Showing results by author "Timothy M. Gallagher OMV" in All Categories

St. Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Jesuits, is one of the most influential spiritual leaders of all time, yet many find his Rules for Discernment hard to understand. What can Ignatius teach us about the discernment of spirits that lies at the very heart of Christian life? In The Discernment of Spirits, talented teacher, retreat leader, and scholar Timothy M. Gallagher helps us understand the Rules and how their insights are essential for our spiritual growth today.

Fr. Gallagher draws from real-life stories and his experience as a spiritual director to explain the core principles of the examen prayer: What is the examen and how can we begin to pray it? How can we adapt it to our individual lives? What are its fruits?

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.