This book applies St. Ignatius of Loyola’s classic fourteen rules for discernment to the daily life of the diocesan priest. It describes those alternations of spiritual energy and spiritual discouragement that every priest experiences and supplies spiritual tools for responding to them. Chapter by chapter, the reader follows the story of “Father Tom” — a parish priest who stands for every priest in active ministry — and through his experiences, perceives how St. Ignatius’s rules apply to his own daily life. Above all, the reader will find in these rules a proven path to freedom from discouragement and into the joy of his priestly vocation.