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Pope Francis Catechesis on Discernment 8
Saint Peter’s Square – Wednesday, 16 November 2022
“Why are we desolate?”
Dear brothers and sisters,
Today, let us resume the catecheses on the theme of discernment. We have seen how important it is to read what stirs within us, so as not to make hasty decisions, spurred by the emotion of the moment, only to regret them when it is too late.
That is, to read what happens and then make decisions.
In this sense, even the spiritual state we call desolation, when everything in the heart is dark, is sad, this state of desolation can be an opportunity for growth. In fact, if there is not some dissatisfaction, some healthy sadness, a healthy ability to dwell in solitude and to be with ourselves without running away, we risk always remaining on the surface of things and never making contact with the center of our existence.
Desolation causes a “shaking of the soul”. When one is sad, it is as if the soul is shaking.
It keeps us awake. It fosters vigilance and humility, and it protects us from the winds of fancy notions.
These are indispensable conditions for progress in life, and hence also in the spiritual life. A perfect but “aseptic” serenity, without feeling, when it becomes the criterion for decisions and behaviour, makes us inhuman. We cannot fail to pay attention to our feelings.
we are human and feeling is a part of our humanity. without understanding feelings we would be inhumane. Without experiencing feelings we would also be indifferent to the suffering of others and unable to accommodate our own. Without considering that such “perfect serenity” is not achieved by this path of indifference. This sterile distance: “I won’t get involved in things, I will keep my distance”: this is not life. This is as if we were living in a laboratory, closed in, so as not to have microbes, diseases.
For many saints, restlessness has been a decisive push to turn their lives around. This artificial serenity is a ‘no go’. A healthy restlessness is fine, the restless heart, the heart that is trying to seeks its way. This is the case, for example, of Augustine of Hippo, Edith Stein, Joseph Benedict Cottolengo, or Charles de Foucauld.
Important choices come at a price that life presents, a price that is within reach of everyone; or rather, the important choices do not come from the lottery, no; they have a price and you have to pay that price. It is a price that you must pay with your heart, it is the price of the decision, the price of making some effort. It is not free of charge, but it is a price within reach of everyone. We must all pay for this decision so as to get out of the state of indifference. The state of indifference brings us down, always.
Desolation is also an invitation to gratuitousness, not to act always and solely with a view to emotional gratification. Being desolate offers us the possibility of growth, of beginning a more mature, more beautiful relationship with the Lord and with our loved ones. It can become a relationship that is not reduced to a mere exchange of give and take.
Let’s think of our childhood, for example. Let’s think: as children, it often happens that we look for our parents to obtain something from them, a toy, some money to buy an ice cream, permission… And so, we look for them not for themselves, but for personal gain. And yet, the greatest gift is them, our parents, and we realize this as we grow up.
Many of our prayers are also somewhat like this: they are requests for favors addressed to the Lord, without any real interest in him. We go to ask, to ask, to ask the Lord.
The Gospel notes that Jesus was often surrounded by many people who sought him out in order to obtain something: healing, material assistance, but not simply to be with him.
He was pressed by the crowds, yet he was alone. Some saints, and even some artists, have meditated on this condition of Jesus. It may seem strange, unreal, to ask the Lord: “How are you?” Instead, it is a beautiful way of entering into a true, sincere relationship, with His humanity, with `His suffering, even with His singular loneliness. With him, with the Lord, who wanted to share his life with us to the full.
It does us a great deal of good to learn to be with him, to be with the Lord, to learn to be with the Lord without ulterior motives, just as it happens with people we love: we wish to know them more and more, because it is good to be with them.
Dear brothers and sisters, the spiritual life is not a technique at our disposal, it is not a programme for inner “wellbeing” that it is up to us to plan. No. The spiritual life is the relationship with the Living One, with God, the Living One who cannot be reduced to our categories. And desolation, then, is the clearest answer to the objection that the experience of God is a form of suggestion, a simple projection of our desires. Desolation is feeling nothing, all darkness, but you seek God in desolation.
In that case, if we think that he is a projection of our desires, we would always be the ones to plan, and we would always be happy and content, like a record repeating the same music. Instead, those who pray realize that the outcome is unpredictable: experiences and Bible passages that have often enthralled us, today, strangely, do not move us.
And, equally unexpectedly, experiences, encounters and readings that we have never paid much attention to or preferred to avoid – such as the experience of the cross – bring immense peace.
Do not fear desolation; face it with perseverance, do not evade it.
And in desolation, try to find the heart of Christ, to find the Lord.
And the answer will come, always.
In the face of difficulties, therefore, never be discouraged, please, but face the trial with determination, with the help of the grace of God, which is never lacking. And if we hear within us an insistent voice that wants to turn us away from prayer, let us learn to unmask it like the voice of the tempter; and let us not be influenced; let us simply do the opposite of what it tells us! Thank you.
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Summary of the Holy Father’s words
Dear brothers and sisters: In our continuing catechesis on discernment, we have seen the importance of interpreting the movements of our heart, including occasional experiences of “desolation” or interior unrest and dissatisfaction.
Such moments are in fact a challenge to our complacency and an incentive to growth in the spiritual life.
In the case of many great saints like Augustine, this sense of inner unrest was the prelude to a profound conversion.
The experience of desolation can open our eyes to see things in a new light, to appreciate the blessings we so often take for granted, and to find our peace in drawing closer to the Lord. In this way, we deepen our relationship with Jesus, which brings not only consolation, but also new challenges to mature in Christian discipleship.
At times of desolation or discouragement, may we embrace the experience as an invitation to deeper prayer, closer union with Christ and steadfast trust in his promises.
