During a recent Sunday a priest gave a homily, which included quite a bit of St. Ignatius’ ideas of consolation and desolation. Obviously much can be written here, but in interest of time, I’m going to summarize my main takeaway: the inter play between logic and emotion.
I’m a firm believer in listening to your feelings, because that is the biggest tool one has for discerning God’s will for their life. Having said that, we are human and our mind can, and does, rationalize us away from following our hearts.
On the flip side, unchecked emotions such as lust can, and do, throw wisdom out the window.
So I like to think of logic as an emotional advocate.
I want to feel God’s presence in my life as much as possible, and yet even while in that zone remind myself that there will be times when God feels absent … so as to avoid paralysis when I inevitably get there.
In the dry times, with my mind as my emotional advocate, I want to think right back to the times I felt God’s presence … because that’s where eventually I will land. The more I focus on that emotional state, the faster I’ll get back there.
In your mind, what is the primary purpose of your emotions? How does your mind support that purpose?
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