It's been more than a month, so please forgive me! I beg all of you readers; please pray for me!
Patience.
It's a fundamental virtue that is found in all three of the three theological virtues and in the four cardinal virtues and is necessary to truly have all of them. Prudence requires patience because wisdom requires the humility found in knowing that we can do nothing without God and that even with Him we can do nothing except by His schedule for everything. Justice requires patience because giving and receiving one's due requires the knowledge of what that due is and the wisdom to make the best decisions. Temperance requires patience because it's restraining ourselves so we can more adhere to God's plan for us. Courage requires patience because we need to know and wait for the right times to show the strength given to us by God.
But the theological virtues require patience even more!
Faith needs patience because we all need to be able to be still as we let God fight our battles for us (Exodus 14:14). At Mass I was at once, the priest giving the homily gave everyone a phrase to remember; "Faith is God's work in us to which we respond." It's often so difficult to remember that God is working in us constantly, and because we're fallen, we want things and events, especially help from God, as soon as possible. But God's plans for us take time, lots and lots of time, so we need to learn patience from Him to have true faith.
The second theological virtue, hope, is all about patience! So many people don't have hope, and this is partly because none of us are good at being patient, or at least not as well as God desires for us. He wants everyone to have hope in Him, and because His plans can take years, lifetimes, even centuries perhaps, He wants us to be patient with Him and each other, especially to be able to do the third theological virtue and the most important one; love.
"'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" (Luke 10:17) The Lord Jesus Christ tells us to love God and each other, and this is impossible without patience. Without patience, we can only think ourselves, about when we're going to get what we want. St. Paul tells us that "love is patient" (1 Corinthians 13:4), that "it... always hopes, always perseveres." (1 Corinthians 13:7). Love requires us to think outside of time, outside of our own desires, and into God's time, into what He desires for us and everyone else, especially those around us that we're called to love (hint: it's everyone). Love requires patience because giving ourselves to each other and receiving each other's time and talents takes time. It takes time to get used to each other, it takes time to do things for each other, it takes time to do things with each other, and it takes time to realize all of this.
I'm not very patient. I'm really horrible at it, actually, more than most people you know, most likely. If I'm ever confronted with a problem, whatever it is, I want to solve it as quickly as possible so I and others part of it can be done with it already. Some might say, "Oh, that's good, you're getting rid of the problems in your life." However, it more often than not causes more problems than I already had before trying to solve it! I need to learn to be patient so I can live and love as God wants me to, especially for those closest to me like my parents and my girlfriend. Along with God, they're the ones who have to deal with my impatience the most, and I know I'll love them better as I get better at being patient, and, more importantly, I'll get better at loving the God Who offers me the gift of patience constantly out of love for me, the God Who was patient when He said, "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done", (Luke 22:42) and patient enough to die on a cross for everyone.
So let's all strive to be patient, persevering through whatever may come in our lives, whatever attacks we face, and let's all obey God as He asks us to have faith, hope, and love, all bound by patience.
All of you holy men and women, and all of you angelic hosts, and by the powerful intercession of Mary, Most Holy Mother of God, please pray for us!
All of you readers, please pray for me and for each other!
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