The Church has known this from its beginning. We are obliged, however, to respond to God. God offers - we respond. And response involves more than smiles, pious thoughts and good wishes. Our response is found in our human, bodily activity.
Actions do, as the saying goes, speak louder than words.
It is those who do the word of God and keep it. Without our response, nothing happens within us. God is at work. God is offering, calling, inviting and making Himself present to us in His Christ. And Christ is working on us and encountering us in His Mystical Body, the Church.