It is easy to be hopeful when God seems close at hand and we can experience his blessings and love. We can easily lose hope, though, in times of spiritual desolation -  times when God seems absent, when we don’t feel his love, when we're not as attracted to spiritual things as we once were. We can wonder what’s gone wrong and not know what to do, so that we get discouraged. St Ignatius Loyola offers us great hope in such times when we most need it by helping us understand why God allows desolation and teaching us helpful ways to respond in times of desolation so that they become occasions for continued growth in our spiritual lives. This workshop will examine these practical guidelines whose value the Church has recognised over the almost 500 years since they were written.

Fr Robin Koning SJ is a Jesuit priest working in young adult ministry and as the vocations director for the Jesuits in Australia and NZ. He gives retreats and seminars grounded in Ignatian spirituality, as well as being a Fellow of The Loyola Institute at Australian Catholic University and Director of the Australian Lonergan Centre. He has taught high school science and religion, worked in an Aboriginal parish at the edge of the Western Desert, taught theology at university, and been assistant to the Jesuit Provincial. You might also catch him doing the occasional card trick.