Human lives are full of big decisions. “What should I do for a living?” “Should I get married?” “Where should I live?” “Should my spouse and I have another child?” “Should I pursue the priesthood or religious life?”

As Christians, we are called to do God’s will, not our own will, in each decision. Each of us was lovingly created by God, and we are called to love and serve him in the details of our lives. God has a unique and beautiful plan for each of us, and we are called to pursue that plan to the best of our ability.

God’s will isn’t always obvious, though! How can we know what God wants us to do?

St. Ignatius of Loyola – founder of the Jesuits and patron saint of Maryland – offers some very practical suggestions to make good choices. For a thorough explanation of those principles, I’d highly recommend the book Discerning the Will of God: An Ignatian Guide to Christian Decision Making by Fr. Timothy Gallagher. In this short article, though, I’d like to briefly summarize the advice of St. Ignatius.

Three Modes of Discernment

St. Ignatius highlights three different times when you can make a “good and sound choice”: First, God can move your will so that you have no doubt or ability to doubt what you should do. A young woman, for example, may have absolute certainty that God is calling her to apply to a particular religious order. When such a grace is given – especially if you’ve spoken to a trustworthy spiritual director – you can move forward with reasonable assurance that you are making a good decision.

Second, God sometimes gives clarity of his will through our experience of “consolation” and “desolation.” Consolation is an interior stirring of the heart toward God in faith, hope, and charity. Desolation, on the other hand, is a movement of the heart away from God toward worldly things in doubt, despair, and selfishness. If you spend time in prayer each day, you may discover that you are drawn toward a particular decision whenever you experience consolation but are drawn to the opposite whenever you experience desolation. For example, a young man may feel a great closeness to God and a call to a holy future when he thinks about proposing to his girlfriend, but may feel inclined to break up during times of desolation; such spiritual experiences may suggest that proposing would be a good decision - though talking to a spiritual director is always a good idea.

If God does not give clarity in either of the first two ways, then St. Ignatius offers a third mode of discernment: In a peaceful time, when you are experiencing neither consolation nor desolation, you should think about why God made you – to praise him and spend eternity with him – and you should choose the path that best helps you toward this goal of eternal life. Notice that St. Ignatius doesn’t say that you should choose what’s most appealing or what might be easiest, but that you should make holiness your top priority. You should consider the advantages and disadvantages of the decision “solely for the praise of God our Lord and the salvation of [your] soul.”

If a young person is trying to decide whether to go to a particular college, for example, he or she should consider first and foremost whether that college experience is going to help him or her get to get to heaven and serve God more effectively. All other considerations should be secondary.

Further Advice

St. Ignatius also describes two ways to discern in a peaceful time, when you are not experiencing desolation. (This is the third mode of discernment above.)

First, he says, bring to mind the decision that you have to make. Strive to be concerned only with the purpose of your life – to glorify God and spend an eternity with him – and try to be indifferent to the things of this world, such as health, wealth, or popularity. Ask God to move your will toward that which is more for the glory of God, then use your intellect to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of each option, solely for the praise of God and the holiness of your soul. Finally, see which option your will is more reasonably inclined toward in light of these considerations, and entrust your decision to God, “so that his Divine Majesty may be pleased to receive and confirm it, if it is for his greater service and praise.”

St. Ignatius offers a second series of thought experiments to help when making a decision during a peaceful time (the third mode above). First, we should first strive to make our decision solely for the love of God, not for any selfish motive. Second, we can imagine that we are giving advice to a stranger for his own holy discernment, then follow whatever advice we would give that stranger. Third, we can imagine ourselves at the moment of our death and make the decision we would be most satisfied with on our deathbed. Fourth, we can imagine the day of our judgment before God and make the decision that we would be most pleased with at that point. Once we make a decision, we should entrust the choice fully to God.

St. Ignatius of Loyola gives more helpful advice than I can include in this article – Please see Fr. Gallagher’s book for more details.

Final Thoughts

In an age when we don’t think much about our own holiness or eternal life, the advice of St. Ignatius of Loyola is challenging. We tend to make decisions to gain more health, wealth, or popularity, never lifting our eyes above the horizon of our material world. The Gospel challenges us, however, to pursue what leads to the glory of God and the salvation of souls. If you have a big decision to make, you can’t go wrong listening to the wisdom of St. Ignatius of Loyola!