Prayer is that small little action that we seldom talk about in Church. We offer to pray for people, we pray our devotions and the parts of the Mass; however, we seldom share with others what is taking place during our prayer. For this reason, St. Ignatius of Loyola developed the Rules for the discernment of spirits. The third rule of St. Ignatius is entitled Spiritual Consolation. We know that consolation are good experiences and St. Ignatius wants those who pray to recognize the good experiences in the spiritual life. For Ignatius the interior moments of joy, peace, hope, happiness are experiences of God’s goodness within our lives. These experiences then are meant as a means for inflaming us with the love of God.

To engage these experiences means for us to first be conscious of them, to make note of them and to see how they draw us closer to God. Which is why it is helpful to keep a small prayer journal noting the thoughts, feelings and desires we experience each time that we take a moment to pray. Acknowledging our thoughts, feelings and desires allows us to know what good God is bringing into life, and it gives us joy to live through the day.