What Are Consolation and Desolation? Demystifying Ignatian Language
reflection by Ashley Brooks
The core of Ignatian spirituality is simple: it’s about finding God in all things. But the language that’s used to describe Ignatian practices can be unfamiliar. Some of the terms even sound a bit medieval, reflecting the context of St. Ignatius’s life in 16th-century Spain.
You don’t need to have the “right” vocabulary to practice Ignatian spirituality. Each of us brings our own unique spiritual language that we use to think about and engage with God. Yet, if you’re exploring the Ignatian Exercises or other Ignatian resources, you may find yourself a bit lost around the meanings of some common terms.
Here, we’ll explore some of those Ignatian terminologies, offering definitions and ways of expanding each phrase to fit your own experience of Ignatian prayer practices.
Spiritual Exercises: The Spiritual Exercises were developed by Ignatius of Loyola to help others enter into a contemplative, relational experience of God. The Exercises are a structured mode of prayer that were originally intended for Jesuits in a 30-day silent retreat setting. However, Ignatius recognized the need to make the Exercises more accessible to laypeople. The “Nineteenth Annotation” is designed to be completed over several months, with daily contemplative prayer and weekly meetings with a spiritual director. Many of the other terms we’ll explore here stem from origins in the Spiritual Exercises. Learn more about making the Extended Ignatian Exercises here.
Colloquy: A colloquy is simply an open, honest conversation with the Divine. In the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises, spiritual seekers are invited to explore colloquies with Jesus, in which they use their imagination to picture themselves speaking directly to him. A colloquy is a space to be fully present with and open to the Lord. It’s a place of heartfelt, two-way conversation where we listen as well as talk.
Consolation: Consolation is a movement of the spirit in which someone feels close to God. It’s often marked by a supernatural sense of joy, peace, comfort, or contentment. These may be moments where you felt the most freedom or gratitude, or it may be where you were most able to give and receive love.
Desolation: Desolation is a spiritual state marked by restlessness, discouragement, or a sense of distance from God. As the opposite of consolation, desolation is an inner place where you may not be grateful or free, or where you may be least able to give or receive love. Although these feelings may not be comfortable, that doesn’t mean that desolation is always bad. It’s a part of the human experience, one that God uses in our spiritual growth and discernment of our next step.
Discernment: Discernment is more than just decision-making. It’s a prayerful noticing of movements like consolation and desolation, and an open invitation to God to walk with us in our choices. Discernment takes time and isn’t always logical. It asks us to prayerfully consider our own desires, callings, gifts, and intuition as we move forward on our unique journeys.
Examen: This is a reflective practice in which we’re invited to prayerfully review the last 24 hours. It begins with a prayer of gratitude to God and asking the Holy Spirit to help us notice movements of consolation and desolation from the previous day. Developing a regular Examen prayer practice can be useful when you have a discernment question to process. Learn more about praying an Examen here.
Indifference: Ignatian indifference doesn’t mean a lack of care or concern. Instead, it speaks to a holy posture of openness. Imagine that instead of clinging tightly to something, you’re able to hold it lightly, with open palms. This is what Ignatian difference asks of us. It’s a discipline of trust that places love of God above all else.
Invitations to Explore Ignatian Spirituality
You may not have known these official definitions by heart, but you’ve probably experienced each of them in your own inner work. We at Sacred Ground invite you to continue deepening your experience of Ignatian spirituality with these upcoming opportunities.
Join us for our February Groundings lecture with Rev. T. Michael Rock as he leads us in exploring the use of spiritual direction to process traumatic events. You’re welcome to attend in person at St. Thomas More or online via Zoom.
If you’ve ever wondered how others hear the call to become a spiritual director, please join us for our online open house on February 19. You’ll learn more about our Spiritual Direction Formation and Training Program, as well as hear from faculty and recent alumni. Your questions and curiosities are welcome here!