consolation and desolation

Opening Prayer:  Thank you, O God, that you are always at work, in all times, in all places, and in all seasons.  Help me to trust you in the midst of whatever season or circumstances I may find myself.  I will trust in you, O Lord.  Amen.

Scripture: Psalm 107:33-43

Journal: What is life like for you these days?  Would the word consolation or desolation best describe the state of your soul these days?  Where do you see evidence of each?  What do you think God is up to through them?

Reflection: Back in the 1548, a very wise saint named Ignatius of Loyola made an incredibly helpful observation.  He pointed out that there are two main movements in the spiritual life: consolation and desolation.  Consolation being “when some interior movement in the soul is caused, through which the soul comes to be inflamed with love of its Creator and Lord.”  And desolation being the state in which the soul becomes “disturbed and agitated, without hope, without love; when one finds oneself all lazy, tepid, sad, and as if separated from his Creator and Lord.”  Thus, consolation stirs up feelings of peace, hope, and love, that orients us toward God and toward helping others, while desolation stirs up feelings of disruption, disturbance, despair, depression, frustration, isolation, anxiety, etc.  

The biggest misconception being that God works in one, but not the other.  The truth is that God works in both.  In fact, some of the most significant work God does in the soul comes through periods of desolation; we just have to stay with them long enough to dig through the rubble and find out exactly what he is up to.  There are times when, for some reason completely unknown to us, he “turns rivers into deserts and flowing springs into thirsty ground.”  And there are times when he “turns the desert into pools of water and the parched ground into flowing springs.”  There are seasons when “we sow fields and plant vineyards that yield a fruitful harvest,” and seasons when “we are humbled by oppression, calamity, and sorrow.”  There are times when we are fully aware of his life and his love and his presence in our lives, and times when it seems like he is “making us wander in a trackless waste.”  But in all of these things, Paul reminds us in Romans 8:28, God works.  We just have to take to heart the last line of this ancient prayer: “Whoever is wise, let him heed these things and consider the great love of the Lord.” (Psalm 107:43)  We must constantly hold our lives before God, whatever the state, and consider what our good and loving God is up to within and around us.

Prayer

Closing Prayer: Thank you, O Sovereign Lord, that in times of consolation and times of desolation you are always at work.  Help me to stand firm in that truth today.  Amen.