025 – Spiritual Desolation with Fr. Timothy Gallagher

You know the scenario. Everything is going well, prayer is rich, family is good, life is generally pleasant. And then out of nowhere something comes along that upsets the apple cart. You start feeling a little discouraged and the first thing to go is prayer. Why? If God wants me to be close to him, why would he allow moments of discouragement that seemingly push me away? ? Spiritual desolation is the focus of today’s episode and joining me is Fr. Timothy Gallagher, popular author and lecturer on the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola. He has written and spoken much on navigating the spiritual life. He is a gentle soul and a skilled spiritual director. And his insights into spiritual desolation are singular.
In this episode, we start by explaining who St. Ignatius of Loyola is and why he developed these exercises. We talk about learning how to distinguish the various movements within ourselves: the good spirit, the bad spirit, and our human liabilities. We define spiritual vs non-spiritual consolations and desolations. He describes the typical tactics used by the devil to trip us on the spiritual journey. The value of attending to our emotional life and how counseling can be of great benefit. We layout various reasons why God would allow spiritual desolation. And we end with differentiating between spiritual desolation and the dark night of the soul.
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Websites mentioned in the show:
Fr Timothy’s website to link all his books and talks. Frtimothygallagher.org
“On Christian Joy” Pope Paul VI Exhortation

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