"Compassionate Fire"

I have been reading a new book called Compassionate Fire: The Letters of Thomas Merton and Catherine de Hueck Doherty. It is edited by Robert A. Wild and I am adding it to my list of spiritual books as I find these letters give me new insight into these two contemporary spiritual authors. Both were striving for sanctity. I was glad to hear that Robert Wild is the Postulator for the cause of canonization for Catherine. He says in his afterword that postulators gather material for the Church's discernment regarding a person's heroic living of the gospel. "One aspect of holiness concerns how a person inspired others to love the Lord. Such influence is another indication of the love of God working through her or him." Wild is convinced that Catherine had a strong and life-changing influence on him. Both authors had a great deal of influence on others and both were prophetic voices; it is good to see their spiritual friendship. I was amazed at the length of some of the letters!
I am also thinking how good it is to be able to inspire others to love the Lord. I think that all spiritual directors try to do this and hope that I am inspiring not only directees but also my students to love Jesus. I am grateful for all those who have inspired me to love God beginning with my parents and continuing to this day.