There is a phrase many people find confusing in the spiritual journey of life. The phrase is The Interior Life.
The interior life refers to a life which seeks God in everything, a life of prayer and the practice of living in the presence of God. Living in the presence of God means nothing more than remaining constantly aware of God being present to us, watching over us, guiding us and calling us to follow a certain path in all the circumstances of our life.
To help us in this effort, the Lord Himself promised us an advocate, a teacher, and a helper for our journey through life.
The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. (John 14:16)
But this spiritual guidance is not provided in the same way we receive guidance in the other areas of our earthly life.
When it comes to our material concerns, many are quick to seek the advice of a financial advisor, a medical professional, a real estate agent, or even a golf coach. But these same people may fail to seek the advice, counsel and wisdom needed to guide their interior lives, the consequences of which they will experience for all eternity.
The challenge for most people is that this Advocate or Counselor, who is the Holy Spirit, does not often communicate to us as our human counselors. The Spirit does not work through our senses, our emotions or even necessarily our intellect. The Spirit speaks to our spirit, the very deepest part of us, in our interior. This is where we receive not only the direction for our lives and how to respond to what happens to us, it is also the place from which we are provided the will and capacity to act, and to fulfill the purpose for which God created us.
The reason so many individuals struggle with this form of communication is because they struggle with the simple truth our Lord taught us in His own words:
I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. (John 15:5)
If we do not live our lives from our interior, if we fail to listen to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, then we will become subject to the influences of what theologians call our four passions. Our desires will be determined and driven by the fear, sorrow, hope and joy we experience in our earthly or material circumstances. But these passions are all on the surface of our life; they continually change based on our circumstances and our capricious perception of what happens to us. However, once these passions are brought into conformity with the Holy Spirit, once our actions begin to be informed and driven by the interior spiritual guidance and counsel provided, then we will be able to live our lives in a way that is both stable and eternal.
Copyright © 2025, Deacon Mark Danis
Image credit:"Pentecost," El Greco (Museo del Prado, Madrid, Spain), Public domain, via WikiArt