Notes on James Martin, The Jesuit Guide: Chapter 3 — What Do You Want?
What Do You Want? (Chapter 3) – Ignatian discernment and narrative identity
Context and orientation
The lecture returns to Ignatian spirituality (The Jesuit Guide by James Martin) and resumes after the detour into narrative theory (Paul Ricoeur’s narrative identity; the lecturer notes “Paul Wicker” in places, but this likely refers to Ricoeur). We are in Chapter 3, still within module two focused on identity: "who am I in your context?" and “who are you?”
The chapter expands on the idea that God communicates with us through our innermost feelings and desires, a theme introduced at the end of the prior chapter (the six paths). The leap of faith is to believe that God communicates with us, whether or not we already believe in God.
Ignatian discernment is at the core: pay attention to inner movements (joy, gratitude, clarity, doubt) as potential signs of God’s communication.
Ignatius’ own life is used as a keynote example: the happiness from serving God is more substantial than happiness from worldly things, guiding his decision to become a soldier of Christ.
The lecturer emphasizes that this chapter teaches discernment without requiring the formal spiritual exercises; Martin presents discernment “without the nitty-gritty” of the Spiritual Exercises, though the method mirrors discernment principles.
The central questions: what do you want?
The starting point is to identify one’s desires: distinguishing holy desires from superficial, short-term wants.
Narrative identity is the medium through which we understand ourselves and how others understand us; this includes how we relate to others.
The idea is not to repress desires; Margaret Silf’s perspective is cited to argue desires are essential energy:
Quote: "Without desire, we would never get up in the morning. We would never have ventured beyond the front door. We would never have read a book or learned something new."
Desires are energy, the energy of creativity and life; they fuel growth and the emergence of new things (e.g., new life, new ideas).
First principle of Ignatian spirituality: finding God in all things; therefore, everything is part of spiritual life, including our desires.
Holy desires vs surface wants:
Surface wants: easily satisfied, short-lived (e.g., a new car, a new computer).
Holy desires: deep, life-shaping, define who we are and what we are to do; they reveal God’s desires for us and invite us to participate in God’s plan.
Holy desires are not primarily about immediate gratification; they fuel the mission and sustain us over the long haul (they are life-defining and often long-lasting).
Bartimaeus example: Jesus encouraged him to articulate his desire to see; recognizing our desires helps us discern God’s will.
Practical implication: discernment involves recognizing when desire is being moved by God and when it is merely impulse.
Desires and the self-understanding through narrative identity
Knowing one’s life story helps identify where God has already been communicating with us: moments of holy desires, guiding movements, or nudges along the way.
The narrative synthesis helps to identify moments when God might have spoken, using backward-looking discernment: there is value in recounting the past to understand the present direction.
The speaker notes that discerning one’s desires often begins with the past: where and when have holy desires already moved us forward?
Even the structure of one’s life (the unity and disunity in a narrative) helps reveal the ongoing direction of God’s call.
The process of narrating one’s life and highlighting experiences of incompletion, breakthrough (clarity), and vulnerability becomes a form of discernment in itself, even before applying formal rules.
Types of experiences signaling God’s communication (described examples)
Incompletion (pages 49–50): a restless feeling that something is missing; a signal that the life state is pointing toward God or toward a holy desire.
Common longings and connections (pages 50–53): emotional responses to ordinary moments (e.g., beauty of nature, a meaningful lunch with friends, a moving scene in a film) that awaken deeper values or connections; these can hint at what matters to you and what God might be calling you toward.
Uncommon longings (pages 53–55): awe or fascination toward something unattainable or grand (mystical experiences); akin to Ignatius’ Manresa experiences when he began writing the Spiritual Exercises; may be connected to an intuitive sense of a higher calling.
The lecturer notes that those with affinity for alternative spiritual practices (tarot, crystals, astrology) may recognize these uncommon longings; they signal something larger than ordinary life.
Exaltation: moments of extreme joy and excitement as one nears a goal or meaningful realization; signals a potential alignment with a destined path.
Moments of clarity: sudden coherence and direction in the midst of confusion; the path forward becomes obvious.
Desires to follow: explicit cues toward religious life (e.g., priesthood, religious sisterhood). These are presented as direct communications from God when one feels drawn to religious service.
Desires for holiness: a longing to emulate holy figures and to become more holy; aligns with Ignatian emphasis on sanctity and the formation of virtuous character.
Vulnerability: experiences of suffering or desperation that prompt search for guidance, peace, or comfort; vulnerability can lower defenses and reveal deep desires, including holy desires. The example of Ignatius’ own father being more spiritually open toward the end of life is cited as illustration.
Overall point: all these experiences, whether ordinary or extraordinary or vulnerable, provide material for discernment because they indicate interior movements that God could be using to guide you.
Practical takeaway: by looking back on your life through the lens of these experiences, you can recognize patterns of movement toward or away from God and begin to discern where your holy desires are pointing you.
Discernment as “desire as direction”
God speaks to you not only to reveal what you want, but to guide you toward where you should go; your holy desires point toward your vocation and path.
Within Ignatian spirituality, knowing oneself and one’s holy desires is foundational for discernment; desires function as guidance toward God’s intended path for you.
This section leads to practical methods beyond reflection on past experiences.
Ways to identify what you want beyond reflection on the life story
Prayer: asking for help in understanding or fulfilling what you want; can be used to obtain fulfillment of desires or illumination about them; two modes:
If you already know what you want, pray for fulfillment and help to move toward it.
If you’re unsure, pray for illumination and guidance to discover what you want.
The Examine (five Rs) as a reflective practice:
Relishing: delight in what you value and desire.
Requesting: asking for guidance from the Holy Spirit.
Reviewing: looking back over the day and life to identify what mattered.
Repenting: recognizing shortcomings and seeking reconciliation.
Resolving: deciding on concrete changes or commitments.
Gratitude and humility: simple prayers like thank you, sorry, and please can structure discernment into daily practice.
Outside-in method (surface to deep): start with surface wants, then probe for deeper drivers (example: Harold Crick wanting life to be more musical in Stranger Than Fiction; the professor Hilbert’s exercise with archetypes to reveal deeper desires).
Inside-out method: use stories and archetypes that speak to you to reveal inner movements; this is the “inside-out” approach to discernment via narrative imagination.
The inside-out method: archetypal stories as a map to the soul
Margaret Silf’s inside-out method: use archetypal stories to reveal inner desires and fears; you look at which stories resonate with you to identify what you truly want.
Foundational archetypes (from Silf’s four kinds of stories, as summarized in the podcast excerpt):
Becoming who I really am – asking, "Who am I in God’s eyes?"; stories like The Ugly Duckling, Cinderella; Moses’ calling; Jesus’ self-understanding.
Free me from the evil spell – liberation from destructive patterns or systems; the quest for deliverance; examples: Sleeping Beauty; Jesus as liberator.
Just one wish – the danger of unchecked desires; King Midas as cautionary tale; Solomon’s request for wisdom demonstrates choosing rightly when given a chance.
Love changes everything – transformation through love; the frog prince as a symbol of unconditional love and transformation; Jesus’ transformative love and the Prodigal Son’s forgiveness as focal moments.
The Jesus story is framed as a synthesis of these archetypes: becoming, liberation, love, and reconciliation within God’s salvific plan.
Additional archetypes (four more) discussed in the podcast:
Quest for redemption
Overcoming giants
Journey in return
Triumph over evil
The Stranger Than Fiction example (Harold Crick) is revisited to illustrate how outside-in and inside-out methods help reveal one’s direction: Crick’s desire to have a more musical life becomes a signal toward who he is becoming.
The inside-out method relies on identifying the stories that resonate with you, then asking what those stories reveal about your deepest desires and where God might be leading you.
The podcast emphasizes that archetypal stories are a road map to the soul: they reflect deepest longings and fears and can indicate paths toward discernment.
Practical implications and takeaways from the podcast and Silf’s method
The archetypal stories provide concrete handles for self-exploration; they help translate abstract spiritual concepts into relatable narratives.
The connection to Jesus’ story integrates personal discernment with the Christian narrative of salvation, reconciliation, and transformation.
The inside-out method helps you identify your vocation by listening to what resonates deeply and consistently in your life story across different media (books, films, myths, fairy tales).
The process invites a humble, reflective posture: God speaks in ways you can understand; He meets you where you are, and you are invited into a relationship that grows with you.
God meets you where you are; the nature of divine accompaniment
God loves you as you are and meets you in your current situation; you don’t have to be perfect or fully mature to be loved or to begin the discernment process.
The Ignatian principle of finding God in all things includes meeting God wherever you are, through your present circumstances, relationships, and internal movements.
The dialogue between divine invitation and human freedom emphasizes a co-creative relationship: God speaks through your desires, and you respond by choosing to pursue what you want in fidelity to God’s desires for you.
The incarnation principle: God meets humanity in concrete, lived reality; Christ’s life shows how God enters ordinary life to guide and redeem.
Final reflections and core takeaways
Knowing what you want is a gracious gift and a path to grace; it sustains you and fosters resilience when life gets hard.
God’s communication through desires is a form of intimate guidance, not coercion; it respects your agency and invites partnership in discernment.
The ultimate aim is being one with God, realized through discovering God in all things, and through a discernment process that integrates personal narrative with spiritual guidance.
The Ignatian approach is practical: it invites everyday listening, reflective prayer, and the use of personal stories and archetypes to discern your path.
Closing reminders from the lecturer (contextual and practical)
Administrative notes and reminders about the course: the second long test is on-site in September; potential weather disruption due to a storm system (Opong/Opong) is acknowledged; monitor weather; students should prepare with blue books or purchase new ones; continue preparing for the midterm; consultations available this week.
The teacher emphasizes staying engaged with the material and applying the discernment framework to exam preparation and personal study.
Connections to earlier material and broader implications
The discussion ties back to Paul Ricoeur (narrative identity) and the idea that identity is formed through the stories we tell about ourselves and the way those stories shape our desires.
The integration of narrative identity with Ignatian discernment demonstrates how literature, film, and myth can function as tools for spiritual reflection and ethical formation.
Ethical implications: discernment calls for honesty about one’s desires, responsibility for one’s choices, and humility in recognizing God’s agency in everyday life.
Practical relevance: the method provides tangible steps (reflection on life, prayer, examine, outside-in and inside-out approaches) that students can apply to vocation questions, career choices, and personal growth.
Quick study prompts (exam-oriented)
Identify a moment of incompletion in your life and analyze what holy desire it might reveal.
Recall a common longing you felt recently; what deeper value might that longing be pointing toward?
Which archetypal story resonates with you most? Why, and what desire might it reveal?
How does the idea of "desire as direction" inform a vocational choice you are considering?
Describe a moment of clarity you’ve experienced and explain how it might reflect God’s direction.
Key references and ideas mentioned
Ignatian discernment basics: finding God in all things; God communicates through innermost movements; discernment as alignment with God’s will.
Holy desires vs surface wants: depth, duration, and vocation relevance; Bartimaeus as a model for articulating desire.
Narrative identity (Paul Ricoeur / Paul Wicker confusion noted in lecture): life as a story used to understand self and others; synthesis and imputation in identity formation.
Margaret Silf’s Inside-Out method: use archetypal stories to reveal inner desires and fears; four foundational archetypes plus additional ones.
The God in All Things podcast (Andy Otto): summaries of Silf’s archetypes and the inside-out method; practical exercise with fairy tales and myths.
Practical spiritual practices: prayer, the Examine, and the five Rs; reflection on stories; outside-in and inside-out approaches.
Summary takeaway
The path to discernment begins with listening to your deepest desires and acknowledging God’s communications through them; it proceeds through reflection on your life narrative, prayer, and the use of archetypal stories to reveal your true aims; and it culminates in accepting that God loves you as you are and meets you where you are while inviting you toward a shared path of growth and holiness.