Sometimes the Rules for the Second Week receive much attention, and the Rules for the First Week do not get as much serious consideration. Yet they are enormously helpful. When a director begins to see the rules happening in the lives of actual people, he or she becomes aware of how accurately Ignatius made his descriptions or "rules." "Descriptions" is a good word. The Rules are a description of how consolation and desolation look in the lives of real people. 

          Ignatius distinguishes between people who are in the First Week from those who are in the Second Week. This distinction is a judgment about which set of rules is applicable. People in the First Week are those who are at the beginning of their spiritual life. They are people who are concerned with matters such as the love of God, who am I, who is God, what does it mean to be redeemed, and what does it mean to be a creature? The First Week is concerned with the basics of spirituality.

          Although the Rules for the First Week and the Second Week can be appropriate for the same person, that person certainly does go through a phase in the retreat where either the First Week Rules are more important or the Second Week Rules are more important and more helpful. Ignatius saves the subtleties of discernment for the Second Week Rules when a person is beginning to be tempted under the appearance of good. 

          When we speak about the Rules for Discernment, we have to think about the Rules as guidelines or as observations about what happens to people as they go through the dynamics of the retreat. They are characteristics or descriptions rather than a rule in the sense of a law. In the First Week we are concerned about people who are involved with identity questions. In the First Week people are not "devout souls" yet, but rather are working their way through identity, love of God, what it means to be a creature, sin and sinfulness. Here the First Week is about more clear-cut and easily discernible situations.

          A word about "spirits" here. In the Exercises spirits are spontaneous movements of affectivity. We are not making statements here about devils or angels or some kind of external being or reality. Here we are concerned with spontaneous movements of affectivity that come up in us. We are sorting through them, discerning them. Discern comes from a Latin word that means "to sift through or to sort out." In discernment we are sifting through the movements of affectivity and seeing where God might be leading us. With that in mind I would like to move to the First Week Rules. [313 - 327]

          You will notice, in comparing [314] to [315] that there is a contrast set up between the two Rules. In [314] Ignatius gives an example, "In the case of those who go from one mortal sin to another . . ." and then he proceeds with his example. The phrase mortal sin does not have the juridical sense of that term but rather the idea of a capital urge or a deadly thrust of spirit. Ignatius referred to "disordered attachments and affections." Today we might talk about an area of sinfulness and dysfunction. 

          When I think of somebody going from one deadly urge to another, I must say I think of people having a raucous night on the town. Notice in [314] he says that for people who are moving from one deadly urge to another and who are not trying to be in God's presence, the spirit of darkness is upon them and they experience that spirit of darkness as filling them with delights and gratifications and anything that encourages them to go from one urge to another without much consideration of what the context or the morality of that behavior might be. 

          On the other hand, Ignatius says when the good spirit is upon the First Week person, that person experiences God's presence more as a sting of conscience, as a sting of remorse, as an insight, a light of reason that says, "Ah, maybe what I am doing is not good." He sets up that contrast in [314]. 

          In [315], he says, 

In the case of those who go on earnestly striving to cleanse their souls from sin and who seek to rise in the service of God our Lord, to greater perfection, the opposite is true. 

          On the other hand, for "the devout soul," the good spirit is characterized by a sense of courage, a sense of strength. Ignatius mentions "tears." Tears of consolation are basically three different kinds: tears of joy, tears of sorrow, tears of understanding - when things have come together for me and I deeply appreciate and understand the touch of transcendence. These are two very different kinds of people in [314] and [315]. Their thrust of spirit is in opposite directions.

          Ignatius moves on to the next section in [316-317] to the famous and classic examples and definitions of "consolation" and "desolation." In [316] he describes spiritual consolation on three levels. It is good here to remind ourselves that consolation is used in a very technical and precise way. It is more than feeling good about life. Consolation in the Ignatian sense is always oriented to the love of God and the service of humankind.

          The basic level of the three levels of consolation is mentioned toward the end of [316] where he says, "...consolation is every increase of faith, hope, and love, and all interior joy, that invites and attracts to what is heavenly..." Get yourself anchored in that particular part of the definition: every increase of faith, of hope, of love. It is very basic consolation. In addition to this fundamental notion, he offers two other manifestations of consolation. 

          A second level of consolation would be tears that urge me on to the love of God or a sense of sorrow for sin, or something that is directing me towards the love and the service of God and of neighbor. His third level of consolation focuses on interior movements. In defining consolation Ignatius describes things that are external, things that are internal, but rock bottom to all of them is every increase of faith, of hope and of love. 

          He makes the contrast, then, when he goes on to [317] and talks about spiritual desolation. That desolation is exactly the opposite of consolation. Take everything in [316] and turn it 180 degrees to find out his definition for desolation. Basic to all forms of desolation is the line that says, "a want of faith, a want of hope, a want of love." "Want" here is used in the sense of "a lack of."

          Whenever I find myself lacking faith, lacking hope, lacking love, I am in a spirit of desolation. The word desolation, just as the word consolation, is used in a technical sense here. It is not desolation in the sense of "feeling down." It is something more than an affective state. Desolation at its core is a diminution of faith, of hope, of love.

          In that same description Ignatius goes on to describe what accompanies that lack of faith, hope, and love: all other affects that the person experiences such as darkness, turmoil, restlessness, being slothful, being tepid, being sad, feeling separated. All these affective states can accompany the lack of faith, hope, or love. 

          Once he presents the definitions [316 - 317] of consolation and desolation, Ignatius moves in [318 - 322] to comment on desolation. In [318] Ignatius says,

In time of desolation we should never make any change but remain firm and constant in the resolution and decision that guided us the day before the desolation...

          In [319] he talks about working against the desolation . This is an important rule. Some people think they must work against themselves. The translation does not say, work against oneself, but rather, work against the desolation. Ignatius goes on to give some examples here. How does one work against desolation? One can insist more upon prayer, upon meditation and upon examination of ourselves. Notice the turn of phrase there. It does not say, insist on more prayer, more meditation or more examen. It says insist more upon prayer, mediation, examen.

          The last sentence is very interesting. We can make an effort, in a suitable way, to do penance. How does one do suitable penance? A clue to answering that question is to ask another question, how has my spirit been wounded? When I get in touch with how my spirit has been wounded, I have some idea about what suitable penance I will be doing in order to get that area of my life healed. (As Gilbert and Sullivan say, "Let the punishment fit the crime."). If I am the type of person who is constantly overworked and dashing from one thing to another, finding myself with a very weary spirit, then the "suitable penance" is to act against that particular desolation, to take the time and the quiet that I need so that I am not so frenzied, overworked and compulsed.

          It is in [319] that Ignatius reminds us to be faithful to the examination of consciousness each day, and not to change any decision that has been made in consolation. Later on in [333] he will remark that when we make decisions and when we are in the midst of religious experiences and under the impress of grace, we should make sure that we look at the beginning, the middle and the end of the experience and not just one part of it. One needs to judge things within a context and as a whole to determine the goodness of the decision.

          When we move on to [320], there is a need for caution because the language has many overlays that might not be familiar to us today. The best way to think about [320] is to remind ourselves that when the saints and the mystics speak, they often bypass secondary causes and go right to the core as though God and I were the only realities. They tend to bypass secondary causality. Ignatius seems to bypass the secondary causes and image the tension as between himself and God. In [320] he suggests that God sometimes withdraws certain graces from us. Many theologians today would not agree with the statement that grace is withdrawn once it is given. Perhaps it is better to take this in a descriptive way rather than a definitive way. 

          The kernel of what we can get a hold of here is that God is always faithful to us, even in the desolation, for whatever reason the desolation came; and that grace is there when we need it. God's fidelity to us is at the core of [320].

          It is important to go through the Scripture, through the Gospels and correlate the rules for discernment with various Gospel pericopes. There are always movements of spirits in Scripture: in the Pharisees, in the Sadducees, in Jesus himself. For instance, when Christ says about Nathaniel, "Here is a true Israelite in whom there is no guile." Nathaniel says, "How is it that you know me?" And Jesus replies, "When you were under the fig tree, I knew you." Nathaniel says, "You are the Son of God. You are the Messiah of Israel." That is consolation without previous proportionate cause. In another instance, Jesus comes to Mary Magdalene in the garden after the Resurrection and says, "Mary." She replies, "Rabboni" and embraces His feet. That is consolation without previous proportionate cause. 

          The Gospels are the primary teacher of discernment of spirits. For instance, the Pharisees say to Jesus, "By whose authority do you do these things that you do? And he says, "You answer me a question: John the Baptist, was his baptism from heaven or from the people?" They say, "If we say it was from heaven, He will say, why did you not go out and be baptized? If we say it was from the people, they will stone us because the people regard John as a Prophet. They come back and say, "We do not know." Jesus says, "Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things." He was saying, you are the chief discerners of Israel and you cannot read the obvious signs of the times. Do not expect me to subject the subtleties of my mission to your judgment and discernment.

          In [321] Ignatius gives us some suggestions for what to do during desolation, namely, try to persevere in patience and do not let the desolation overtake you. There is an interesting phrase here, too, when he says, "Let them consider... consolation will soon return..." There is an assumption underneath all of this, that consolations, desolations, this lack of faith, hope, love, this great desire for God, are a part of ordinary life and part of the ebb and flow of consolation and desolation in everyone's life. We need to be aware of this ebb and flow and use whatever means are needed to stay in balance. In this particular instance he is saying, when you are in a desolate state, be sure that you have patience and work diligently to use a suitable means against the desolation.

          In [322] Ignatius suggests some reasons why we suffer desolation. Some of those reasons are open to interpretation. Ignatius again suggests that God is withdrawing grace from us in order to test us. Today, that is not a concept that we sit well with. Rather we have the conviction that God's graciousness is always with us. Nevertheless, Ignatius goes on to describe three reasons for this "withdrawal of grace." 

          The first reason is that desolation is upon us because of our own fault. Sometimes we have been careless or we have been lazy or neglectful. What can we expect? We find ourselves in a desolate state. The second reason speaks about testing our faithfulness. When one is in desolation, for whatever the reasons, it is an occasion for fidelity. One is reminded, when in desolation, to persevere in patience. It is an occasion for being patient and remaining faithful.

          Thirdly, Ignatius suggests that persevering in desolation brings about a certain humility and detachment, for surely in the midst of desolation one is reminded that one cannot of himself or herself produce great devotion and that loving God and being fervent is truly a grace. At a time of desolation we are reminded of that particular reality.

          In addition to the comments about desolation [318 - 322] Ignatius continues in [323 - 324] to give additional observations. (See also Annotations [7] and [8].) In [323],

When one enjoys consolation, let him consider how he will conduct himself during the time of ensuing desolation and store up a supply of strength as defense against that day.

          In the directing situation people are often surprised by some questions about what he or she will do the next time he or she is desolate or faith is lacking. I remind the person of this particular guideline, "When in consolation, plan for the time of the ensuing desolation." It is a matter of finding the "suitable penance." You know the kind of penance you did when you were in grade school: you gave up candy or you did not have a birthday party, you did not go to the movie on Saturday. That may be fine when you are a child. As one grows older, it is important that the penance be organic to one's age, understanding and to what is going on in one's life. 

          This area of "how has my spirit been wounded" and "what needs to be healed" is crucial to identity. It diminishes the obstacles that prohibit my knowing my Name of Grace. It provides me with a basis for making better decisions because I am making those decisions congruent with the best that is in me. Obviously, God does not need the penance. The question is, what will help in making the good decisions. What will help in my being more generous and more loving towards the people who need me? It takes reflection and discipline to "store up a supply of strength," figure out what to do, be prepared and ready.

          People are so used to doing these cut and dried generic penances that are left over from grade school that it is difficult to get them out of the grade school mentality into a more adult stance toward penance. I am not against fasting or similar penances. However, I would like an adult to say, "I am fasting because I am hungering for God" rather than "I fast because it is a discipline, because that is what one does for penance." I would like to see a more reflective and organic attitude toward the practice of penance. 

          Rule 10 [323] is the keystone of hygiene for a personal spirituality.

When one enjoys consolation, let him [or her] consider how he will conduct himself during the time of ensuing desolation, and store up a supply of strength as defense against that day.

          Notice he does not say, "If, perhaps, desolation ensues, or, on the outside chance that there might be desolation." He says, "in the ensuing desolation." Ignatius takes it for granted that desolation will ensue and advises us to plan a strategy for how to conduct ourselves in the time of the ensuing desolation. One needs a plan and, therefore, needs accurate knowledge of the patterns of one's own specific consolation and desolation. Spiritual directors can be very helpful in encouraging a person to identify his or her patterns of desolation and plan a strategy.

          A helpful refinement of this rule is to use active imagination and intentionally bring the desolation into the present. For instance, I know that my desolation has the pattern: I feel guilty, then I feel angry, and then I feel depressed. The pattern is: guilty, angry, depressed. I now need to rouse up a pattern of consolation that will neutralize this particular brand of desolation. While looking at my consolation, I plan for my particular mode of desolation. I bring it forward in history to meet the consolation here and now. I let the consolation overcome the desolation, while I am in consolation. If I can find God in my desolation, then I am home free. I know how God will come to me because He will come in such a way that takes away my particular desolation. 

          When Ignatius moves on to [324] he offers two attitudes that one should have in the midst of consolation. He says, in effect, when you find yourself in the midst of consolation, take care to be humble and lower yourself as much as possible. Remember how little you can do when grace is not upon you. He calls for a spirit of humility in the midst of consolation rather than a sense of self-exaltation amid one's fervor. 

          In [324] Ignatius calls upon us to have patience and trust in the Lord. He says, in the second paragraph:

On the other hand, one who suffers desolation should remember that by making use of the sufficient grace offered him, he can do much to withstand all his enemies. Let him find his strength in his Creator and Lord. 

          The last three paragraphs of the Rules for Discernment [325-327] contain three images, or three stories that Ignatius uses to illustrate the struggle that we have in the midst of desolation. He first uses a story of an angry woman and then two stories of men: a false lover and a military commander. In the first story [325], we have what I think today we might call an animus attack, an angry fight between a man and a woman. What ordinarily happens when a man and a woman are fighting with each other? Two things. First of all, if the man shows himself to be very determined and fearless, then the woman will fade, take flight, and run away from the circumstance. Or the other possibility is that if the man in the fight seems to appear passive and wimpish, the woman will flare up and be angry, vindictive, and full of rage. If in the midst of desolation we took a stance of strength rather than a stance of timidity, we would be able to stand up against the desolation. Think of that desolation as attack upon you. What do you do when someone comes upon you and is attacking you? Stand your ground! If you do not stand your ground against the desolation, then you will run in flight or you will be overcome by it. Some translations neutralize the force of this anima/animus situation by glossing over "the angry woman." This situation is a real storm rather than the temper tantrum of a child.

          The second image [326] is the example of a false lover. Ignatius sets up the story of the seducer who is trying to solicit the love and concern of one of the women in a family. Of course, this is done in secret. No one wants to say anything about it. Ignatius points out that this happens in temptation. In the midst of temptation our strongest impulse is not to say or do anything about it, to be quiet, not to say anything to anyone, to let it go unattended. What happens? The situation deteriorates. Ignatius concludes, if the woman involved would talk about the situation with someone, she could be defended. In like manner, when I am in the midst of desolation and trying to keep it quiet, I am doing the worst thing that I could do. What I should do is say it out loud to someone that I trust, for instance, my confessor, a spiritual director, a mature friend. Once I get the desolation out in the open, then I am able to deal with it. I am able to do something about the circumstance. The temptation is put to rout.

          The third example [327] is a war image of seizing and plundering. The image is clear. If one is attacking a town or moving into somebody else's territory, what does the attacking general do? He goes out to look around the fortifications. He surveys the whole situation and looks for areas of weakness. When he finds the weakness, he knows that is where he is going to attack because it is the easiest place to breach the fortification. Is not that similar to what happens to us in the midst of temptation or desolation? How does temptation or desolation come to us? Usually, Ignatius says, in our weakest area where we are not defended. The admonition or guideline here is to know one's weakness. Know how one can be attacked and be ready with appropriate defenses and plans.

          This paragraph is reminiscent of [319]. "...Store up a supply of strength," or "Act against the desolation." We are to prepare ourselves to know our weak side. The experience of desolation can be the occasion for learning something about one's own weakness and deepening one's self-knowledge. 

          When we put these three stories together, the story of the angry fight between the man and woman, the story of the seducer, the story of the general and the army, there are some guidelines that we can extract and that give us some clues about what to do in times of desolation, especially in the First Week.

1. Be bold! Take an assertive position toward the desolation. 
2. Avoid secretiveness. If something is bothering you, worrying you, and you are not willing to say it out loud to somebody, it will only fester and do you no good. Be honest and up front. Find somebody that you can talk to and get the concern or worry out in the open so that these things can be taken care for you.
3. Know and defend your weak side. Know where your own desolations come from. Know some tactics to take care of the desolation and be ready so that you can face those particular desolations.