• Ex.24:7:  All that the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient...

• Gen. 12:1-4:  Abram went, as the Lord had told him.

• Ps. 1:  Happy are those whose delight is in the law of the Lord.

• Jer. 31:31-34:  I will put my law within them and I will write it on their hearts.

• Mt 5:17-20:  Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and teachers of the law...

• Lk. 10:25-37:  When he saw him, he was moved with pity...'

• Lk. 15:17-18:  When he came to himself he said...

• 2 Tim.3:14-17:  You however know all about my teachings.

The Church's holiness is fostered in a special way by the manifold counsels, which the Lord proposes to his disciples in the Gospel for them to observe. Towering among these counsels is that precious gift... of perfect continence for the love of the kingdom of heaven... having the same mind which Christ Jesus showed, who became obedient unto death and for our sake became poor, though he was rich (Lumen Gentium, 42).

Those Christians who are guided or moved by the Holy Spirit to understand more clearly the divine will in their lives may experience what some ascetic writers have called 'transitory motions' of inspirations. These are genuine experiences of personal inspirations in the life of grace inasmuch as they provide greater clarity or deeper insight into Christian faith and practice (The New Dictionary of Catholic Spirituality, TPI, Bangalore, 1995, p. 542)

God inspired the human authors of the sacred books: "To compose the sacred books, God chose certain men who, all the while he employed them in this task, made full use of their own faculties and powers so that, though he acted in them and by them, it was as true authors that they consigned to writing whatever he wanted written, and no more." (Dei Verbum 11, Catechism of the Catholic Church, 105).

The whole difference between a command and a counsel is that the command is an obligation binding under pain of sin, while a counsel is an invitation binding under no such penalty (Treatise on the Love of God, VIII, 8. p.335). Various stages of perfection exist in the counsels. To lend to a poor man who is not in extreme need is the first stage of the counsel of almsgiving; a stage higher is to give him something; higher still is to give him everything; but the highest stage of all is to give oneself, devoting oneself to the service of the poor (Treatise on the Love of God, VIII, 9. p. 338).

Love the word of God. Listen to it always with attention and deep respect, whether you hear it during familiar conversation with your spiritual friends or in sermons. Draw as much profit from it as you can. Do not let it fall to the ground. Receive it in your heart like a precious balm. Imitate our Lady who kept carefully in her heart all the words spoken in praise of her child (Lk. 2:19 & 51). Remember that out Lord gathers up the words we say to him in our prayers, in the measure in which we gather up the words he says to us in sermons. (Introduction to the Devout Life, Part II, Ch. 17, pp. 118-119).

The sun's rays give both light and warmth together. Inspiration is a ray of grace bringing light and warmth to our hearts: light to show us what is good; warmth to give us energy to go after it... Without inspiration the life of the soul is sluggish, impotent, useless. Once the rays of God's inspirations strike it, however, we are aware of light and life... our minds are enlightened, our wills inflamed and quickened with strength to intend and fulfil whatever may lead to our salvation... The ways he has of inspiring us are past all counting. St. Anthony, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Anselm, and many others, often received inspirations while looking at creatures. Preaching, however is the usual way; but occasionally those who are not helped by hearing the word are taught by trials. (Treatise on the Love of God, VIII, 10. pp. 340-341.)

Aristotle called a certain short-legged species of bird, "apodes" (a word meaning "footless"); their feet were so frail as to be useless. Once those birds alighted on the ground, they were forced to stay there, unable to take off again as neither legs nor feet could propel them back into the air. There they would lie until they died unless a sudden gust of wind happened to catch and lift them... We human beings resemble the apodes. If we happen to leave the atmosphere of divine love, to settle on the ground, to cling to creatures - which we do every time we offend God - we are at the death's door indeed. Some faint emotions are left, like legs and feet, to make an attempt at love; but they are so weak, we cannot extricate our hearts from the slime of sin, cannot take off again on wings of charity, cannot resume the flight which we disloyally and deliberately abandoned. It would be no more than we deserve, if God were to abandon us. However, his eternal charity rarely allows his justice to resort to that punishment; instead it excites his pity, prompts him to recall us from our misfortune. He does this by the favourable wind of his inspirations. Powerfully, but gently they play upon our hearts, striking them, moving them, raising our thoughts, impelling our emotions into the atmosphere of God's love. (Treatise on the Love of God, II, Ch.9, p. 72)

If His majesty (King Henry IV of France) makes known his special intention (in wanting me to serve the Church in France), I shall consider before God my abilities. In case I find myself in any way capable of the service he wants from me and if the Holy Father gives me the order (because you know well that without it I would not dare to move from the responsibility I now have), I would be fully ready and attracted to follow the divine vocation, without any doubt that it was a divine call, seeing the will of the Pope and of the King joined together (Letter to his friend. Antoine des Hayes, Secretary to King Henry IV, AE.IX, p. 10).

Bishop de Granier convoked his clergy in an assembly at the beginning of September 1594. With deep feeling, he explained the situation in the Chablais and the need to undertake the mission and appealed for volunteers. How the army of Geneva chased away the fifty priests sent to the Chablais was still fresh in their minds. No one came forward. Then the Bishop turned his eyes to Francis, "My Lord." said Francis, "if you think that I am capable of it, command me, I am ready." The Bishop commanded and Francis replied, "On your word, I shall cast the net" (Antony Mookenthottam, Saint Francis de Sales: A Formative Biography, p. 97).