Wednesday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time
“For greater things you were born.” (Ven. Mother Luisita)
WEDNESDAY, June 23rd Mt. 7: 15-20 “By their fruits, you will know them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? Just so, every good tree bears good fruit, and a rotten tree bears bad fruit.”
- “A moment of patience in a moment of anger saves a thousand moments of regret.” (author unknown)
- “Resist your impatience faithfully, practicing, not only with reason, but even against reason, holy courtesy and sweetness to all, but especially to those who weary you most.” – St. Francis de Sales
- “Let nothing perturb you, nothing frighten you. All things pass. God does not change. Patience achieves everything.” -St. Teresa of Avila
PATIENCE: THE VIRTUE WE ALL NEED!!!
There is not one person in the world who can say that he does not need the virtue of patience. Jesus said: “By your patient endurance, you will save your soul.” (Lk. 21:19-21) Given that this virtue is universally needed but not easy to attain, this will be our topic for conversation in this brief article!
PATIENCE WITH WHOM? You might stop and look at your life and ask the question: “With whom, where, and when do I need the virtue of patience?” Not to be overly simplistic, but I believe we can narrow this question down to three distinct categories. First, we have to be patient with others—those we meet, those we live with, those we work with, those we associate with, those with whom we come in contact, either frequently or less frequently. Second, there is another very important category or person with whom we must exercise constant and infinite patience—and that is with ourselves, yes, with ourselves! Finally, and this last Person with whom we must practice patience may not be as obvious, this Person is God!!!
This being said, we must be keenly aware of the hard and cruel fact that people will rub us wrong, get on our nerves, provoke us, exasperate us, and sometimes simply drive us bananas—to put it bluntly! As you read this article, I am sure that you have some person in mind, more likely, some persons in mind! Certain idiosyncrasies of others, their tone of voice, the pace they move at, their facial expression, the words they use or fail to use, drive you up the wall, or almost drive you crazy! We all know these people and have had contact with them and probably do even right now! What then are we going to do to remedy this predicament?
Easier said than done—the solution to this problem of patience with the person or persons who seem to be simply intolerable! Let us offer some suggestions that can be invaluable!
FIRST, PRAYER! Jesus says that we have to pray and not simply for those people whom we see as charming, attractive, likeable, holy and unblemished—as if these people really do exist anyway!!! No! We must pray for all people because they were created by a loving God, and God wants all of humanity to form a family in which the virtue of love, compassion, mercy and respect reign supreme! Jesus says very clearly that we even have to pray for our enemies, as He taught us on the cross: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they are doing.” (Lk. 23:34)
SECOND, HUMILITY! Be humble in the midst of your dislike of this person that drives you up the wall due to the many defects that you observe in them. Remember and call to mind your own many defects which might be more serious in the eyes of God than the defects in the person that you really cannot stand! God loves the humble, but rejects the arrogant and proud. When tempted to look down on this person call to mind one of your most egregious failures or sins and God’s mercy towards you. This will help you to be more compassionate, kind and PATIENT toward this intolerable person!
THIRD, AGERE CONTRA! Put into practice what Saint Ignatius of Loyola teaches in the course of the Spiritual Exercises and it is the concept of AGERE CONTRA!!! This is a short Latin phrase which literally means to go against! Therefore, when you are tempted to be impatient, unkind, cold, or downright mean to this person who presses your buttons, do the opposite. Smile, say a kind word, make a nice gesture, or even give a gift—all this is difficult but very pleasing to God. This is not hypocrisy, but heroic virtue! This conquering of self, though difficult, is possible, and doing this is a true sign of the victory of God’s grace in your life!
FOURTH, PATIENCE WITH SELF! What about patience with oneself? Those who are so-called perfectionists will always end up defrauding themselves. Why? For the simple reason that we live in a very imperfect world, better said, a very sinful world! Only God is perfect and all of humanity is composed of sinners, hopefully on the path to conversion! The Bible teaches us that the just man falls seven times a day. Jesus says that we must forgive those who offend us not seven times, but 70 times seven times, which means always! Often as not, it is ourselves that we have to forgive 70 times seven times!
In other words, even though we have to fight constantly to overcome our sinful tendencies, as well as sin itself in our lives, we must strive to never give in to impatience at our many faults and failings. Indeed, the saints teach us that after sin itself, discouragement is mortal enemy number one! For this reason, apply the Ignatian concept Agere Contra, meaning to act intensely against our impatience with ourselves and our temptation to throw in the towel and give up.
FIFTH, NUNC COEPI! The Founder of the Oblates of the Virgin Mary, Venerable Bruno Lanteri, expressed it in two short words, but these two words say it all! NUNC COEPI!—NOW I BEGIN! After we fall or fail in one way or another, we must get up, dust ourselves off, and launch ourselves into the loving arms of God the Father (the image of Saint Therese of Lisieux); then simply start anew! We should trust more in God’s grace then in our human weakness, remembering the words of the great Apostle Saint Paul: “When I am weak, it is then that I am strong!” (2 Cor. 12:10) Ven. Bruno Lanteri said, “Even if I fall a thousand times a day, a thousand times I will get up and say, ‘Now I begin.’”
The recently canonized saint (2015), the Missionary of California, Saint Junipero Serra coined this immortal phrase: “Siempre Adelante, siempre Adelante y nunca atras!” Translation: “Always forward, always forward and never turn back!” Therefore, when we fall (and no doubt we will fall) we must not give in to discouragement, but trust less in ourselves and more in God’s power in our lives. Meaning, less self-reliance and more God-reliance! With the Psalmist let us exclaim: “Our help is in the name of the Lord who made heaven and earth!” (Ps. 124:8)
SIXTH, PATIENCE WITH GOD! The last and most important Person for us to be patient with is God Himself! This may surprise many who might be thinking: “I have never been impatient with God!” O, really! Have you ever prayed to God and not been answered according to your criteria? Have you ever asked God to help you in a sickness and suffering and it seemed as if God was not listening, or totally indifferent to your situation? Has it ever happened that you made a novena to God, to Mary, or to one of God’s angels and saints and the request made was not answered; rather, your situation seemed to get worse? Has it ever happened that you prayed for the conversion of someone and absolutely nothing seemed to happen? Has it ever happened in your life that you begged God with faith for the mountain to be moved and when you got up the following morning the mountain had not moved or budged a millimeter?
Faced with these so called unanswered prayers or petitions, these unresolved problems or aggravating circumstances, where it seems as if God does not care, is indifferent, or even uninterested in your sorrowful plight, there is a good chance that you will become impatient with God, to the point of even becoming angry with God. This is more common than we are aware of!!!
What then is the response to this predicament? Very simply the following! Our God is a God of Infinite Love! Our God is a God of Infinite Wisdom! However, the mind of God is not the mind of man. His ways far transcend and supersede ours in knowledge, wisdom, love and planning. We can barely see beyond our own nose and we live only in a specific moment of time. Not so with God! He lives in the Eternal Now! For an Infinite and Eternal God, the past, present and future are all one!
This being said, for the sake of our conversion, sanctification, perseverance in grace and our eternal salvation, God’s plans and decisions will not always meet with our criteria. However, we must believe in God’s loving and providential design. All God does for you individually, personally, socially, and spiritually will always—in the broad and panoramic perspective and in the light of eternity—be for your good. Therefore, strive never to be impatient with God but trust, trust totally and humbly in His Infinite Love for you and providential care. Beg Our Lady, who stood beneath the cross watching Jesus suffer and die, to help you have great trust and patience in God’s plan for your life!
