Ignatian Definitions

St. Ignatius defines consolation as: every increase of faith, hope, and love; every interior movement that draws you closer to God; peace, joy, spiritual energy, desire for holy things. Desolation is the opposite: darkness, confusion, attraction to low things, restlessness, tepidity, sadness that separates from God. These are SPIRITUAL movements, not just emotions. (Ep 289)

To appreciate the full significance of this teaching, it helps to situate it within the broader framework of the Catholic spiritual tradition. The great masters of the interior life — Teresa of Avila, John of the Cross, Francis de Sales, and Ignatius of Loyola — each brought their distinctive charism and experience to bear on questions like this one. Their convergent testimony, spanning centuries and diverse vocations, gives this teaching a depth and authority that goes far beyond any single author's perspective.

Understanding "ignatian definitions" requires attending to both its doctrinal foundations and its practical implications. The Catholic tradition insists that authentic spiritual knowledge is never merely theoretical — it must be tested in prayer, refined through experience, and ultimately verified by its fruits in the life of the soul. This is why the Church's greatest teachers on the spiritual life are not only theologians but saints — men and women who lived what they taught, and whose writings carry the authority of verified experience.

At the same time, the tradition is careful to anchor experiential testimony in sound doctrine. The Doctors of the Church do not simply report their own experiences; they interpret those experiences in light of Scripture, the Fathers, and the Church's magisterial teaching. This integration of experience and doctrine is one of the defining characteristics of Catholic spiritual theology, and it is what gives the tradition its remarkable combination of depth and reliability.

The richness of the tradition becomes apparent when we listen to the voices of the masters themselves. Each brings a distinctive perspective to this teaching, yet all converge on its essential truth.

St. Thomas Aquinas writes:

For if the Son of God fulfilled the injunctions of His own law, by keeping the festivals, like the rest, with what holy zeal should we servants prepare for and celebrate them?

(Source: catena_aurea_john.txt)

St. Teresa of Avila writes:

THE SAINT'S LiFE xii The nuns in Toledo remove to a better house in the ward of S. Nicholas [ch. xv. 17]. In July she sees in a vision the martyrdom of father Ignatius de Azevedo and others, forty Jesuits ; they were murdered by Soria, protestant and pirate, and friend of Coligni. Among the martyrs was a kinsman of the Saint. 10th July.

(Source: book_of_foundations.txt)

St. John of the Cross writes:

No writer has ever laid down with greater force than S. John the canons whereby contemplatives must regulate their conduct: his works, therefore, have a lasting value, and it is a real consolation to know that even in our materialistic age there are numerous souls ready to follow his guidance. Inexorable as he is, he only carries to the last consequences the firm rule of the Master:.

(Source: ascent_of_mount_carmel.txt)

St. Francis de Sales writes:

The Manicheans rejected the sacrifices of the Church, and images,^ as your people also do. The Messalians despised Sacred Orders, Churches, Altars, as says S.

(Source: 03_catholic_controversy.txt)

St. Ignatius of Loyola writes:

The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Autobiography of St. Ignatius This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever.

(Source: autobiography_oconor_1900.txt)

The Church Fathers writes:

The Catechism (PD) writes:

Thus the Dominicans were founded by St. Dominic, and their special work was to preach the Gospel and convert heretics or persons who had fallen away from the Faith. The Jesuit Fathers were organized by St. Ignatius Loyola, and their work is chiefly teaching in colleges, and giving retreats and missions. So also have the Redemptorists, Franciscans, Passionists, etc., their special works, chiefly.

(Source: baltimore_catechism.txt)

St. Thomas Aquinas writes:

For some there are bearing fruit, to whom our Lord Himself comes down with the ministers of His word and disciples, helping such, His mother being present. Those however who are called to Capernaum, do not seem capable of His presence long: that is, a land which admits lower consolation, is not able to take in the enlightenment from many doctrines; being capable to receive few only.

(Source: catena_aurea_john.txt)

The Church's doctrinal tradition provides authoritative grounding for this teaching. Proposition T4.G.001 (de_fide) states:

There exists a supernatural intervention of God in the faculties of the soul which precedes the free act of the will. This is called actual grace.

• Scripture: ['Not that we are sufficient to think any thing of ourselves, as of ourselves: but our sufficiency is from God.', 'For it is God who worketh in you,...

• Councils: ['If any one saith, that without the prevenient inspiration of the Holy Ghost, and without his help, man can believe, hope, love, or be penitent as...

• Fathers: ['What hast thou that thou hast not received?

Additionally, proposition T4.G.003 (de_fide) affirms: Fallen man cannot, by his natural powers alone and without divine grace, perform salutary acts which lead to eternal salvation. Grace is absolutely necessary for the beginning of faith and for every salutary act.

For the engaged learner, understanding "ignatian definitions" opens a path to deeper prayer and more fruitful cooperation with grace. The sources cited above show that this is not abstract theology but a lived reality that has shaped the spiritual lives of countless saints and ordinary Christians across two millennia.

The practical challenge is to take this teaching into one's own prayer and daily life. This might begin with reflective reading of one or more of the sources quoted above, followed by prayerful consideration of how this teaching applies to one's current spiritual situation. The tradition consistently emphasises that spiritual growth comes not from accumulating information but from allowing truth to penetrate the heart through prayer, sacramental life, and faithful practice.

As St. Francis de Sales reminds us, the devout life is possible in every state — what matters is not extraordinary circumstances but extraordinary love applied to ordinary duties. This teaching invites precisely that kind of response: a deepening of one's relationship with God through understanding and practice, sustained by the rich resources of the tradition.