“The Holy Spirit in the external authority of the Church acts as the infallible interpreter and criterion of divine revelation.  The Holy Spirit in the soul acts as the Divine Life-giver and Sanctifier.  It is of the highest importance that these two distinct offices of the Holy Spirit should not be confounded.  The supposition that there can be any opposition, or contradiction, between the action of the Holy Spirit in the supreme decisions of the authority of the Church, and the inspirations of the Holy Spirit in the soul, can never enter the mind of an enlightened and sincere Christian.  The Holy Spirit, which through the authority of the Church teaches divine truth, is the same Spirit which prompts the soul to receive the divine truths which He teaches.  The measure of our love for the Holy Spirit is the measure of our obedience to the authority of the Church. . . .  There is one Spirit, which acts in two different offices concurring to the same end, the regeneration and sanctification of the soul.

“In case of obscurity or doubt concerning what is the divinely revealed truth, or whether what prompts the soul is or is not an inspiration of the Holy Spirit, recourse must be had to the Divine Teacher or criterion, the authority of the Church.  For it must be borne in mind that to the Church, as represented in the first instance by St. Peter, and subsequently by his successors, was made the promise of her Divine Founder, that ’the gates of hell should never prevail against her.’  No such promise was ever made by Christ to each individual believer.  ’The Church of the living God, the pillar and ground of Truth.’  The test, therefore, of a truly enlightened and sincere Christian will be, in case of uncertainty, the promptitude of his obedience to the voice of the Church.

“From the above plain truths the following practical rule of conduct may be drawn:  The Holy Spirit is the immediate guide of the soul in the way of salvation and sanctification; and the criterion, or test, that the soul is guided by the Holy Spirit, is its ready obedience to the authority of the Church.  This rule removes all danger whatever, and with it the soul can walk, run, or fly, if it chooses, in the greatest safety and with perfect liberty, in the ways of sanctity.”

“The practical aim of all true religion is to bring each individual soul under the immediate guidance of the Divine Spirit.  The Divine Spirit communicates Himself to the soul by means of the sacraments of the Church.  The Divine Spirit acts as the interpreter and criterion of revealed truth by the authority of the Church.  The Divine Spirit acts as the principle of regeneration and sanctification in each Christian soul.