No, it is not that grace has been wanting to us, but we have been wanting to grace. Let us never throw the blame on God, in order to excuse our own negligence. There is only too much of the truth in the following reflection of St. Francis de Sales : “He comes to us, Jesus, the Well- Beloved of our souls, and He finds our hearts full of worldly desires, affections, and petty volitions. He is disappointed, because He wished to find them empty, so that He could enter and make Himself their Master and Governor. We have indeed renounced mortal sin and all attachments to evil. But the nooks and corners of our hearts are filled with a thousand things that tie His hands and prevent Him from giving us the graces He designed to bestow. Let us, therefore, do all that lies within our power, and then abandon ourselves to Divine Providence.”  –Abbot Vitalis Lehodey ‘Holy Abandonment’

“The life of man upon earth is warfare” (Job vii.i).  Day and night, within and without, the enemies of our salvation lie in wait to rob us of our treasure of virtues, even of the life of grace, and by consequence of the life of glory, too.  We must watch, pray, struggle, and ceaselessly keep repelling the assaults of the demon, defeating his strategies, holding down our vicious inclinations and our unruly passions which are in league with him.  And should he succeed in penetrating our lines of defense by sin, we must drive him out again by prompt repentance, repair the ill-consequences of our fault, provide against a renewed offensive on the part of the enemy, and prepare for the final victory by vigilance and a courage always on the alert.  –Abbot Vitalis Lehodey ‘Holy Abandonment’