When We Discern Our Desires: Lessons from Schooled by the Spirit

“To love is to desire. To be human is to desire.”In this episode of JOSh Friends, Ann Manhit — teacher, writer, formator — reflects on the true purpose of our desires, guided by the award-winning book Schooled by the Spirit: A Prayer Companion to Ignatian Spirituality by Fr. Ramon Maria Luza Bautista, SJ, recipient of Cardinal Sin Catholic Book Awards 2010 Best Book in Spirituality. Ann talks about the feeling of shame that comes with wanting more, and how the chapter on “A Spirituality of Desires” has redirected her to embrace these desires instead, recognizing them as what they are: a guide towards God’s own desires for us as His beloved. She also talks about the challenges that come with it. With the noises and distractions that surround us — family concerns, personal wants, flood control issues, corruption — there is a heightened call for slow discernment: which desires lead us astray and which ones really lead us closer to God? Journey with us with books and songs—get your copy of Schooled by the Spirit at JesCom Exclusives on jescom.ph/josh