Sermon: Patience is a virtue

In our daily life we use the word ‘patience’ in situations in which we encounter different kinds of frustrations, disappointments, contradictions, privations, sickness, and all sorts of hardships. All these things cause pain both physically and psychologically. They are different challenges that we face in our daily life. By patience we may summon up our efforts and handle them courageously without losing our serenity, or without being so irritated or despondent. Patience helps one not to be upset by trivial incidents however unpleasant they may be. Francis Cunningham in his book entitled The Christian Life tells us that if we reflect upon the number of times each day that we are confronted with situations, persons and things that displease us and make us sad, we can see how important the exercise of patience is in our daily life. Patience pays. It enables us to keep control over the impulses that rise suddenly when something disagreeable happens to us. It has nothing to do with mere disregard of or indifference to life’s daily irritations or upsetting incidents. On the contrary, it is a real control of self, of one’s feelings and impulses. The opposite which is impatience results in the lack of self-control, and leads to other and greater faults. It can easily grow into anger, irritability, harsh words, unpleasantness towards others, etc. Many a serious quarrel starts with impatience over little annoyances or inconveniences. It is important to note however that patience being an important virtue, and much needed in daily life, does not mean that it is an easy virtue. It demands much watchfulness over our emotions and impulses. It is acquired by slow continual repetition of patient control. It is unfortunate that often we fail to grasp the value of patience. That way, we may miss its natural fruit which is the much needed calm of mind. In addition to the positive management of our mind, the soul of a patient person, of a calm person will rarely be at the mercy of unfortunate events as their victim. Somehow, a patient person shall always find his or her way out of his or her problems. The exercise of that virtue is not easy for one without faith for it is difficult to see the advantages of enduring with serenity the pain and sorrow that are inseparable from the conflicts, frustrations, irritations, setbacks, sickness of our daily life. It is with eyes of faith that we see a close connection between Christian patience and awareness of and trust in the Providence of God. Where there is faith in God, there is a strong feeling and hope that God can even bring good out of any bad situation, because of his loving and all-wise concern for each one of us. Of course, this acceptance of God’s will does not prevent us from feeling the suffering of the occasion, any more than Our Lord’s acceptance of his Father’s will eliminated his suffering in the Garden of Gethsemani. There his suffering was so intense that his sweat became as drops of blood. In a lesser degree for us human beings, that awareness and acceptance of God’s will begets interior peace and serenity, at times hard to explain, but which enables us to maintain our self-control in the face of any danger. That We should reflect often on the infinite patience that God has with us. Time and again we resolve to correct this or that fault, only to fall again; and each time the Lord patiently awaits our return to pardon us again. He is so patient and understanding with our weaknesses that some may imagine he pays little attention to them. Nothing could be further from the truth. It is because of the same patience that he likens the growth of his kingdom among us as the growth of a mustard seed (Mt.13:31). Here Jesus was talking of the contrast between the small, unpromising beginnings of the kingdom, and the glorious result of the kingdom of God at last. Given the importance of patience in our daily life, we should do well not to confuse it with indifference or stoic passivity to all that happens. The patient person is well aware of his or her rights and duties. In addition to this, he or she is able to judge different situations and see when and how to act or to be patient. As a Christian, he or she may have the courage to endure much more if he or she sees these challenges in the perspective of the cross of Christ. He or she chooses then to accept the cross, not because forced, as did Simon of Cyrene, but as a free and personal choice as Jesus did. Ends