Ignatius' Rules of Discernment

The purpose of Ignatius’ rules of discernment is simple. “Perceive in order to understand in order to take appropriate action.” It is a simple process that once understood, embraced and practiced I believe becomes second nature, a natural way to process information and live life.

Awareness of these movements is just the first step. Then one must understand and put them into perspective and act accordingly. Sometimes it may take a long period of time to become aware of certain things, a pattern of behavior, or a particular attitude. Sometimes the understanding of what has been noticed may take minutes or months. And likewise the final step of taking appropriate action may occur a single time or numerous times over a course of a life time. There is no time frame attached to the discernment process.

For instance, one Sunday as I prepared for church to begin, there were numerous things that irritated me – this wasn’t done, someone left a mess, this person wouldn’t work with this person, etc. None of these irritations were new, they existed prior to this particular morning. So what was going on? Normally I love and anticipate Sunday mornings; however with some reflection I realized I was tired. Not the exhausted, I couldn’t get out of bed this morning tired, but rather I haven’t had a day off in numerous weeks. Yes, I technically had Friday and Saturday off, but I spent 6 hours in class on Friday and 8 hours on Saturday. I guess that wasn’t really a day off. Obviously leaving work at that time and taking off a day was not going to happen. However with this new insight and a deeper understanding of myself I was able to put my negative thoughts on hold. I was also able to look at my calendar and schedule a day off when I could rest, emotionally, physically and mentally. This particular discernment process was very quick. It occurred within 30-45 minutes.

What could have been a negative experience, became a positive one, as I was aware of the Spirit's leading in my life. It drew me towards God and became a gift.