Are these 6 daily habits the key to spiritual resilience?

What makes a person spiritually resilient — not just faithful in theory, but steady when life becomes disorienting? Jesuit priest Fr. John O’Brien believes the answer lies in daily fidelity to practices rooted in the spirituality of St. Ignatius of Loyola. In Six Daily Habits for Spiritual Resiliency, O’Brien distills the Ignatian tradition into six accessible disciplines, designed not to overwhelm, but to anchor.

At its heart, the Ignatian path is about discerning the presence of God in all things, especially the ordinary. These habits are not heroic feats. They are quiet acts of attention, each one an opportunity to turn the soul Godward in the midst of a distracted world.

The first and last habits — the Morning Offering and the Evening Examen — bookend the day with surrender and reflection. The day begins not with self-reliance, but with entrusting all to God. The evening does not end in distraction or exhaustion, but in a prayerful review that asks: Where was God today? Where was I?

In between are practices that deepen interior listening. Praying with Scripture, especially through Ignatian meditation or lectio divina, becomes a way of entering into the living Word, not as information, but as relationship. Spiritual Reading continues that dialogue, forming the mind in truth while keeping the soul teachable.

Then come two habits that are perhaps most quietly radical: the invitation to encounter something beautiful every day, and the challenge to do one good turn. These are not optional extras. For Ignatius, beauty is not decoration — it is a portal to God. And charity is not a concept, but a muscle that must be exercised daily if it is to be real.

Fr. O’Brien’s method is deeply Ignatian in its realism. It does not assume uninterrupted peace or spiritual clarity. On the contrary, it’s a plan for when prayer feels dry, when consolation fades, when discernment is murky. The habits are tools for learning to recognize interior movements — what Ignatius called consolation and desolation — and to resist the temptation to give up in confusion or fear.

This is the kind of daily structure Ignatius envisioned for “contemplatives in action” — people who live in the world yet seek to be shaped by grace. It’s a spirituality not of escape, but of engagement. These habits help form what Ignatius called indifference — not apathy, but the freedom to choose whatever brings one closer to God, without clinging.

For those seeking stability in uncertain times, Six Daily Habits is not a checklist. It’s a quiet call to depth. A way of being with God — consistently, patiently, attentively. Not because every day will feel holy, but because God is present in every day, and these practices teach us how to notice.

Father O’Brien’s book is available free online through Martyrs Shrine Press at martyrs-shrine.com/msp.