Rules for the Discernment of Spirits - Revision history

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2022-12-10T10:18:12Z

Text replacement - "--" to " — "

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	:: There have been many forms of Christian [[perfectionism]] down through the centuries. Some Pharisees tried to impose the whole of the old Law on Gentile converts; Pharisaism is a continual temptation for us when we pay too much attention to the legalistic dimension of the gospel and neglect God's gracious sovereignty. Variations: Pelagianism, [[Jansenism]], Puritanism.		:: There have been many forms of Christian [[perfectionism]] down through the centuries. Some Pharisees tried to impose the whole of the old Law on Gentile converts; Pharisaism is a continual temptation for us when we pay too much attention to the legalistic dimension of the gospel and neglect God's gracious sovereignty. Variations: Pelagianism, [[Jansenism]], Puritanism.

	* There are two ways to go wrong: too little concern for what God asks of us (being unscrupulous) and too much concern (suffering from scrupulosity). '''"[[Perfectionism]] breeds depression."''' God does invite and expect us to become perfect--we all have a common [[vocation]] to become saints--but the work of being transformed into "other Christs" is done more by God's love poured into our hearts than by self-will. We do have our part in it, of course--"Grace cooperates with nature"--but grace comes first.		* There are two ways to go wrong: too little concern for what God asks of us (being unscrupulous) and too much concern (suffering from scrupulosity). '''"[[Perfectionism]] breeds depression."''' God does invite and expect us to become perfect — we all have a common [[vocation]] to become saints — but the work of being transformed into "other Christs" is done more by God's love poured into our hearts than by self-will. We do have our part in it, of course — "Grace cooperates with nature" — but grace comes first.

	* Catholic minimalism: "What is the very least I have to do not to go to hell?"		* Catholic minimalism: "What is the very least I have to do not to go to hell?"

Mxmsj at 22:00, 10 March 2013

2013-03-10T22:00:43Z

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	== First Week: break with sin ==		== First Week: break with sin ==

	In the First Week of the [[Spiritual Exercises]], the goal is to recognize and reject temptations to break the commandments. In ''Veritatis Splendor,'' Blessed John Paul II taught about the intrinsic evil of violation the four universal negative prohibitions:		In the First Week of the [[Spiritual Exercises]], the goal is to recognize and reject temptations to break the commandments. In [http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_06081993_veritatis-splendor_en.html ''Veritatis Splendor,''] Blessed John Paul II taught about the intrinsic evil of violation the four universal negative prohibitions:

	* Thou shalt not murder.		* Thou shalt not murder.

Mxmsj: /* Second week: Choose wisely between good and good */

2012-11-03T14:15:31Z

Second week: Choose wisely between good and good

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	:: There have been many forms of Christian [[perfectionism]] down through the centuries. Some Pharisees tried to impose the whole of the old Law on Gentile converts; Pharisaism is a continual temptation for us when we pay too much attention to the legalistic dimension of the gospel and neglect God's gracious sovereignty. Variations: Pelagianism, [[Jansenism]], Puritanism.		:: There have been many forms of Christian [[perfectionism]] down through the centuries. Some Pharisees tried to impose the whole of the old Law on Gentile converts; Pharisaism is a continual temptation for us when we pay too much attention to the legalistic dimension of the gospel and neglect God's gracious sovereignty. Variations: Pelagianism, [[Jansenism]], Puritanism.

	* There are two ways to go wrong: too little concern for what God asks of us (being unscrupulous) and too much concern (suffering from scrupulosity). '''"Perfectionism breeds depression."''' God does invite and expect us to become perfect--we all have a common [[vocation]] to become saints--but the work of being transformed into "other Christs" is done more by God's love poured into our hearts than by self-will. We do have our part in it, of course--"Grace cooperates with nature"--but grace comes first.		* There are two ways to go wrong: too little concern for what God asks of us (being unscrupulous) and too much concern (suffering from scrupulosity). '''"[[Perfectionism]] breeds depression."''' God does invite and expect us to become perfect--we all have a common [[vocation]] to become saints--but the work of being transformed into "other Christs" is done more by God's love poured into our hearts than by self-will. We do have our part in it, of course--"Grace cooperates with nature"--but grace comes first.

	* Catholic minimalism: "What is the very least I have to do not to go to hell?"		* Catholic minimalism: "What is the very least I have to do not to go to hell?"

Mxmsj: /* Making a choice in life */

2012-08-20T23:17:09Z

Making a choice in life

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	* '''Alternation of consolation and desolation''': how Ignatius himself was drawn to follow Jesus as Peter, Paul, Dominic, and Francis had.		* '''Alternation of consolation and desolation''': how Ignatius himself was drawn to follow Jesus as Peter, Paul, Dominic, and Francis had.
	* '''Consideration of rational alternatives''': draw up a list of advantages and disadvantages for each alternative; in the business world, some people call this a "cost-benefit" analysis. Speak to yourself as if you were a friend helping a friend. Choose what seems best after you have done the best analysis of the alternatives that you can.		* '''Consideration of rational alternatives''': draw up a list of advantages and disadvantages for each alternative; in the business world, some people call this a "cost-benefit" analysis. Speak to yourself as if you were a friend helping a friend. Choose what seems best after you have done the best analysis of the alternatives that you can.

			In the second and third method of making a decision in life, we are comparing one way of life with one or more alternatives. In these imaginative exercises of our intellectual powers, we must imagine all of the alternatives as leading to intimate union with Jesus and true sanctity. The issue is not whether I want to be holy in the priesthood or religious life rather than unholy in the secular state, but whether the kind of sanctity open to me in consecrated life is ''more appealing to me'' than the kind of sanctity open to me in alternative forms of following Jesus.

			This is not an abstract or objective demonstration that one way of life is better than the other. The issue is what is best for the person who is seeking to follow Jesus. It takes all kinds of saints to fulfill the Father's plan for the Body of Christ. Some are called to consecrate themselves in the priesthood, some in religious life, some in marriage, and some in the single lay state. The Spirit gives different gifts as He wills so as to build up the Body of Christ in all its glory.

	=== Discernment of Spirits in the Second Week ===		=== Discernment of Spirits in the Second Week ===

Mxmsj: /* Discernment of Spirits in the Second Week */

2012-07-27T16:23:46Z

Discernment of Spirits in the Second Week

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	6. When we have identified the "serpent's tail" in a train of thought that leads us away from love of God and love of neighbor, we should remember how we were misled and arm ourselves against such temptations in the future.		6. When we have identified the "serpent's tail" in a train of thought that leads us away from love of God and love of neighbor, we should remember how we were misled and arm ourselves against such temptations in the future.

	7. When we are growing spiritually, going on from good to better, the influence of the good and evil spirits is noticeably different. "The good Angel touches such a soul sweetly, lightly and gently, like a drop of water which enters into a sponge; and the evil touches it sharply and with noise and disquiet, as when the drop of water falls on the stone." If, God forbid, we are going from bad to worse, then the inspiration of the evil spirits enters quietly and the intervention of the good spirits seems noisy and intrusive. ~~The~~ homeowner enters ~~the~~ house peacefully; an intruder must break in.		7. When we are growing spiritually, going on from good to better, the influence of the good and evil spirits is noticeably different. "The good Angel touches such a soul sweetly, lightly and gently, like a drop of water which enters into a sponge; and the evil touches it sharply and with noise and disquiet, as when the drop of water falls on the stone." If, God forbid, we are going from bad to worse, then the inspiration of the evil spirits enters quietly and the intervention of the good spirits seems noisy and intrusive. A homeowner enters a house peacefully, through the front door; an intruder must break in. If we are owned by God, God's actions are peaceful; if we are owned by the enemy, God's actions in our soul cause us to be restless.

	8. Even when we have experienced uncaused consolation, in which God acts directly and personally on our souls in a sovereign fashion, we need to guard against false interpretations of that experience after it ends. After a time of consolation, we are very vulnerable then to making decisions based on our own habitual manner of thinking or on suggestions from the enemy. We must not carelessly attribute such consequent decisions to God.		8. Even when we have experienced uncaused consolation, in which God acts directly and personally on our souls in a sovereign fashion, we need to guard against false interpretations of that experience after it ends. After a time of consolation, we are very vulnerable then to making decisions based on our own habitual manner of thinking or on suggestions from the enemy. We must not carelessly attribute such consequent decisions to God.

Mxmsj: /* Links */

2012-07-27T16:00:05Z

Links

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			[[Category:Depression]]
	[[Category:Discernment of Spirits]]		[[Category:Discernment of Spirits]]
	[[Category:Spirituality]]		[[Category:Spirituality]]
	[[Category:Virtues]]		[[Category:Virtues]]

Mxmsj: /* Discernment of Spirits in the Second Week */

2012-02-14T13:08:27Z

Discernment of Spirits in the Second Week

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	7. When we are growing spiritually, going on from good to better, the influence of the good and evil spirits is noticeably different. "The good Angel touches such a soul sweetly, lightly and gently, like a drop of water which enters into a sponge; and the evil touches it sharply and with noise and disquiet, as when the drop of water falls on the stone." If, God forbid, we are going from bad to worse, then the inspiration of the evil spirits enters quietly and the intervention of the good spirits seems noisy and intrusive. The homeowner enters the house peacefully; an intruder must break in.		7. When we are growing spiritually, going on from good to better, the influence of the good and evil spirits is noticeably different. "The good Angel touches such a soul sweetly, lightly and gently, like a drop of water which enters into a sponge; and the evil touches it sharply and with noise and disquiet, as when the drop of water falls on the stone." If, God forbid, we are going from bad to worse, then the inspiration of the evil spirits enters quietly and the intervention of the good spirits seems noisy and intrusive. The homeowner enters the house peacefully; an intruder must break in.

	8. Even when we have experienced uncaused consolation, in which God acts directly and personally on our souls in a sovereign fashion, we need to guard against false interpretations of that experience after it ends. We are very vulnerable then to making decisions based on our own habitual manner of thinking or ~~suggested by~~ the enemy. We must not carelessly attribute such consequent decisions to God~~'s consolation~~.		8. Even when we have experienced uncaused consolation, in which God acts directly and personally on our souls in a sovereign fashion, we need to guard against false interpretations of that experience after it ends. After a time of consolation, we are very vulnerable then to making decisions based on our own habitual manner of thinking or on suggestions from the enemy. We must not carelessly attribute such consequent decisions to God.
	</div>		</div>

Mxmsj: /* Discernment of Spirits in the Second Week */

2012-02-14T13:06:45Z

Discernment of Spirits in the Second Week

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	8. Even when we have experienced uncaused consolation, in which God acts directly and personally on our souls in a sovereign fashion, we need to guard against false interpretations of that experience after it ends. We are very vulnerable then to making decisions based on our own habitual manner of thinking or suggested by the enemy. We must not carelessly attribute such consequent decisions to God's consolation.		8. Even when we have experienced uncaused consolation, in which God acts directly and personally on our souls in a sovereign fashion, we need to guard against false interpretations of that experience after it ends. We are very vulnerable then to making decisions based on our own habitual manner of thinking or suggested by the enemy. We must not carelessly attribute such consequent decisions to God's consolation.
	</div>		</div>

			== Links ==
			* [[Faith and feelings]]
			* [[Consolation and Desolation]]


	[[Category:Discernment of Spirits]]		[[Category:Discernment of Spirits]]
	[[Category:Spirituality]]		[[Category:Spirituality]]
	[[Category:Virtues]]		[[Category:Virtues]]

Mxmsj at 17:57, 17 December 2011

2011-12-17T17:57:49Z

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	I have paraphrased these rules and added some commentary. The original rules are from the Spiritual Exercises by St. Ignatius of Loyola.		[[File:Ihs-logo.svg\|thumb\|300px]]

			I have paraphrased these rules and added some commentary. The original rules are from the [[Spiritual Exercises\|''Spiritual Exercises'']] by St. Ignatius of Loyola.

	== First Week: break with sin ==		== First Week: break with sin ==

Mxmsj: /* Discernment of Spirits in the Second Week */

2011-12-17T16:15:51Z

Discernment of Spirits in the Second Week

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	=== Discernment of Spirits in the Second Week ===		=== Discernment of Spirits in the Second Week ===

	''These are my paraphrases and interpretations of the text of the Exercises.'' ~~Here is a~~ [http://www.nwjesuits.org/JesuitSpirituality/Exercises/SpEx313_336.html literal translation of the original rules.]		''These are my paraphrases and interpretations of the text of the Exercises.'' The rules for the Second Week are given in paragraphs 328 to 336 of the [http://www.nwjesuits.org/JesuitSpirituality/Exercises/SpEx313_336.html literal translation of the original rules.]

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