SSF105 – Discernment of Spirits

This course will explore the theory and practice of the discernment of spirits as embodied in St. Ignatius of Loyola’s fourteen rules for discernment of spirits contained in his Spiritual Exercises. These fourteen rules provide one of the clearest and most comprehensive explanations of the discernment of spirits in the Christian spiritual tradition.  The course will examine the principles and process of the discernment of spirits in the Ignatian tradition by drawing upon both the original text and a commentary of St. Ignatius’s fourteen rules of discernment.  This course will also provide students with a better understanding of these principles so that they may apply them to their own spiritual lives and thus recognize more clearly the action of God in their daily lives.