By Father John Catoir JCD

St. Ignatius Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits, explains how God often communicates with us: “Good discernment consists of prayerfully pondering the great desires that well up in our daydreams.”

Our daydreams are often God’s way of communication with us. God enflames our hearts with holy desires. Some come in the form of an attraction toward a life of service. Sometimes it has to do with our vocation. Often it has to do with the choice of volunteering for a noble cause. St. Ignatius speaks of prayerful daydreaming as a key to spiritual discernment.

Basically, the Holy Spirit speaks to us through holy desires encased in our daydreams. Actual grace is a light to the mind or an impulse to the will. Only gradually do we come to discern what God wants of us. At first, we may not fully understand whether this is a dream from God or not. When a daydream brings you peace and joy, it’s a good sign that God is speaking to you.

There are many approaches to discernment in our Catholic tradition.  My own vocation emerged from daydreaming about being a priest. At the time I was sure I wanted to marry and raise a family. Becoming a priest was the last thing I wanted, or so I thought. I resisted the idea strenuously for over five years, until I finally realized that the priesthood was what I wanted most of all. Spiritual directors have always known that the Holy Spirit often leads his children along paths they would not have chosen for themselves.

Many of my columns are written when I’m in a state of spiritual day-dreaming. Sometimes I receive the inspiration for an entire article all at once.  I may be half asleep and I get up to scribble some notes, so I can remember them later.

Here’s a new article taken from notes that have been laying around for a few weeks. You can decide if it’s a message from the Holy Spirit for you.

We All Need Joy.

Just as we need air to breathe, we also need joy in our lives. There are so many miserable days. We need joy to lift us up. It’s important to know that joy is more than a feeling. It’s a kind of inner contentment based on the knowledge of God’s unending love.

If you have chosen Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you already have His joy in your heart whether you feel it or not. You must learn to activate it by deciding to live joyfully because of your faith in God’s love.

Never cut yourself off from spiritual joy or you from suffer needless loneliness. The Gospels tell us that God is Love.

Since joy is the by-product of love,  it follows that God’s presence brings both Love and Joy. The Kingdom of God is within you.  

Accepting this truth opens us to an on-going participation in his Joy.  If you are suffering from bad feelings, or from some sorrow, you know that you always  have Christ’s joy abiding in you. Use it as a crutch when you need to.

At times, sorrow will overcome you. No need to be afraid, it doesn’t mean that The Lord has abandoned you. His joy is always within you. Learn to claim it. That’s how you can do what St. Paul urged us to do; namely, “Rejoice in all circumstances.”