There are many different interpretations of verses in Scripture about God and His justice and mercy. Pending on the era of time, you also have different theologians, saints and mystics expressing within God His justice or His mercy. Sometimes, one can review readings from a particular saint that produces a harsh and fearful tribunal seat of God, while others will show a loving and caring father. Even in modern times, Christianity seems to present a dual image of God. Progressives shower one with the idea of God’s infinite love, while more conservatives display a law bound God who judges and condemns. It is very important not to overweigh one attribute over the other. If one only focuses on justice, then only a half truth emerges, which only a refocus on God’s mercy can balance into the fullness of the truth. The reality is God is both just and merciful but various interpretations from Scripture or beliefs of saints and their writings can lead one to have an imbalanced spiritual view of this. Either one that is constantly fearful, or one who is too careless with the joys of the world. In addition, how God is viewed through human lens plays a big role. Scripture presents many images of God and some can be distorted when taken too literal or for that matter entirely dismissed. Anthropomorphism is common literal device used in Scripture. In these cases God can be given many human like attributes in regards to His emotional reactions to human activity as well as images as a judge in the strictly human sense. These images need to also be properly understood in context as well as symbolism to have a greater understanding of God. This blog will look at some of these realities and attempt to balance them in proper measurement in correlation with Partial Judgement of a soul who goes to Heaven or goes to Hell.
Please also review AIHCP’s Christian Counseling Certification and the future Spiritual Direction Program.
God: The Loving Father of the Prodigal Son or The Fierce and Avenging Judge?
The two images above create quite a contradicting imagery but both do point to truths but when not balanced become partial truths. So many times, preachers, priests, or pastoral leaders, and even oneself finds one particular imagery of God that is superseding over all others. One’s own experience can play a large role. Spiritual individuals are attracted to certain images of God in Scriptures because it meets a need or answers an existential question that is pertinent to oneself. One’s own mental and emotional state also plays key roles in which imagery of God best fits our current need. Those who suffer from low self-esteem, or have attachment issues due to past trauma live in a state of anxiety and that state of anxiety can play a role with their relationship with God. Person’s in such mental states may have a greater fear of God, or complete imbalanced feeling of unworthiness. They may also see God as a more fierce and avenging judge. Others with a more delicate conscience or scrupulous conscience may be tormented with obsessive compulsive disorder and see God more as a judge who keeps score on the day of judgement. On the other spectrum, those who live life carelessly may need to see a parental God that dismisses foolishness and error as if it does matter what one does in life. They need a God who does not reprimand sin, but a God who only sees love. In their mind, their love of others and overall good human nature is enough-“God will not judge me but only loves me for who I am!” As one can see, these are two equally dangerous routes. Both capture an element of truth, but without each other complimenting each other, the fullness of the truth is lost.
As seen in Scripture, despite literalism or symbolism, we see a balanced approach that displays both sides of God in different books. In the parable of the Prodigal Son, one can see the untamed and complete compassion the father has for his lost son. The father never gives up loving the son and upon the son’s return, offers complete forgiveness and restoration to the son. In other imageries, one can see God as a terrifying judge who he sends souls to Hell, and casts these souls into the abyss of the wicked. The words are strong and harsh and helps illustrate the extreme disgusting nature and true evil of sin. Christ originally came as a Redeemer, but in Revelation, He is also a judger of humankind, separating the goats from the sheep. Such strong phrases as “depart from me” and “cast into Hell for the fires prepared for the wicked” all show this other side of God and Christ when judgement arrives for a soul.
Ultimately, if one wishes to truly understand God’s justice and mercy, one must understand the expression of Scripture and its aim in its full context and not individual quotes. One must be careful to avoid cherry picking of verses out of context of the chapter or theme. In addition, one must closely interpret symbolism to avoid sometimes literal interpretations that promote an anthropomorphism of God which gives Him human qualities of revenge or rage. Also, one must understand other saints or mystics interpretations of God’s justice and mercy pending on the time period they wrote and the type of language that was used. Many times as well, saints wrote in particular styles to promote one theme of God and these writings can at times seem imbalanced, especially for individuals not trained in pastoral ministry and theology. A particular saint may be illustrating God as judge and the disgusting nature of sin which can terrify a delicate soul but also at the same time promote enough self inspection and fear for a soul to change. As well, a particular saint may present writings or mystical visions that portray the totality of God’s love and the immensity of it. This may be good for a more spiritual stable soul but a message that would be dangerous for a soul who has no boundaries with sin.
In essence and answer to the leading question, God is both loving Father and fierce Judge but how one understands the true dynamics of it from a theological standpoint is essential to avoid literalistic pitfalls that can lead to scrupulous and constant fearful behavior or lax and boundless carefree behavior.
Moral Theology and Sin
Pending on one’s image of God, incomplete truths can distort one’s views on sin, but it is only when one accepts the full imagery of God, can one see the full picture of sin, self and union with God. First and foremost, Original Sin or the sin imparted on humanity after the fall of Adam, left humanity with a broken nature. The gifts of great knowledge, stronger mind and body connection and control of the passions imbedded within Adam’s character were an abilities his descendants never experienced. Through Christ’s death and application of His graces through Baptism, one again enters into full communion with God and one’s soul becomes alive through Sanctifying Grace. This however did not restore the fullness of human nature. The temporal reality and the consequences of the sin left a scar that was not wiped away after Baptism. Humanity while redeemed still was broken. While Christ reopened grace and a relationship with God through His death, the temporal reality left individuals open to sinning. Personal sin could then undo the bond of Baptism. Certain particular sins could even cut grace off from the soul. In this state without remorse, a soul again became distant from God.
St Ignatius Loyola in his Spiritual Exercises describes sin as disgusting and deforming. Like a tumor, it tears into the soul, disfiguring it. Any sin rejects truth and the love of God. Sin is choosing self, or others over God and rejecting God’s authority. St Ignatius in his exercises challenges the soul to identify sin, to meditate on its grotesque form, and to imagine the state of a soul in mortal sin that rejects God’s love. He asks one to consider God as judge, but he also reminds us of God as father who loves. However, for whatever particular reason, in many of his meditations within the exercises, one solely focuses on God as a fearsome judge and the total worthlessness of the human person in comparison to the greatness of God. One is asked to meditate as one being a condemned criminal before a judge, as well as meditating the pains of Hell and the danger of one mortal sin. Much of this has to do with shocking the system into understanding the damage of sin and to induce a holy fear of Hell, but also a disgust for sin and a love for virtue. It also focuses to show how utterly dependent one is upon God’s grace to avoid such vile sins.
Sin is hence a great disorder and injustice itself towards God. In this way, all personal sin shares the same substance in that it damages one’s relationship with God. While all sin shares in this horrific substance, not all sins are equal in degree or depth of brokenness. It only took one sin to tear a division between God and man that Christ restored. This alone shows the vile taste of one sin and its shared characteristics but Moral theology helps one to better categorize sin, understand its objective nature, its degree, as well as the subjective interplay a sinful act has with the conscience and circumstances surrounding the agent or person committing the sin.
Personal sin is rightly divided into venial and mortal. Like human laws, degrees of severity of an offense are measured and consequences detailed through different levels of fines. A person who steals out of hunger sins differently than a person who steals from the poor. All is sin, all creates a barrier, but the level and depth of the barrier is measured by the basis of the severity of the offense. A person who commits a traffic violation remains still a good citizen despite his lapse in judgement of speeding, but an individual who murders, pillages and rapes, commits a far more grave offense to society and no longer remains a good citizen. Within the Mystical Body of Christ, offenses hurt, but the degree and multitude of the offense play a key role in whether the soul still loves God, possesses grace and remains attuned to God’s will.
Hence all sin is objectively disordered but the levels of disorder in regards to the relationship between God and the soul differ on severity. Objectively any sin remains a sin within itself. No subjective reasoning or indifference can mitigate the nature of an disordered act. The level of disorder can range objectively but the consequences of the sin can vary greatly beyond its objective label. The human act is more than a black and white event but something with multiple layers of grey. There are numerous subjective elements at play within the act of a sin. First and foremost, what is the intent of the agent committing the sin. Is the person free to act? Does the person fully intend to commit the act? In committing the act, is the person clearly articulating the acceptance of this act and all its consequences? In addition, what biological factors, psychological disorders and uncontrolled passions are at play that weaken the will? Is this act isolated or a continuous habit? Is this act done without remorse or guilt? Does one fully through this act wish to disown God? What other circumstances exist around it? Sometimes actions can become neutral that are otherwise naturally sinful-for example taking a life to defend one’s own life. What other external pressures existed? So in many cases, an objective action that is disordered possess less consequence for an individual based on other criteria.
Padre Pio saw the danger of any sin. Sin weakens union with God. Consistent sin wears one’s soul down and weakens it for greater infection. Padre Pio understood that a soul who goes to Heaven or to Hell does not randomly commit a grave sin and chooses Hell but that a soul gradually chooses Heaven or Hell over a life time. What one is when one stands before God is what one created oneself to be through a life committed and developed through virtue or vice. Habitual sin and lack of remorse leads the soul down the road of rejecting God. This is why it is critical to form a sound conscience that identifies sin as gross and disgusting and a conscience that when one does fall, immediately feels guilt and shame to confess and repent.
God’s Mercy
Sister Faustina is most known for her visions of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and His message of mercy. The Chaplet of Mercy as a prayer begs God for pardon and remembers the sacrifice of Christ. It repeats, “for the sake of Your sorrowful passion, have mercy on me and the whole world”. The mercy of Christ and the opportunities given by God through His sacraments seeks for all to be saved. Christ shed His blood for every soul. He shed tears for each soul lost. Many mystics claim this was one of Christ’s greatest agonies–the souls who would reject His passion and grace. Within the Sacred Heart image, Jesus’s Sacred Heart pours out beams of red and white rays from His heart. This displays His infinite mercy to sinners. Like the story of the Prodigal Son, God immediately forgives a soul that seeks forgiveness. This should not be taken for granted though. How many feel they have time to change? Instead of living in the moment, they postpone what matters most.
God’s Justice
God’s justice is referenced throughout Scripture and justice is promised to the faithful. God’s justice while merciful does not permit the wicked to go unpunished. While some may over emphasize this terrifying reality, or over humanize anger and vengeance in the Lord, many need to understand there are consequences of sin. Those who dismiss sin as trivial are led by a lax conscience that does not truly see the disgusting and foul order that sin infects the soul with. God’s standard, His commandments and His laws are not arbitrary but based in the fullness of His own essence. Something is not wrong merely by proclamation for a certain day but intrinsically is wrong for everyone and for everyday. Like evil, sin is a lack of good. It is what God is not. So when one sins, one is committing a grave injustice. Christ’s blood paid the price for sin, but as followers of Christ, we must apply the graces earned through Baptism. As followers one must adhere as best one can to the laws of God. One cannot through one’s own good works earn salvation but it is through faith in Christ and grace of the Holy Spirit that one can follow the laws of God and partake in salvation.
The Divine Judgement
In Christianity, there are two judgements. The Particular Judgement occurs at one’s death bed. The General Judgement is the proclamation and judgement upon all souls. In one’s Particular Judgement, one’s eternal fate is determined. There one sees the balance of God’s justice and God’s mercy. However as discussed early, there are many visual images in Scripture, as well as mystical writings that take these things into account.
One image, as illustrated in Scripture, displays God as judge but in a more human sense. In fact, even St Ignatius in his exercises, portrays an image of God that casts souls to Hell for their wicked deeds. This image emphasizes a strong justice display, with less mercy, but this literal image is an interpretation of that judgement. One can also from a different perspective and interpretation views God as judge from a more theological standpoint immersed in moral theology that balances God’s mercy and justice with the soul.
One may be amazed, according to Padre Pio, how many souls who seemed evil are not in Hell, and how many souls who seemed so pious are not in Heaven. Only God knows the innermost workings of the soul. As Padre Pio also pointed out, one’s judgement before God is usually not based on one event but a life time of choices that led one to become good or evil or lovers of God, or lovers of self.
Ultimately, God as our moral standard serves as the soul’s mirror at judgement. God does not cast a soul He loves into Hell. The judgement speaks for itself. The soul as if looking into a mirror recognizes what it is in all its good and evil. It is left without distraction or excuses. It is stripped of all the noise of the world and only faced with its true reflection. Did it love God in this world or did it love self? According to Padre Pio, the soul who has rejected God is a soul who will reject God at judgement. It will acknowledge His truth finally but it will reject the truth and its implementation upon itself. The imagery of God casting a soul into Hell in some ways is hence misleading. God finds no joy in this. He loves the soul despite its total corruption but due to His standard, the soul cannot accept. Like the demons and corrupt souls before, the soul in mortal sin rejects God’s friendship, His love and companionship.
Many believe that one is saved by faith alone, but believing in God does not give one salvation. Satan and his demons believe in the reality of God but they are not with Him. The simple act of faith must be energized through the grace of the Holy Spirit to produce charity. This charity varies among individuals. Scripture attests that love can cover many sins. Ultimately, everyone is unworthy of God through one single act of sin, but it is through God’s mercy that saints and sinners alike are made worthy. So, while one’s good deeds are important choices to salvation, one must attest they are never enough. It is ultimately God’s mercy and reciprocal love that is fed through faith and grace that saves the soul before the Partial Judgement. A soul that still loves God, even imperfectly, can not cease loving God. If one loved God on earth till the end, one will love God at judgement. Hell’s greatest reality is the absence of any love. A soul at judgement who goes to Hell is a soul that refused on earth to love God and continues to refuse to love God at judgement. The soul may be well aware of what he is losing but this does not lead to contrition but only further anger , blaming and blasphemy.
Ignatius sometimes appears in his exercises to sow fear of how a soul can so easily lose God and at judgement be cast away by an angry God. There is good reason to mediate upon this, but a soul that loves God, even despite mistakes, even when some sins were in the past mortal, cannot lose God if the pattern of love remains. This entails remorse for serious sin, but God does not send a soul to Hell over a trip or fall, the soul sends itself to Hell for remaining on the ground and never acknowledging the sin or seeking forgiveness. A soul that maintains love of God, may trip and fall in life, but it always bounces back up. That same soul, no more or less than a far more virtuous soul, nevertheless shares one same common theme. No-one meets the standard of God, no mirror can display a an image that makes one worthy, whether mortal or venial, but it is the grace of God that reaches out and if love is returned, then salvation is procured. Learning to love more deeply may be required before standing fully before God, but Christ and His infinite mercy supplies the necessary gap through His blood that ultimately saves the soul.
Now I do not mean to dismiss the haste in which Ignatius says a soul can lose friendship with God through mortal sin, but the act of mortal sin as an objective act and its consequences upon the subjective agent can be quite differently applied. There are many souls who share sins committed on earth who are in Heaven as those who are in Hell. The difference is contrition but also charity. A soul that occasionally falls into certain sins that are classified as mortal, such as many sexual sins, does face severe danger than mere minor sins, but again all sin separates the soul from God to some degree and how the soul responds to hurting God via love matters. A soul that goes to Hell obviously exists in Mortal sin at the time of death. Obviously, these sins have defined the soul’s character and sealed its fate. Whether they were sexual sins, or sins of murder, rape, or even cases of extreme self love and unkindness to others and complete worship of this world over God, these sins represent a pattern. There are some sins especially among the deadly that represent a median line that show a point of no return or least hint towards it. Despite this, all can be converted and changed while alive, one merely needs to look at the story of St Augustine or even St Paul, but when a serious sin becomes more than an “oops” and “mistake” but enters into a habitual state of sin that renounces God and exalts self then a serious condition of darkness envelops the soul. Unlike the angels, the human intellect cannot make a decisive decision regarding to love or serve God, instead over time, the soul develops into what it will be. Hence eventually, a soul can cross a line that has led to a serious life threatening level that if one dies in it, will result in Hell. There are death bed conversions, but when one examines the life of Hitler, Stalin, or even pedofiles and sex traffickers or those consumed by lust and the sexual industry, one can see a strong difference in the deformation of the soul between one who occasionally yet with regret fell into a few serious sins as opposed to those who lived in it all the time and became committed it to the most extreme levels.
These souls at the Partial Judgement are stripped of their distractions or excuses and left with the cold verdict of God. The verdict is a lack charity or love of God or others but instead complete love of self and the world. God’s verdict and justice is declared but His mercy still extends to these individuals. This may seem surprising but God still reaches out to those who even reject His love. God is still willing to forgive, but the judgement of His perfect and true self shines so brightly that such a broken and disordered soul cannot disagree with its own deformation and mutation. The soul going to Hell knows what it is and through this mirror and judgement openly rejects the mercy that comes with the justice. So, in a complete truthful image, God does judge, but God also grants mercy. In way, God’s justice does send the soul to Hell, but it is in a far different way than one’s human sense imagines it. The soul going to Hell instead rejects God and His assessment and mercy. It rejects consequences or needed remorse. It rejects even God’s mercy. This self inflicted wound is a continuation of the habitual sinful choices during life on earth that sends the soul to Hell.
On the contrary, a soul that is both saint and sinner, reflects on its image and is brought to shame and guilt but still expresses love. This soul did not die void of grace that serious sin strips from the soul but it died with grace and its most important fruit which is love. Whether more perfectly or less perfectly, a person’s love for God travels with person before the judgement of God. This love of God over love of self is the starting point of salvation for that soul. Again whether a great saint or a pitiful sinner who still finds love of God, neither are worthy of Heaven based on their individual merit due to one’s broken nature. It is solely the grace earned by Christ and one’s cooperation throughout life with grace that permits anyone to enter into union with God. The graces that energized faith and hope now fade because faith and hope have delivered what was promised. As Scripture foretells, what then remains is love. If love remains in a soul, then that soul remains in the state of grace. This soul tried its best to avoid sin, as well as serious sin, and when it fell, it humbly sought forgiveness and purged itself with tears and penance. Unlike the soul that chose Hell by its continual choices on earth, the same soul that chose Heaven chose God for most of its life and at the very end. Despite its sins, despites its failures, God and the saved soul share a reciprocal love that manifests acceptance of God’s love and will. The soul then understands clearly that it may not have loved God as much as it needed on earth but God’s love and grace has sanctified it and made it worthy.
Conclusion
When exploring the judgement of God and his justice and mercy, the motifs of God as judge, are applicable, and true. God is just. However, He is also merciful. He is both the God of justice but also the God of mercy as the Prodigal Son illustrated in Christ’s parable. God understands human beings are broken despite His Son’s death on the cross. He is patient, He is loving and waits for His sheep like the Good Shepherd. He does not despise the wicked but rejects their actions. He judges them based on their own deeds and decisions in life. He offers justice but also offers mercy. Ultimately, the soul dictates its future. I think it is important pending on the season or need to review both God’s justice and mercy. Ignatius will presenting a merciful God, also presents a terrifying view of judgement, Hell and the nature of sin. In addition balance this with Padre Pio’s teaching on the choice of Hell being usually more so a life time choice over time and self love and to be aware of how sin breaks us down over time. We still must be alert of individual sin in the moment, but we must remain strong and steadfast to identify it and repent from it. Sister Faustina’s Divine Mercy also displays Christ’s great love and mercy that one can find. So balance in understanding God’s mercy but also justice can help one remain steadfast in confidence of God’s love but also our own important role in keeping the commandments.
In closing, f anyone is a parent, then one understands the deep love one has a for one’s child or children. One never gives up on a child and loves the child even when the child does wrong. When the child does not seek reconciliation, it painfully hurts. Even when they walk away, the hand still extends for the child who never looks back again. While God in Scripture is seen as judge and rightfully so, it is important to see God also as a parent. Unlike some of the more vivid meditations of St Ignatius, God’s judgement does cast those to Hell but not maybe the way one envisions it, but more so as a parent who displays what must be obeyed if one chooses to return and the consequences hereafter. If the child shows just the bit of love, God, like a parent, can capitalize on that but if the child shows no love or desire to obey, and chooses instead to reject the parent, then based off his analogy, God can only watch the person enter into Hell. The terrifying reality that one sends oneself to Hell. So remain vigilant to sin, but most importantly avoid serious sin. If one falls, allow one’s conscience to identify and seek repentance. Sin is deadly and builds upon the soul and hopes to turn one serious event into continuous a life style. Maintain charity and love of God with remorse. If so, when one stands before God, it will not be a strange judge, but a loving parent.
Please also review AIHCP’s Christian Counseling Certification as well as its future Spiritual Direction Program.
Additional Blogs
Theological Views on Hell. Access here
St Ignatius and the Spiritual Exercises. Access here
Additional Resources
The Story of Divine Mercy. Jesus is Mercy. Access here
Padre Pio Vision Of The Judgment Of Individual souls. Youtube. Access here
Pastor David. (2025). 30 Powerful bible verses about the final judgement (Full Commentary). Bible Study for You. Access here
Christian Spiritual Direction: Desolation and Affliction
Humanity since the fall entered into a temporal reality of sorrow and fear. The moment Adam chose himself over God, the weight of original sin wiped away humanity’s freedom from suffering and more importantly humanity’s lost union with God. With suffering came affliction, and with lost union with God came desolation. Adam’s free gifts of great intelligence, freedom of the passions, intimacy with God and freedom from suffering were stripped from him as he and Eve were expelled from Eden. The words of God echoed that Adam would have to toil and work, while Eve would experience the pains of life.
God, however, did not abandon His creation and promised a redeemer. The Second Person of the Blessed Trinity would pour Himself into union with the humanity of Jesus Christ to become one person, both God and man, with the purpose of restoring union with God and offering reparation for sin. Jesus Christ was sinless and untainted, a perfect high priest and victim that would offer Himself for the world on the cross. In this reality, Jesus Christ offered not only His very life, but His very existence to help humanity also learn how to live in this broken world. Even Jesus, although perfect, permitted the sufferings of this world to affect Him, as well as the desolation He felt in the garden and on the cross. Hence any study of Christian desolation and affliction views Jesus Christ as the perfect example to follow when faced with these types of pains for he bore the iniquities of man although He was just and innocent of them.
In this article, we will view the pains of desolation and affliction, discuss spiritual direction during these times, and relate to biblical figures and saints, as well as Christ Himself as examples for overcoming desolation and affliction. Please also review AIHCP’s Spiritual Direction Program as well as its Christian Counseling Program.
Defining Desolation and Affliction
Desolation is likened to a spiritual depression in many ways. Desolation makes one feel distant from God’s love. It makes one feel empty and without purpose or meaning. Adam no doubt felt this heavy weight of guilt, sadness, and lost of connection with the Divine. During desolation, the soul feels abandoned by God. The feelings of joy in prayer, or a presence can vanish during desolation. This may be due to a tragic loss, or an unfair suffering one is enduring, or an unanswered prayer that feels like a betrayal. During desolation, a soul may be angry at God or even saddened at the lack of God’s presence or perceived direction. Spiritual belief and previous held spiritual meanings are suddenly questioned, challenged and potentially lost. This can lead to intense anxiety while the person wrestles with not only the loss but their entire spiritual schema and meaning of the world.
Affliction refers to more than merely isolation from God, but also continued loss and suffering. Suffering, especially within Christianity, while not seen as good, is still nevertheless seen as opportunity to grow in faith, as well as become closer to God, but many afflicted feel betrayed by God and become angry. Suffering is not seen as a cross for merit but is seen as something to avoid at all costs and is equated to bad faith of the person. These false assumptions about God and suffering can lead to farther distance from God.
In addition, in some rare cases, spiritual affliction can rise from the demonic. Very holy saints have experienced spiritual affliction. The Book of Job points to this type of demonic activity as well. In such cases, of spiritual warfare and daily life, one must completely turn oneself to Christ, reaffirming one’s belief and denouncing the power of Satan. In some cases, special blessings may be needed for severe cases. The purpose of the enemy in these less common afflictions is to prevent closeness with God. It is a final act of fear from the enemy. In cases of some saints, God permitted it for His greater glory and victory. This article will focus more so on natural affliction and suffering.
Hence, both affliction and desolation work together to burden the soul and drive it farther from the warmth and love of God.
In Scripture, we can look at the Book of Job. In the Book of Job, Job is tested by God. Job is stripped of all his earthly prizes and still refuses to denounce God. He never once feels desolate during the afflictions and sufferings. His friends who “attempt” to console him try to understand why God has done this. What terrible punishment could this be? Yet, Job is righteous and just and is not deserving of any of the horrible events that have taken place. Job, in this sense, is a pre-figurement of Christ, a spotless victim. Like Christ, Job did no wrong, but still accepted the suffering and loss never losing sight of God or condemning God. Instead, Job places his faith in God. What the Book of Job teaches is that not all suffering is a result of one’s actions but is part of the human condition. Jesus Christ teaches humanity to offer up, like Job, one’s sufferings and not to equate suffering and affliction as punishment but as a reality of this fallen world.
Sick Faith
Many reactions to affliction, or feelings of desolation with God come poor conceptions of faith. Spiritual directors, Christian counselors, ministers, or others in care of souls need to help cultivate the right perceptions of relationship with God. Many feel faith is a contract. If one says his morning prayers, or goes to church every Sunday, gives to the poor and does good deeds, then his temporal existence should reap the benefits or karma of a good life. Others believe, if they are good servants and handmaids of the Lord, then they should have a first place slot to God’s presence and deserve His continual grace throughout their day. When these things are not present, when bad things happen, or God seems distant, the faith of contract quickly becomes weakened. They expect God to lighten the load, to be present, but when He is no longer present, they become depressed, or angry, or discontent with their contract with God. This type of sick faith expects reward and easy path for good behavior, but if we know the life of Job, the life of Christ, even the life of His mother and followers, that this life is not easy. There is no easy contract with becoming a follower of Christ. Christ set the ultimate example displaying the truth of this world through His life, actions and death.
Instead, faith must be seen as a covenant. Through covenant, whether bad or good days, or when we feel or not feel God’s warmth, or when something ends not as we wished, we know God is not punishing us, or causing us pain, instead we know, He suffers with us, walks with us, and will offer the grace needed, even if not felt, to push through to the next challenge. That is the guarantee of faith! Faith makes no promises of happiness in this world but it does promise us Christ’s love. It gives us hope that our sufferings will have value and ultimately lead us to the final destination, which is union with God in heaven. Through faith, hope and love, gifts of the Holy Spirit, we can move forward in covenant with God, embracing the good and the bad, the desolation and afflictions and find hope even on the coldest seasons of our lives.
It is important to note the power of healthy spirituality in healing. When desolation occurs, the soul is also wounded as well as its overall outlook. It is important to identity possible depression or cases of intense anxiety that can exist in individuals. If not already a licensed counselor or healthcare professional, then pastoral counselors should identify signs of deeper mental turmoil and refer the individual to the appropriate care giver. If already licensed, if depression is diagnosed, then the depression will also need addressed, as well as any other types of anxiety. Sometimes, it is not merely the soul that is sad but also the literal brain and this has consequences throughout the entire body of the person. Again, healthy spirituality is equated with good mental health, resiliency and ability to cope but when desolation occurs, unhealthy spirituality can occur which can equally hurt a person. It is important to help guide the individual to proper and healthy spiritual concepts during spiritual direction. Where the person sees God as hate, the counselor needs to emphasize God as love, all the while giving empathy and un-conditional support to the person and validating the person’s current feeling.
Roots of Desolation
Unlike Job, many individuals find it hard to praise God in the sad times of affliction. Instead, affliction for some pushes one away from God. As counselors, spiritual mentors, and advisors, one cannot dismiss the emotions of sadness. The roots and pains are real. It can be easy to say offer it up, or relate that someone deceased is in a better place, or for one to say God ways are mysterious and one must have faith! Individuals who say these things do not understand the power of loss and pain.
Many suffering desolation have faced severe trauma throughout life. Many may have experienced extreme losses, or faced unheralded trauma of abuse, rape or neglect. Others may be broken through depression and anxiety. Many have faced these issues throughout their life and have found no comfort or love from another person. These individuals feel alone and abandoned. Their sense of meaning has been destroyed through the afflictions of life. In this, they find desolation from God. They may even deny His existence. How could a good God permit evil is the classical question. Of course, the response is either God is not all good or He is not all powerful, for why would God permit evil if He is good, or allow it if He is all powerful. These answers distract the clear reality of the broken world for God is both all good and all powerful, but evil, suffering and sin are results of free will and a consequence of Lucifer’s rebellion and Adam’s disobedience.
Desolation can lead one far away from God. When the love of God is no longer felt after a loss, a person can turn away. Psychologically , the person’s meaning has been totally eradicated. This is especially true of individuals who experience a traumatic event for the first time. Anyone of any faith, can lose the secure feeling they once possessed, when security and protection is stripped from them. Previous notions of a loving God, or safe world are weakened and challenged as the person attempts to incorporate the horrible affliction. This in turn can lead to new ways of thinking about the world and one’s relationship with God. One may feel betrayed or abandoned by God, or reject His existence due to the processing of the event. These feelings can be natural, for even, Christ in His utter humanity, screamed out “My God, why have you forsaken Me”.
Like Christ on the cross, many religious and spiritual individuals feel this forsaken feeling. It is not so much that they are denying God in their life, or His presence, but they feel alone in their agony and loss. Christ, as both God and man, did not believe God had left Him, but in the utter pain of human torment and loss, He experienced the isolation and loneliness we can all feel when burdened under great distress. Many individuals feel periods of drought within their prayer life. St Teresa of Avilla in her classic, “The Interior Castle” speaks of these dry spiritual moments which she also classifies as desolation. In these moments, the warmth of God’s presence is not as intense or present in the prayer life. One may feel alone in struggles and unheard in prayer. One may not feel the tingles of emotion and the presence of the Holy Spirit. One may even doubt why they even pray or believe what one believes. In this aridity of spiritual life, St Teresa of Avila tells her us to continue to be strong. She emphasizes that these feelings are fleeting and should never be the end purpose or desire of prayer with God. She emphasizes that the worship and adoration due to God is alone sufficient and what or how we feel from it is secondary. Justice demands the creature to worship the Creator for justice alone. The gifts of warmth, closeness, and union are gifts the Creator bestows at His will. Of course, God wishes to embrace us, but many times, our own inclinations and attractions to this world bury our spiritual feet in the mire and muck of the world. It dulls our spiritual senses. Our desires and needs of this world keep us anchored here instead of feeling the Divine. Purging the soul of these distractions is the purpose of this desolation. To teach us how to better hear God. God can use desolation, like in Job, to bring us more perfectly closer to Him.
Spiritual Direction and Counseling the Desolated
Whether a person is experiencing spiritual aridity or desolated and afflicted through pain, loss and trauma, a counselor needs to recognize the pain the person is experiencing via affliction and desolation. It is OK to express emotion towards God. It is OK, as a child of God, to express displeasure. It is OK to ask God to spare oneself from suffering. Counselors need to understand that when working through spiritual aridity or if a person is experiencing grief, that a healing involves expressing emotion. In counseling, emotion needs to be expressed and understood. Counselors can help individuals understand why they feel rejected or abandoned by God. When emotions are expressed, they can be analyzed and understood. When emotions are expressed, then negative feelings that are not on par with reality can be weeded out and one can again begin to access relationship with God. Loss and meanings surrounded that loss can again be reframed and restructured to fit within the paradigm of one’s spiritual belief. In meaning making, a spiritual belief or world view that is challenged goes through a rigorous trial of emotional and cognitive questioning. The belief is re-evaluated with the loss and then can be temporarily dismissed, totally rejected, or reconfigured within the schema of the loss. Spiritual direction looks to help the person throughout the emotion to repair the religious schema and meaning and make sense of the loss within the faith of the person. The desolation through cognitive reframing can reignite the person’s faith. Does this mean the person is not changed or still sad? No, the person will understand their faith in a new light-even a stronger light, but also carry the emotion and loss but be free from the torturous emotions of abandonment of lack of meaning. Instead, sad or angry, the person will process the loss within the framework of a loving God, who has not abandoned the person but remains side by side. While biblical based and Christocentric, counselors will help individuals heal spiritually through a variety of Cognitive Behavioral strategies that help build new meanings to the loss. The new meanings will unite the loss with faith in a way that permits the faith and meaning to continue despite the challenge the loss may have presented to one’s faith. Tying one’s faith to a God, who became human, and suffered and was buried but offers hope through His resurrection is a strong paradigm. Christianity offers hope past suffering through the Resurrection. The Resurrection not as only as an act of faith, but as a powerful meaning construct can help spiritual people cope and find resilience after loss and desolation.
In addition to giving meaning and hope to those desolated and afflicted, it is important in spiritual direction to sojourn with the griever and hopeless. Again, we have emphasized the importance of embracing emotion and feeling it as a modality to healing. However, in ministry, we must also sojourn with the desolated. In spiritual direction, we many times wish to give all the answers to help a person find a closer union with God, but sometimes, we also need to act as counselors and utilize the therapeutic relationship which highlights the power of empathy. Christ was the most empathetic. He saw the pain of sinners. He never condoned their sins but He understood why they sinned. He saw their brokenness and walked with them, leading them to new faith. Empathetic listening involves having un-conditional positive regard for ones spiritual child. This term coined by Carl Rogers pushes the counselor not to always have the answer but to help the person find the answer through gentle guidance. When someone feels unconditional positive regard, the person then does feels complete love for their personhood regardless of actions or progress. A good counselor can challenge and guide a person to good changes by showing this regard to a broken person. By feeling and understanding the pain of the person and not merely just showing sympathy, empathy can show a broken person that he or she is loved regardless of how he or she feels or is acting. This brings one to reflect on one’s own self and eventually want to be better without being told or commanded. Christ’s gaze did not command but it created within the person a desire to change within oneself. As spiritual directors, Christian Counselors or pastors, we do say what is or right, but we are patient as well, like Christ. Utilizing empathy, unconditional positive regard and a unique genuine care for the person can bring the best out of a person in regards to true change and conversion.
Those in desolation sometimes do not need a lecture but merely need a listening ear that is willing to sojourn and suffer with him or her through the process of rediscovering the warmth and voice of God. It is also important during this times of temptation, despair, aridity and fear to remain patient and maintain faith in Christ. Continue to feed one’s soul with good works, readings, prayers as well as reading of Scripture and meditating on its mysteries. Satan can sometimes play on the inner workings of desolation to turn the soul against God to give up. Christian Counselors and Spiritual directors need to encourage their spiritual children to continue to exercise their spiritual life even if it feels as if nothing is occurring. St Ignatius Loyola points out that our lives will always be filled with desolations and consolations. These natural spiritual cycles are OK to experience and are sometimes necessary in spiritual growth but we cannot allow our deep emotions and intense pains to distract us from the truth of Christ.
Why Won’t God Hear Me?
Those facing desolation sometimes have not experienced a particular trauma, but may be experiencing spiritual aridity. As mentioned before, St Teresa of Avila discussed in detail the pain of spiritual desolation but also the good that come from it. She pointed out that sometimes the distance of God can humble a person. It teaches one that when God’s voice is again felt and experienced, we truly realize how much we need Him. We cannot achieve salvation or gain merit without the power of the Holy Spirit and His presence in our lives. This humbling is a gentle reminder that all virtue and grace comes from God and not our own vain progresses in spiritual life. She also pointed out that it teaches the soul that union with God is a gift and not something to be earned. When God graces us with the inner warm feelings, or for mystics, a deeper intimacy or spiritual presence, this is a gift based not on one’s accomplishments but a presence made known as a Divine taste of heaven. Worshippers out of love do not seek God for this sensation but because out of love, obedience and justice, God is owed our worship. When desolation occurs, it reminds one to be humble of this great gift and also reminds one of the sinful nature we all possess. Many times desolation can be a tool for better reflection. When we cannot hear God, it may very well be due to our sinful lives and distractions. Desolation can drive us to better ourselves, purify and purge ourselves of sin, vice and secular distraction. We can then better attune our spiritual senses to God void of distraction.
In regards to weathering the storm of suffering and carrying our cross, many times it seems God is not hearing our pain. If it is a sudden loss, or series of mishaps, or even painful ailment, many times it seems despite all prayers, God does not answer or hear us. Spiritual directors and Christian counselors can help individuals reframe their expectations with the mercy of God. Again, the concept of covenant over contract is key. In covenant, we realize God hears our prayers, but He also knows what is best. This does not mean He wants us to suffer, for He Himself suffered as well. However, sometimes our sufferings have reason and merit. Reframing cognitively the purpose of suffering as merely a secular thing to avoid but instead as a spiritual opportunity to tie to Christ can have huge psychological advantages for healing and resiliency during suffering. Hence what is good for us spiritually can also help us mentally and physically by finding meaning in the suffering itself. By offering our sufferings to Christ, as He did in the garden to the Father, our sufferings become something bigger than just us, but play a role in the entire salvation process. We can offer up our suffering by uniting them with Christ who can purify them as our High Priest and offer them for a greater cause. In this way suffering is transformed. As Christ transformed suffering and death to glory and resurrection, we too can elevate our sufferings to have meaning. Of course, within spiritual direction and counseling, we can still pray for this cup to pass, and we can lament our suffering and wish it to lessen, but we also understand that during this time, God is giving opportunity to become closer and spiritually stronger and transform. So sufferings will come regardless in this fallen world, why not unite them with Christ and give them meaning?
St Theresa the Little Flower teaches us the most about suffering. While many of us during Lent impose upon ourselves penance, the greatest penance is the type given from authority. It is when we do not choose, but it is given and accepted that has the most merit before Christ. St Theresa offered her daily frustrations and daily duties to Christ. Instead of speaking out, or complaining, she did her minimalist duties. She became extraordinary in the ordinary. Hence, even the simplest suffering, or daily duty can have great value when it is given to Christ who then transforms it into something beyond our wildest dreams.
So, whether during turmoil, loss, sense of abandonment, searching for direction, or experiencing loss and trauma, we must realize the feelings of desolation and affliction can have purpose, but most importantly that they are not punishments from God. God is always with us whether we sense His presence or not. Like the foot prints in the sand motif, it is God who is carrying us, even when we feel we are the only one walking.
Conclusion
In spiritual direction we need to understand desolation and affliction as real pains within spiritual life. The abandonment and disconnection is real and the emotions must be validated. It is critical to help people again find meaning in their faith and connection to the sufferings of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the ultimate meaning making symbol in history. He gives meaning to all loss by His resurrection, By death, He conquered death and to those in the graves He granted life. This beautiful thought expressed during Easter gives meaning to all suffering on earth. When meaning is restored, then desolation and affliction can become conquered. Spiritual Directors must however not only be good teachers regarding these facts but also must be good counselors in helping others through empathy and unconditional positive regard. Christ did not merely convert and save those in desolation through commands, but by walking with them, loving them and leading them to the truth through their own unique decision to change.
Spiritual directors and counselors and pastors will constantly find individuals in pain and sometimes that pain and suffering leads to desolation and feelings of abandonment. It is important to help guide souls through the dark days and help the desolate again find connection with Christ.
Please also review AIHCP’s Christian Counseling Certification Program as well as its future Spiritual Direction program.
AIHCP Blogs
Christian Counseling and Desolation. Access here
Faith and Loss. Access here
Crisis of Doubt in Faith. Access here
Additional Resources
Arnold, J. (2025). “What are Consolation and Desolation in the Spiritual Life?”. Spiritual Direction. Access here
Avila, St Teresa. “The Interior Castle”. Access here
Broom, E. (2020). “Ten Remedies for Times of Desolation”. Catholic Exchange. Access here
“The Interior Castle” (2015). Explore the Faith. Access here