The Ignatian Way of Discerning God’s Will. The Second Time for Making Election According to St. Ignatius of Loyola

Abstract

Man was created to fulfill God’s will by following Jesus Christ. St. Ignatius of Loyola (1591–1556), through his famous Spiritual Exercises, proposes a path of spiritual development in which the retreatant comes to know oneself, comes to deeply know Jesus Christ and desires to love and follow Him more in the given state of one’s life. The Spiritual Exercises contain profoundly deep and effective Rules of Discernment of Spirits and Rules for Making a Good and Reasonable Election, aiding in the discernment of God’s specific will. In the latter, St. Ignatius identifies three times, as if periods, in which a reasonable and good election can be made. The purpose of the article is to scientifically analyze the second time for election. As St. Ignatius states, this occurs “when much light and understanding from the experience of consolations and desolations and from experience in the discernment of different spirits.” In the text, I use an analytical method and demonstrate that receiving much light and understanding from God regarding His will is accomplished by properly discerning spiritual consolations and desolations and by skillfully discerning the actions of different spirits, which is to be helped by an experienced spiritual director. In conclusion, I show that the Ignatian second time of election is immensely practical and helpful for anyone desiring to discern the specific will of God in order to follow Jesus Christ in the best way possible.