this. In her “Story of a Soul,” she writes, “On the eve of the great day [of profession of her vows] instead of being filled with the customary sweetness, my vocation suddenly seemed to me as unreal as a dream …. The darkness was so bewildering that I understood but one thing — I had no religious vocation, and must return to the world. I cannot describe the agony I endured. What was I to do in such a difficulty?” 

She was obviously doing something good, but she had a bad stirring in her soul. It was the evil spirit trying to get her to not go forward with her vocation. Imagine if she didn’t recognize that it was the evil spirit. She would never have become a saint, and we would never have known her and been inspired by her “Little Way” and heroic life! 

This column is too short to even touch on the other 12 rules. I hope you understand what they are and are motivated to learn more about them. They can be very helpful to us in discerning the will of God for us in our lives. 

I would recommend three books if you are interested in learning more. The first two are by Father Timothy Gallagher: “The Discernment of Spirits” and “The Discernment of Spirits in Marriage.” Dan Burke also wrote one entitled “Spiritual Warfare and the Discernment of Spirits.” 

Father Nick Nelson is pastor of Queen of Peace and Holy Family parishes in Cloquet and vocations director for the Diocese of Duluth. He studied at The Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family in Rome. Reach him at [email protected]