The life of those who dwell in the secret place of the Most High may be called a Hidden Life, because the animating principle, the vital or operative element, is not so much in itself as in another. It is a life grafted into another life. It is the life of the soul, incorporated into the life of Christ; and in such a way, that, while it has a distinct vitality, it has so very much in the sense, in which the branch of a tree may be said to have a distinct vitality from the root.

Thursday, February 4, 2016

The Holy Spirit Works in Cooperation With Us

The Holy Spirit does not teach by arbitrary acts, or those acts which have no relation to the constitution of the human mind; but by silently and yet effectually, inspiring and guiding the movements of the natural powers of perception and knowledge, in co-operation with their own action. "Strive, therefore, to enter in."  He who desires and purposes to be holy, must employ the appropriate means to be holy. He must be willing to think and to reason; he must be willing to reflect, to resolve, to pray; doing all, however, under the guidance of the great Inward Teacher, who gives life without countenancing inactivity, who is the inspirer of human movement, but is not the substitute for it.

Religious Maxims (1846) CLVII.

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