The Holy Spirit, by means of the gift of understanding, penetrates the soul in many ways into the depths of the revealed mysteries. In a supernatural and therefore gratuitous way, he teaches in the depths of the heart what is contained in the deepest truths of the faith. As one who, without having learned or worked to know how to read or studied anything," explains St. Teresa, "found that he already knew all knowledge, without knowing how or from where it had come to him, since he had never worked to learn the alphabet. This last comparison teaches something of this heavenly gift, because the soul sees in a moment the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity and other very lofty things with such clarity that there is no theologian with whom it would not dare to discuss these great truths "10.
The gift of understanding leads us to grasp the deeper meaning of Sacred Scripture, the life of grace, the presence of Christ in every sacrament and, in a real and substantial way, in the Holy Eucharist. This gift gives us a divine instinct for what is supernatural in the world. Before the eyes of the believer, enlightened by the Spirit, a whole new universe emerges. The mysteries of the Most Holy Trinity, of the Incarnation, of the Redemption, of the Church become extraordinarily living and actual realities that orient the whole life of the Christian, decisively influencing work, family, friends.... Their influence makes prayer simpler and more profound.
Those who are docile to the inspirations of the Holy Spirit purify their souls, keep their faith awake, and discover God through all created things and the events of ordinary life. He who lives in lukewarmness no longer perceives these calls of grace, has dulled his soul for the divine, and has lost the sense of faith, of its demands and delicacies.
The gift of understanding leads one to contemplate God in the midst of ordinary tasks, in the pleasant or painful events of one's life. The way to reach the fullness of this gift is personal prayer, in which we contemplate the truths of the faith, and the struggle, joyful and loving, to maintain the presence of God during the day by encouraging acts of contrition when we have separated ourselves from the Lord. This is not an extraordinary supernatural help granted exclusively to very exceptional persons, but to all those who want to be faithful to the Lord wherever they are, sanctifying their joys and sorrows, their work and their rest.