When Are Pious Thoughts Not From God?

One of the great confusions throughout the history of the Church is the common

misunderstanding that “pious” or “spiritual” thoughts and motives always come from

God.

In the fourth century, Arius was “inspired” by his own insight into the Godhead to

conclude that Jesus Christ must be a creature and so could not be God. That was the heresy of Arianism.

In the sixteenth century, Martin Luther was “inspired” by his special appreciation of the gift and power

of faith to conclude that human works have no role in sanctification and salvation. Lutheranism.

Alleged visionaries in many periods have fallen into swoons and reported great

heavenly delights. But St. Teresa of Avila, who was herself a great mystic, had to

discipline some of her nuns by ordering them to eat and sleep more, when they disrupted

convent life with what she perceived to be uninspired “ecstasies”.

In our own time, a great many people all around us are “inspired” by their experience of “spiritual liberty”

to deny that God has revealed anything which cuts against the grain of our desires. On all

sides, many who consider themselves Catholics are moved by an interior certainty of

their “sublime spirituality” to rebel against the authority of the Church.

We're not immune today as "the spirit says..." syndrome is masking the authentic voice of the Holy Spirit.