Fr. Timothy Gallagher and Kris McGregor continue a 20-part series on the various Struggles in the Spiritual Life.  This episode explores spiritual discouragement and a form of spiritual desolation that takes on the form of tiredness and exhaustion.

You can pick up a copy of the book here:

An excerpt from the chapter, “I Don’t Have the Energy”:

In this form of desolation, we feel spiritually sluggish, indolent, lazy, lackadaisical. The adverb “totally” is powerful: in time of spiritual desolation, we may feel totally sluggish, lazy, and slothful as regards various aspects of our spiritual lives. We feel no energy for prayer, for God’s service, for involvement in our parish, for holiness in our vocations, and the like. The feeling of slothfulness in spiritual desolation may contrast sharply with the energy we more habitually feel for these same things when not in desolation.

There is no shame in experiencing this form of spiritual desolation. We all do at times. What is important — Julie is on target with this — is to be aware of it, understand it for the tactic of the enemy that it is, and firmly reject it. For Bob, this means that he should not renounce leadership of the group until he has greater clarity about his spiritual situation (rule 5: in time of desolation, never make a change). That change will not resolve his lack of energy; identifying and rejecting the desolation will. Bob may further apply the means Ignatius offers to resist and overcome the desolation: prayer of petition, meditation, examination, suitable penance, and the rest.

Gallagher O.M.V, Fr. Timothy ; Gallagher O.M.V, Fr. Timothy. Struggles in the Spiritual Life: Their Nature and Their Remedies (pp. 72-73). Sophia Institute Press. Kindle Edition.

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.”

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