The Invitation of Grace
"Christ does not force our wills. he will only take what we give Him, but He will never give Himself entirely to us until we give ourselves entirely to Him." - St. Teresa of Jesus
Our Lord told us that He would always come and stand at the threshold but it is the soul that must open the door. "Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any man...open to Me the door, I will come in." Yes, He will come over and over again until the hour of our death and only the soul can put a stop to His coming. These knockings are inspirations of grace, silent and secret. We are free to accept them or reject them. Our Lord will never force our will, but if we correspond to these inspirations with great fidelity He will enter in and take possession of our souls. Then, little by little, His light and truth will enlighten every hour of our life. For years St. Teresa could not find the courage to give up certain infidelities until one day she knelt before an image of Our Lord being scourged and begged Him to take away from her the power to resist Him. She said, "I then made greater progress; for I was now very distrustful of myself and placed all my confidence in God.
Is God knocking on the door of my soul? Am I listening? Am I allowing Him to enter? Am I giving myself entirely to Him?
