Catholic teaching is that our actions cooperate with the Grace God has already given us,thus, when we follow His will our will is coming in line with the will of God that produces works of love in union with God
Scripture is clear that we can refuse this Grace given to all, and this is why our actions do not move God,they only move us away from His will when we choose to sin
"The kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son. He dispatched his servants to summon the invited guests to the feast, but they refused to come. A second time he sent other servants, saying, 'Tell those Invited: "Behold, I have prepared my banquet, my calves and fattened cattle are killed, and everything is ready; come to the feast."' Some ignored the invitation and went away, one to his farm, another to his business. The rest laid hold of his servants, mistreated them, and killed them. The king was enraged and sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city. Then he said to his servants, 'The feast is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy to come. Go out, therefore, into the main roads and invite to the feast whomever you find.' The servants went out into the streets and gathered all they found, bad and good alike, and the hall was filled with guests. (Matthew 22:2-10)
You wrote: “Catholic teaching is that our actions cooperate with the Grace God has already given us, thus, when we follow His will our will is coming in line with the will of God that produces works of love in union with God.
Scripture is clear that we can refuse this Grace given to all, and this is why our actions do not move God, they only move us away from His will when we choose to sin.”
It’s refreshing to sometimes see an expression of faith written in simple words, that offer clarity of thought. So often, too many words get in the way.
I also appreciate that you write without contentiousness.
What you are describing, stfassisi, is the “Gift and Response” that is the expression of our desire for union with God and His holy will (for which we pray in the prayer of the Our Father). This Gift and Response is what our intimate relationship with the Lord embraces.
In his fine book “Rediscovering Catholicism”, Matthew Kelly writes:
“”The surest signs of holiness are not how often a person goes to church, how many hours he spends in prayer, what good spiritual books he has read or even the number of good works he performs. The surest signs of holiness are an insatiable desire to become all God created us to be, an unwavering commitment to the will of God, and an unquenchable concern for the unholy ones. But as quickly as holiness can be found, it can be lost, because in any moment that you choose to be less than the best-version-of-yourself, you have become distracted from living a holy life. This is what it means to be striving for holiness, to be continually answering God’s invitation to grasp the moments of our lives and allow God to use them to transform us into all He has created us to be. In each and every moment of our lives God’s transforming love is inviting us to choose to live holy lives”.
“Choose life” (Deut. 30:19)
Gift and Response.