Dear Readers,

If it’s Spring, there must be a bear invasion. Yes, once again a bear invaded our bee yard in April and demolished a hive. Well, at least it was only one of our five hives and a volunteer colony that took up residence only a month earlier. But that made it particularly painful since we were so excited about it. The actively laying queen looked like a real corker and the workers were already producing well.

I know God made bears and they have to eat and we have willingly (Do we have a choice?) shared the apples growing in the orchard on our side yard. Perhaps the invader was one of the three cubs accompanying his mama last fall and dangling from a branch like a monkey. Sadly, the electric fence did not discourage the bear who was a young ‘un by all appearances. He dug a small trench in the grass outside the bee yard and then shimmied under the lowest wire of the electric fence. Then he apparently sat in happy gluttony gobbling up honey and bee larvae. We spent several hours cleaning up the mess and adding an additional lower wire to the fence. Then we rebaited it with bacon to train any sniffing and licking bear with a good electric shock. I also put a St. Benedict medal on the post holding the solar battery and sprinkled holy water around the perimeter while I prayed to the patron saints of beekeepers to do a better job of protecting our bees. So far so good. If the bear’s been back, he thought better of messing with the fence. It gives too painful a “sting.”

Reflecting on the natural world always gives me food for contemplation. I think of all the ways we have of protecting ourselves from worldly temptations: daily Mass and prayer, regular Confession, good works. They all draw us closer to God and make us less likely to succumb to the devil’s tricky ways. But despite our best efforts, sometimes, like the determined bear, Satan still finds ways to wriggle into the smallest opening (like the serpent he is) to do his worst. He whispers in our ear that all our efforts are useless; we’ll always be hopeless losers. How can God love such failures? Just give it up. Enjoy the honeycombs of life because you’re worth it. “You have a right to be happy,” is the devil’s mantra and how many listen and agree leaving devastation all around them like our demolished bee hive? Someone else has to pick up the pieces and try to repair the damage.

It’s important to learn the devil’s ways so we can hold our ground against him. And so, I turn to St. Ignatius and remind myself of his rules for the discernment of spirits. For the serious Catholic striving to do God’s will, St. Ignatius tells us, how the good and evil spirits work. “It is characteristic of the evil spirit to harass with anxiety, to afflict with sadness, to raise obstacles backed by fallacious reasonings that disturb the soul. Thus he seeks to prevent the soul from advancing.”

Think of the last time you were discouraged or experienced a period of “desolation” which St. Ignatius describes as “darkness of soul, turmoil of spirit, restlessness …which lead to want of faith, want of hope, want of love.” Did you deal with it by vegging out in front of the TV or social media? Did you spend hours playing on-line games? Did you abandon your usual prayer habits because you just didn’t feel like praying? One is tempted to do just that.

St. Ignatius warns against it urging souls to “remain firm and constant in the resolution and decision which guided us the day before the desolation.” The devil wants to play us. We must resist. Rather than quit, St. Ignatius advises that, “It will be very advantageous to intensify our activity… insist more upon prayer, upon meditation, and on much examination of ourselves” and to increase our acts of penance. God allows desolation to help us build spiritual muscle by striving “to persevere in patience.” On the other hand, during times of consolation when all is easy and we feel close to God and every prayer and meditation fills us with delight, that’s the time to reflect and plan for the inevitable return of desolation. St. Ignatius says to “store up a supply of strength as defense against that day.” Many saints warn against the temptation to “spiritual gluttony,” when one prays and practices heroic sacrifices as long as he receives continuous consolation from the Lord. When the dry and restless times come, the spiritual glutton falls away. It is important to learn to discern the spirits so that we recognize when we are being led by the good spirit or being tempted by the evil spirit.

Just as my husband and I set up barriers against the bear attacking our bee yard, each of us can build barriers against the attacks of the evil spirits. I heartily recommend studying the Spiritual Exercises even if you can’t make a retreat. St. Ignatius’ guidelines for the discernment of spirits and how to act in times of both consolation and desolation offer wise counsel to souls seeking a closer walk with God.

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