Prayer, fastings, vigils, alms, and all other Christian practices, although wholly good in themselves, certainly do not in themselves constitute means for the attainment of the end of our Christian life. Grace is not a reward for the merit of the human will. Grace is a presence of God within us which demands constant efforts on our part. However, in no way determine grace, nor does grace act upon our liberty as if it were external or foreign to it. God does nothing.
Conversion is the beginning of the spiritual life.
It is an attitude of the will turning towards God and renouncing the world. The soul wandering outside itself, a treason against its nature, and re-entering into itself, a concentration, a reintegration of the spiritual being in its return to communion with God, a constant effort of the free will turned towards God. The soul must be always ardent, the spirit must remain calm to guard over the heart. An unceasing vigilance of spirit and a constant effort of the will, for the way of union with God is not a mere unconscious process. This harmonious relation between the spirit and the soul is necessary to develop and build up the personality in the life of grace.