04/03/1995
I Gave It to Saint Ignatius
Nancy and George were praying in the apparition room. Nancy was having a personal conversation with Jesus but she still tested the message as she had been taught by both Jesus and the Blessed Mother. By testing the spirits as Jesus has taught her, Nancy endeavors to discern when the devil is trying to deceive. The devil got Adam and Eve, who walked and talked with God, to take their attention and eyes off God and to deceive them to sin. The devil has not stopped deceiving. Once Nancy called Satan "Stupid" when he was bothering her. Nancy heard Satan reply, "Stupid? [he paused] I have the whole world deceived." Reflecting upon all of this, George said, "I wish Jesus would teach us more about testing the spirits to help people like myself who do not have mystical visions and mystical experiences." Jesus said to Nancy, "He already has it." Immediately what flashed in George's mind was St. Ignatius of Loyola's "Rules for the Discernment of Spirits," [page 129 of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius published by Doubleday Image Books] since his writings parallel what Jesus has taught Nancy about testing the spirits concerning her visions and the messages she receives to avoid deception. But St. Ignatius' teachings should be used by each of us. Jesus said, "I gave it to Saint Ignatius." Then George knew why these teachings were similar to what Nancy had been taught.