Prayer expands the soul

I came across this quote from St Therese, Prayer expands my soul and unites me to Jesus. It was the first four words that caught my attention. It is good to focus - as John of the Cross often does - on what the habit of prayer does to ourselves. People so often think of prayer as supplication or intercession - and of course it is that - but it is also a means by which God changes me. Subtly and progressively, He moulds me into what He wants me to be - and that process includes expanding my soul. In this season of Pentecost we are reminded of the way that the Holy Spirit fills the receptacle of our souls, but perhaps we think less about just how big that receptacle might be. The miracle is not just that the Spirit is filling me, but that He is making me grow bigger inside.