HomedotMagisDiscernment“I want, I want”

“I want, I want”

Susan Stabile, an Ignatian spiritual director and law professor, distinguishes between the desire that causes pain and the desire that motivates us:

Attachment (what might be called disordered desire) always feels tumultuous, unsettling and lacking in peace. Deep desire has an element of peace in it and it pulls us generally forward rather than roiling uncontrollably. And they are very different in their effects: Clinging and attachment incapacitate, deep desire energizes. Clinging and attachment lead only to pain and a feeling of incompleteness. Deep desire leads to satisfaction and peacefulness.

Read the whole thing.

Jim Manney
Jim Manneyhttps://www.jimmanneybooks.com/
Jim Manney is the author of highly praised popular books on Ignatian spirituality, including A Simple, Life-Changing Prayer (about the Daily Examen) and God Finds Us (about the Spiritual Exercises). He is the compiler/editor of An Ignatian Book of Days. His latest book is What Matters Most and Why. He and his wife live in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

2 COMMENTS

  1. God bless you Jim.
    Amen to Susan.
    Remember me always in your prayers.
    I am still struggling with my deepest desires and fervently fighting with all the attachments in my life.

  2. Thank you Tim.
    This clarifies a great deal for me since I am now reading a book that asserts all pain and suffering comes from our attachments, from our desires.
    I have “desires.” I hope and pray that are in line with God’s desires for my will and life.

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