SD6 - Dealing with Dryness in Prayer - Spiritual Desolation: Be Aware, Understand, Take Action with Fr. Timothy Gallagher

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 45:28 — 31.3MB) | Embed

Dealing with Dryness in Prayer – Spiritual Desolation: Be Aware, Understand, Take Action with Fr. Timothy Gallagher

Fr. Timothy Gallagher and Kris McGregor explore the relationship between dryness in prayer and spiritual desolation through the lens of St. Ignatius and early Jesuit writings. While Ignatius’ Rule 4 doesn’t list dryness explicitly, later directories—some influenced by his notes—do connect dryness with desolation, describing it as the absence of consolation, warmth, or clarity. Different forms of dryness are discussed: lack of instruction in prayer, neglect of regular practices, or inconsistency between prayer and life. In these cases, the response is practical—learning to pray, renewing commitment, or aligning life with prayer. Importantly, not every dryness signals failure; some arises from natural life changes or circumstances that shift how prayer can be lived out.

The conversation also highlights real-life examples: new parents unable to attend daily Mass, elderly or ill individuals whose energy for formal prayer diminishes, or active servants of the Church suddenly facing aridity. In each case, the counsel is to pray in ways that are possible within current circumstances, without guilt or self-condemnation. True prayer may take humble forms—silent trust, brief moments of recollection, or even offering suffering as prayer. Gallagher points to St. Francis de Sales and St. Thérèse of Lisieux as guides, noting that the smallest acts of love united with God can bear immense fruit for the Church. The enemy exploits discouragement, but Ignatian wisdom helps recognize such lies and persevere with hope.

Discerning Hearts Reflection Questions:

When I experience dryness in prayer, do I pause to ask whether it comes from lack of instruction, neglect, or inconsistency in my life?
How can I better learn from the Church’s rich tradition of prayer to strengthen my daily practice?
In what ways might my choices or habits be creating a disconnect between my life and my prayer?
Do I allow changing life circumstances—such as family, work, or health—to discourage me, or do I seek new ways to pray within them?
How do I respond when I cannot pray as I once did—do I receive it with surrender and trust, or with self-condemnation?
Am I willing to see my sufferings, limitations, or small daily sacrifices as a form of prayer united to Christ?
When discouragement whispers that I am failing, how do I recall God’s truth about my worth and His closeness?
Do I believe that even the smallest movement of love offered to God can bear great fruit for the Church and the world?

From Setting the Captives Free: Personal Reflections on Ignatian Discernment of Spirits:

“A first form of dryness may result simply from lack of formation in prayer. Persons of good will desire to pray and make sincere attempts to do so. Because these persons, how- ever, have never received formation in prayer, they flounder, unsure of how to proceed: their prayer is dry. The need here is exposure to classic and effective forms of prayer: lectio div- ina, Ignatian meditation or imaginative contemplation, the Liturgy of the Hours, and so forth. Once these persons learn how to pray, the floundering will cease, and this form of dry- ness will be overcome.21

Dryness may also arise from negligence in the life of prayer or from an inconsistency between a person’s prayer and life. If such persons weaken in fidelity to prayer, no longer dedi- cate consistent time to it, or no longer prepare in the way they find helpful, dryness may result. Likewise, behavior contrary to the Gospel may also cause prayer to feel dry: the dishar- mony between prayer and life will render prayer more dif- ficult—more dry.22

Yet another experience of “dryness” may result from solid growth in prayer. A point may arrive when God now calls such persons to a more simplified form of prayer. The ear- lier, more active and discursive methods no longer assist as before, while the new and simpler way of praying is not yet firmly established. This is a healthy “dryness” and a sign of growth. Competent spiritual direction will greatly assist such persons to negotiate this blessed passage in prayer.”

Father Timothy M. Gallagher, O.M.V., was ordained in 1979 as a member of the Oblates of the Virgin Mary, a religious community dedicated to retreats and spiritual formation according to the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. Fr. Gallagher is featured on the EWTN series “Living the Discerning Life: The Spiritual Teachings of St. Ignatius of Loyola”. For more information on how to obtain copies of Fr. Gallaghers’s various books and audio which are available for purchase, please visit his website: frtimothygallagher.org