Fr. David takes the lead as he and Fr. Craig discuss the Ignatian spiritual exercises and their experience on the 30-day silent retreat that all seminarians attend.

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(0:30) Fr. David takes the lead for this episode as him and Fr. Craig talk about the discernment of spirits with St. Ignatius of Loyola. Fr. David also shares updates from the past month, including that samples are back at Costco!

(3:35) Fr. David talks about experiencing Divine Child Homecoming for the first time with a parade, football game, and the decoration of his dad’s truck.

(6:15) Fr. Craig shares his joy of hosting the first Discernment Weekend at the seminary since the pandemic and the six men who attended. He explains the purpose of the event and details the schedule, which was recently updated. Fr. Craig highlights that there’s another Discernment Weekend coming up at the beginning of December.

(11:30) Fr. David transitions to discernment in the work of St. Ignatius, particularly his Spiritual Exercises. He also shares the fact that a parishioner at Divine Child painted (wrote) and presented him an icon of the holy saint, which sits on his desk. Fr. Craig mentions the importance of prayer in his past work creating art while he discerned the priesthood.

(15:00) Fr. Craig explains who St. Ignatius is and how his life as a warrior and military man and love for reading tales of knights in shining armor was suddenly upended by a serious injury. While in his bed recovering, the only books available were those on the lives of the saints. And he shares that while reading these books, St. Ignatius, slowly but surely, became a warrior for Christ in his own conversion.

(20:57) Fr. David introduces Fr. Timothy Gallagher’s Discernment of Spirits and its connection to Ignatian Spirituality while talking about the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. Both Fr. Craig and Fr. David explain how part of their seminarian formation included a 30-day silent retreat based on the Spiritual Exercises. They also delve deeper into the format of them and their experience on the retreat.

(31:50) Fr. David introduces the Suscipe (from the Latin word “receive or accept”) prayer, which St. Ignatius recommended at the end of the retreat. Fr. Craig shares how the Lord spoke to him through the retreat, particularly the grace of belonging to a band of brothers, the winning team for saving souls as faithful priests. Fr. David, on the other hand, talks about how the Lord spoke to him through a meditation on particular judgment and the role of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

(39:15) Fr. David talks about a few principles from the Spiritual Exercises about discerning or looking within at the heart: the thoughts, feelings, and desires. He focuses on consolation and desolation, according to the Rules of St. Ignatius. Both Fr. Craig and Fr. David explore moments of consolation and how they overcame times of desolation in their own lives.

(50:20) Fr. David offers some tips from St. Ignatius for those who find themselves in moments of desolation. He emphasizes that times of desolation are a reminder that the graces of consolation are God’s grace, not something we can earn.

(55:20) Fr. David concludes with a prayer by St. Ignatius for desolation, and Fr. Craig thanks him for leading the discernment of spirits and talking about St. Ignatius.