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How Can I Be Drawn to Such Things? – Struggles in the Spiritual Life with Fr. Timothy Gallagher O.M.V.
Fr. Timothy Gallagher and Kris McGregor discuss a character named Beth to illustrate the struggles of spiritual desolation and how to respond to them.
Beth, after a long and tiring day, finds herself discouraged and lacking the desire to engage in her usual evening prayers. Faced with the choice between praying the Liturgy of the Hours or calling a colleague, Maureen, for a potentially negative conversation, she opts for the latter. This decision leads her into a downward spiral of unproductive activities, including gossip, watching empty TV shows, and comfort eating. Despite feeling worse afterward, she pushes herself to pray briefly but with little engagement, ending the day feeling ashamed and disheartened.
Experiencing such struggles is common and not something to be ashamed of. He explains that in moments of spiritual desolation, there is often a pull toward “low and earthly things,” as described by St. Ignatius of Loyola. The key is to be aware of this desolation, name it, and then resist it. He highlights the importance of making choices that counteract desolation, like Beth choosing to pray despite her initial reluctance. This resistance can gradually lift the discouragement and lead to spiritual growth.
Fr. Gallagher differentiates between different types of friendships and stresses the importance of having friends who share a love for God and can encourage spiritual growth. He concludes by affirming that God never causes spiritual desolation but allows it for spiritual strengthening, and that the grace to take the first step in resisting it is always available.
You can pick up a copy of the book here.
Discerning Hearts Reflection Questions
- Recognizing Spiritual Desolation: Have you experienced moments when you felt discouraged and distant from God, similar to Beth’s situation?
- Responding to Desolation: How do you typically respond when you feel the pull toward “low and earthly things” during times of spiritual desolation?
- Importance of Spiritual Disciplines: How can maintaining your spiritual practices, like evening prayer, help you overcome discouragement?
- Role of Friendships: Do your friendships lead you closer to God, or do they sometimes pull you away from your spiritual goals, as seen in Beth’s conversation with Maureen?
- Using Spiritual Tools: Are you aware of and using the spiritual tools, like the Ignatian Rules of Discernment, to recognize and reject spiritual desolation?
- Trusting in God’s Grace: In times of trial, do you trust that God is providing you with the grace and strength needed to take the first step towards Him?
- Growth Through Trials: How do you view trials and challenges in your spiritual life—as opportunities for growth or as setbacks?
An excerpt from the book:
Into this vulnerable space the enemy brings the further burden of spiritual desolation, and specifically what Ignatius calls a “movement to low and earthly things.” Obviously, telephones, refrigerators, the Internet, and similar things serve in good ways: that is why we have them. But, like Beth, in time of spiritual desolation we may feel drawn to them in “low” and “earthly” ways — that is, in ways harmful to us spiritually.
That Beth — and we — feel this pull in time of spiritual desolation should not surprise us, nor is there any shame in feeling this pull. It is simply a tactic of the enemy, a form of spiritual desolation. Again, such is the spiritual life in a fallen but redeemed and loved world. What does matter and matters greatly, is that we be discerning: that we note this pull to low and earthly things, identify it as the tactic of the enemy that it is, and, with God’s grace and courage, reject it.
Gallagher O.M.V, Fr. Timothy ; Gallagher O.M.V, Fr. Timothy. Struggles in the Spiritual Life: Their Nature and Their Remedies (pp. 40-41). Sophia Institute Press. Kindle Edition.
To find more episodes from this series, visit the Struggles in the Spiritual Life Podcast
From the book’s description:
“Here is a powerful, life-changing book that will help you understand and conquer the struggles you face in your spiritual life. It’s a book for those who love the Lord and desire holiness yet often feel adrift or stagnant in their search for spiritual growth.
All of us encounter valleys on our journey with the Lord — those periods of spiritual desolation that are a painful yet unavoidable feature of our prayer life. Spiritual desolation is as complex as we are, so understanding what is happening and responding to it properly are critical to reaching the heights of holiness.
With warmth and understanding, Fr. Gallagher carefully identifies in this book the various forms of spiritual and nonspiritual desolation and supplies the remedy for each. You’ll learn how to discern whether your struggles derive from medical or psychological conditions or whether those struggles are spiritual and permitted by the Lord for reasons of growth. In each case, you’ll be given the remedy for the struggle. You’ll also learn the forms of spiritual dryness and of the Dark Night — and how to respond to them.
In chapter after chapter, Fr. Gallagher presents a particular struggle as experienced by fictional characters and then provides the advice he gives to those who come to him for spiritual direction about that struggle. You’ll gain confidence as you journey through desolation, and you’ll learn to reject the enemy’s ploys to infect you with a sense of hopelessness.“
