“Rules for becoming aware and understanding to some extent the different movements which are caused in the soul, the good, to receive them, and the bad to reject them” (St. Ignatius).
Spiritual Awareness
St. Ignatius invites us into the discipline of spiritual awareness, which is the first essential step in discerning the movements within our souls. As Fr. Timothy Gallagher notes, “Becoming aware is the gateway to all discernment” (Gallagher, Discernment of Spirits, 17). This process involves opening our spiritual eyes to the stirrings in our minds and hearts, consciously acknowledging whether we are in consolation or desolation, and recognizing the spiritual forces at play.
St. Ignatius identifies three distinct types of interior awareness: Psychological, Moral, and Spiritual. While these categories are interrelated, Ignatius focuses on spiritual awareness, which involves recognizing the spontaneous, pre-moral movements of the heart that have special significance for our faith journey and our pursuit of God’s will.
The Battle
Becoming aware is the most difficult step. We live in a culture of busyness, fueled by contemporary technology that constantly distracts us and pulls us away from introspection. Thomas Merton describes this process as “interior asceticism”—a spiritual discipline of becoming aware of the stirrings in our hearts and their corresponding thoughts.
Simone Weil captures this struggle with precision: “Something in our soul has a far more violent repugnance for true attention than the flesh has for bodily fatigue… a quarter of an hour of attention is better than a great many good works.”
The challenge to become aware is compounded by a spiritual enemy—the devil—who does not wish for our eyes to be “opened a little,” as this awareness leads to significant spiritual growth.
We are in a spiritual battle, whether we acknowledge it or not. If we remain unaware of this struggle, or recognize the enemy only in vague, abstract terms, we are likely to lose. However, by admitting that there is an enemy and expecting to encounter his hindrances, we take a crucial step forward in spiritual progress. The choice is not whether to engage in the battle—it’s already happening. The choice is whether to become aware and win or lose.
Courage and Encountering Christ
Awareness requires courage, a courage rooted in faith in a loving God. Fr. Gallagher reminds us, “Faith in a loving God, a Saviour, gives us the courage to be ‘within.’ It tells us that to be ‘within,’ far more than to face our limitations, is to encounter the infinite, personal, warm, and eternal love of the Saviour: it is to know the light that shines in the darkness and which the darkness has not overcome (John 1:5)” (Spiritual Consolation, xxxiii).
Awareness is the path to encounter Christ. Fr. Gallagher articulates this beautifully: “Only when we learn experientially the truth that there is a ‘light that shines in the darkness’ (John 1:5), and that to be ‘within’ is above all to encounter the personal presence, the love and healing of our Savior, does this resistance begin to diminish” (Discernment of Spirits, 20).
St. Augustine echoes this call to interiority: “Return to your heart!… Christ dwells in the inner self; in the inner self you will be renewed in the image of God.”
The first courageous step is to recognize and admit the difficulty. There’s a big difference between “myself in desolation” and “myself-reflecting-on-myself-in-desolation” (Toner, Commentary, 151). From there, patience and self-compassion are necessary as we slowly become more aware.
Here’s a reflection on Mary Magdalene’s courage to become aware (click here).
Practical Tip: Have a TED Talk with Jesus
To cultivate spiritual awareness, consider having a TED talk with Jesus throughout the day. This means relating your dominant Thoughts, Emotions, and Desires to Him. This practice will help you become more attuned to what is spiritually stirring in your heart, allowing you to discern more clearly the movements within your soul.
Prodigal Catholic 