On Discernment of Spirits

 

He drew a circle that shut me out-

Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout.

But love and I had the wit to win:

We drew a circle and took him In! 

(Edwin Markham)

Ignatius of Loyola developed a series of spiritual exercises based on "Discernment of Spirits."  For years, I sort of ignored these exercises because of my ignorance of what he meant by "discernment of spirits."  I assumed that it might have had something to do with discerning the spirits of other people, something I was not much interested in pursuing.  However, recently, I started listening to some lectures on Ignatian Mysticism.  Much to my surprise, I discovered that discernment of spirits had nothing to do with other people -- it had everything to do with my own spiritual life!

When Ignatius the soldier was wounded in battle, he was sent to his aunt's castle, Manresa, to recover.  An avid reader, he searched for books to keep him company during his forced idleness.  He loved adventure and romance, but to his dismay, all that was available to him at the time was the Life of Christ and the lives of the saints.  Gradually, Ignatius began to realize that when he read adventure, his spirit was left restless and uneasy.  When he read the spiritual books, however, he was left with a sense of peace and calm that remained with him even after he finished reading.  Gradually, he developed a series of what he called "exercises" that strengthened and continued his sense of peace and joy.

After hearing this take on discernment of spirits, I began to notice how things affected my own spirit.  In fact, I learned quickly -- by looking at Facebook.  Today I still joke that Facebook taught me more about discernment of spirits than any spiritual book.  I would initially get onto fb to follow the antics of my friends and relatives, not to mention the cute animal antics that fill its pages.  However, it was not long before I started looking at political comments and posturing posted by people I knew.  One time, I ventured to ask someone a question about the electoral college --- I really wanted to know the thinking behind eliminating it from our voting system.  Immediately, I was attacked as "stupid," "unable to understand," "retro," "unable to keep up," "unwanting to change," etc.  Actually, my descriptive words here are quite mild compared to what flew around on fb.  It seemed there was an angry mob out there just waiting for its next victim! 

My interior reaction to that event taught me all I ever needed to know about discernment of spirits.  It also taught me to stay off facebook altogether!  Edwin Markham to the contrary, my own spirit was not strong enough to draw a circle that drew them (my attackers) in -- at least not on facebook.  

In real life, however, I do not find it difficult to draw a circle that draws [them] in.  Perhaps it is because I deal with people one at a time, and because it is easier to get to know the person whose opinions do not match my own -- perhaps it is easier to just back off or walk away from their anger and hostility.  In the quiet of my own prayer, I have time to weigh their reactions and evaluate my own response.  Finally, when I seek the mind of Christ, I see things differently: I see people who are unique and precious, people who have gifts different from mine, people whose lives far outweigh their politics.  

And I see that Christ took in a band of 12 very different disciples, who at first argued among themselves as to which of them was the greatest.  In the end, however, He prayed that they would be one, even as He and the Father were One.  He drew a circle that drew them in, not out!  A lofty goal indeed for us.