Discernment and Spiritual Direction

The course is a study of Ignatian discernment in the context of spiritual and retreat direction. It begins by clarifying the meaning of discernment and traces the development of the idea and practice of discernment in the Judaeo-Christian tradition. The course then studies the rules of Ignatian discernment as presented in Ignatius’ Spiritual Exercises and considers their applicability to concrete decision making situations (viz., vocation discernment, communal discernment). The course then concludes with a discussion of the process of maturing in both prayer and discernment.