In the School of the Holy Spirit Quotes

“We do not have to become saints by our own power; we have to learn how to let God make us into saints.”
― Jacques Philippe, In the School of the Holy Spirit

“One of the petitions we make to God most often should be: “Inspire me in all my decisions, and never let me neglect any of your inspirations.”
― Jacques Philippe, In the School of the Holy Spirit

“We should fight, not to attain holiness as a result of our own efforts, but to let God act in us without our putting up any resistance against him; we should fight to open ourselves as fully as possible to his grace, which sanctifies us.”
― Jacques Philippe, In the School of the Holy Spirit

“Our Lord is always ready to lift us up again when we fall, and he even finds a way to make our falls beneficial to us if after them we turn back to him with a humble, trusting heart.”
― Jacques Philippe, In the School of the Holy Spirit

“God calls us to perfection, but he is not a perfectionist. And perfection is reached not so much by external conformity to an ideal as by inner faithfulness to God’s inspirations.”
― Jacques Philippe, In the School of the Holy Spirit

“Another characteristic of God’s Spirit is that, while enlightening us and impelling us to act, he imprints our souls with a deep sense of humility. He makes us do good in such a way that we are happy to do it, but without any presumptuousness, self-satisfaction, or vanity. We see quite clearly that the good that we do does not come from ourselves but from God.”
― Jacques Philippe, In the School of the Holy Spirit

“We need to note this important point: A divine inspiration can disturb us to begin with, but to the extent that we do not refuse it, but open ourselves to it and consent to it, little by little it will establish peace in us.”
― Jacques Philippe, In the School of the Holy Spirit

“The most important criterion for discerning divine inspirations is the one that Jesus himself gives us in the Gospel: “A tree is known by its fruit.” An inspiration from God, if we follow it, will produce sound fruit: the fruits of peace, joy, charity, communion, and humility.”
― Jacques Philippe, In the School of the Holy Spirit

“God does not will evil or sin. Many things happen that God does not will. But he still permits them, in his wisdom, and they remain a stumbling block or scandal to our minds. God asks us to do all we can to eliminate evil. But despite our efforts, there is always a whole set of circumstances which we can do nothing about, which are not necessarily willed by God but nevertheless are permitted by him, and which God invites us to consent to trustingly and peacefully, even if they make us suffer and cause us problems. We are not being asked to consent to evil, but to consent to the mysterious wisdom of God who permits evil. Our consent is not a compromise with evil but the expression of our trust that God is stronger than evil. This is a form of obedience that is painful but very fruitful. It means that after we have done everything in our power, we are invited, faced with what is still imposed on our will by events, to practice an attitude of abandonment and filial trust toward our heavenly Father, in the faith that “for those who love God, everything works together for good.”12”
― Jacques Philippe, In the School of the Holy Spirit

“All this means that if we want the (apparent) contradictions between God’s will and our freedom to be resolved, we ought to ask the Holy Spirit for the grace to love God more, and the problem will solve itself.”
― Jacques Philippe, In the School of the Holy Spirit

“Those who travel with God feel free; they feel that they have nothing to fear, that they are not subject to control, but on the contrary that everything is subject to them because everything works together for their good, whether favorable or unfavorable circumstances, good or bad. They feel that everything belongs to them because they are God’s children; that nothing can limit them, because God belongs to them. They are not subject to conditions but always do what they want because what they want is to love, and that is always within their power. Nothing can separate them from the God they love; and they feel that even if they were in prison, they would be just as happy, because there is no way that any power in the world could take God away from them.”
― Jacques Philippe, In the School of the Holy Spirit

“The experience of the Church and the saints4 demonstrates a general law: what comes from the Spirit of God brings with it joy, peace, tranquility of spirit, gentleness, simplicity, and light. On the other hand, what comes from the spirit of evil brings sadness, trouble, agitation, worry, confusion, and darkness. These marks of the good and the evil spirit are unmistakable signs in themselves.”
― Jacques Philippe, In the School of the Holy Spirit

“Toda moción divina, al tiempo que es luz para comprender lo que Dios desea, es fuerza para cumplirlo: luz que ilumina la inteligencia, y fuerza que anima a la voluntad.”
― Jacques Philippe, En la escuela del Espíritu Santo (Patmos)

“All that is just to say that God’s will is where there is the maximum of love, but not necessarily where there is the maximum of suffering. There is more love in resting in trust than making ourselves suffer through worrying!”
― Jacques Philippe, In the School of the Holy Spirit

“What God wants is always different, always disconcerting; but ultimately it is infinitely more beautiful, because only God is capable of creating totally unique masterpieces, while we humans can only imitate.”
― Jacques Philippe, In the School of the Holy Spirit

“Holiness is not the realization of a given model of perfection that is identical for everyone. It is the emergence of an absolutely unique reality that God alone knows, and that he alone brings to fruition. No individual knows what his own holiness consists of. Holiness is only revealed to us by degrees, as we journey on, and it is often something very different from what we imagine, so much so that the greatest obstacle on the path to holiness may be to cling too closely to the image we have of our own perfection.”
― Jacques Philippe, In the School of the Holy Spirit

“Moreover, one small act of obedience to God can sometimes cause us to make more progress spiritually than years of effort according to our own plans. Fidelity to small graces draws down bigger ones.”
― Jacques Philippe, In the School of the Holy Spirit

“Ultimately what will help us to recognize and respond to God’s motions most easily and promptly is the interior development of a sort of “spiritual sense,” which to begin with we may not have at all or may have only in a very rough form. We can develop this sense by experience, and especially by faithfully and resolutely following our Lord.1 This “spiritual hearing” is a kind of ability to recognize, among all the multiple, discordant voices that we can hear inside us, the unique, unmistakable voice of Jesus. This sense is like a loving instinct that makes it easier and easier for us to distinguish the voice of the Spouse, in the chorus of sounds that greet our ears.”
― Jacques Philippe, In the School of the Holy Spirit

“St. Thérèse used the expression: “I want everything that causes me difficulties.”14 Externally it doesn’t change anything about the situation, but interiorly it changes everything. This consent, inspired by love and trust, makes us free and active instead of passive, and enables God to draw good out of everything that happens to us whether good or bad.”
― Jacques Philippe, In the School of the Holy Spirit

“Richard of St. Victor says: I boldly affirm that one single drop of these divine consolations can do what all the pleasures of the world cannot. The pleasures of this world cannot satisfy the heart; and one single drop of the inner sweetness that the Holy Spirit pours into the soul, delights it utterly and causes it a holy inebriation.”
― Jacques Philippe, In the School of the Holy Spirit

“Another spiritual law, which is worth taking note of and that is confirmed by experience, is this: this path of docility to the motions of the Holy Spirit may be very demanding, because “the Spirit breathes where he will,”14 but it is a path of freedom and happiness. We may journey without constraint, our hearts not confined but expanded. This enlarging of the heart is a clear sign of the presence of the Spirit.”
― Jacques Philippe, In the School of the Holy Spirit

“How Can We Foster Inspirations? 1. Practice Praise and Thanksgiving 2. Desire and Ask For Them 3. Resolve to Refuse God Nothing 4. Practice Filial and Trusting Obedience 5. Practice Abandonment 6. Practice Detachment 7. Practice Silence and Peace 8. Persevere Faithfully in Prayer 9. Examine the Movements of Our Hearts 10. Open Our Hearts To a Spiritual Director”
― Jacques Philippe, In the School of the Holy Spirit

“Silence is not emptiness but that general attitude of inwardness that enables us to have an “inner cell” in our heart, to use an expression of St. Catherine of Siena’s, where we are in God’s presence and converse with him.”
― Jacques Philippe, In the School of the Holy Spirit

“What often happens is that, when we are confronted with painful occurrences, we either rebel, or endure them unwillingly, or resign ourselves to them passively. But God invites us to a much more positive and fruitful attitude: that of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, who, as a child, said: “I choose it all!” We can give this the meaning: I choose everything that God wants for me. I”
― Jacques Philippe, In the School of the Holy Spirit

“God lets himself be won over by the trust we put in him.”
― Jacques Philippe, In the School of the Holy Spirit