I welcome you to Solace: Soul + Grief . My name's Candee Lucas and I'm a grief chaplain . I accompany those who are grieving any kind of loss and I ask that you let me accompany you today . You're always welcome in this circle of healing , love and support . Remember , we are all on this journey together .
St Ignatius taught us the concept of spiritual consolation and desolation , so let's talk a minute today about those and how they affect our grieving process .
Any interior movement in the soul which leads her , the soul , to become inflamed with the love , the love of her creator and God , and when , as a consequence , there is nothing in the universe that the person can love in itself , but they love it , as in the creator and God of all things .
Similarly , consolation refers to times when a person sheds tears which lead to the love of God , christ and or the Spirit , whether they arise from grief over sins , over the passions of Jesus , from grief over sins over the passions of Jesus or because of other reasons immediately directed toward Jesus' service and praise .
Lastly , consolation refers to every increase , however small , of hope and faith in love , to all interior joy which calls and attracts to eternal things and to the salvation freedom of one's soul , leaving the soul quiet and at peace in her Creator and God . How does spiritual consolation come about while grieving ? How does spiritual consolation come about while grieving ?
In the days when we remember our loved ones with kindness and love and remember how much they brought into our lives ? That is the time we will most often experience spiritual consolation , the one that Ignatius spoke about , because the love that we created with that person while they were with us on this earth continues .
It has nowhere to go , but stays deeply in our heart . The regard of that love can only increase the love we experience , understand , remember and retain . Likewiswe, Ignatius spoke about spiritual desolation , something we are also likely to experience while grieving . What is spiritual desolation ? Anything contrary to the consolation we spoke of earlier .
For example , darkness and disturbance in the soul , attachments that seem paralyzing , disquiet arising from various agitations and temptations . All this leads to a lack of confidence in which one feels oneself to be without hope and without love . One finds oneself thoroughly lazy , lukewarm , sad and as though cut off from one's creator in God .
For just as consolation is contrary to desolation , in the same way the thoughts that spring from consolation are contrary to the thoughts that spring from desolation . That's why we focus first on the love when we are grieving , on the love when we are grieving .
It is tempting , and some days fulfilling , to be attached to the sadness , to the tears , to the simple lack of our loved ones in our daily lives . But it is on those days of spiritual desolation that it is important to remember the love , even if it is a tiny , tiny ember in that dark cloud . That concludes this week's episode .
You can find us on Apple , spotify or Amazon . Please feel free to send any questions you might have about grieving to my email . In the show notes I'll try to answer any questions you have in the future . Remember I'm always available for spiritual direction by Zoom to those who are grieving . Please reach out to me if you have this need .
Be safe , Travel with God always at your side . Vaya con Dios .