The need to be in control can be such a slippery slope on the spiritual journey: When do we take charge and act? When do we hold back and trust? So many of us live delusional lives and think we’re in charge not only of our lives but also of our holiness and soul training. And that is the very reason why frustration reigns supreme: We resist letting go and trusting in the fingers of the potter. We refuse to surrender. And yet, training the soul to become God’s instrument occurs only in the radical act of trust.

To serve the Lord and Divine Master is to recognize the gratuity of grace that is never exhausted and never expires: everything in my life is a grace, gift, and blessing.

Soul training is our response to the gratuity of grace that never expires and is never exhausted.