
Enemy’s Cowardice: The enemy will flee when resisted but will ravage when yielded to or not resisted firmly with conviction. Humility and Trust: Receive consolation with humility remembering your struggles in desolation and God’s provision. Desolation Preparation: In times of consolation consider how you will conduct yourself in the coming desolation. Desolation Causes: 1) Tepid, slothful or negligent in spiritual disciplines, 2) try us and test/reveal our motivations, 3) to remind us that all consolation is a gift – mitigate pride. Desolation Patience: Pursue patience – affirm the temporal nature of the battle and that consolation will soon return. Affirm God’s presence/sufficient grace for salvation. Desolation Consider: Reflect on how/why He has allowed the trial so you can resist. Desolation Fight: Resist desolation by increasing intensity and commitment to prior resolutions and through much prayer, meditation, examination and suitable penance. Desolation Resilience: Never make a change of spiritual proposals made in consolation. Desolation: Darkness of soul to doubt, despair, narcissism, low and earthly things, disquiet, agitations and temptations, cowardice, feeling slothful, tepid, sad, as if separated from God. Consolation: Soul becomes inflamed with love of God increase in faith, hope and love that quiets and attracts to heavenly things.
GS encourages, strengthens, consoles and takes away obstacles.
Persons moving away from sin toward God: BS bites, stings, saddens, places obstacles, disquiets with false reasons.
GS stings the conscience to help the person to turn back to God. Persons moving away from God to serious sin: BS facilitates movement through imagination of sensual pleasures.
Sources: 1) Yourself, 2) Good Spirits (GS), 3) Bad Spirits (BS) Consolation: Inspirations to Faith – Hope - Love.Desolation: Inspirations to Doubt – Despair – Narcissism.Process: 1) Awareness 2) Understanding 3) Action: Resist/Embrace DISCERNMENT OF SPIRITS SUMMARY – First Rules (1-14)