Stretching our patience

I think that we can safely presume that we try our best to live patience. That's because whether we like it or not, we certainly cannot avoid all sorts of difficulties, challenges, trials, pains and sorrows that require us or even force us to be patient.

Our daily life is full of occasions that demand patience from us. We need to be patient with our individual selves, what with all our endless needs and aspirations. Let's never forget that we are very complex beings with infinite possibilities that need to be reined in and given proper direction, and we have to contend with endless factors.

Then we have to be patient with others, starting with those with whom we live and work, not to mention the many other bigger aspects and higher levels of our life whose events and developments can exact a very heavy toll on our patience. Think of the many screaming social and political issues that compel us to be patient.

In short, we have to be patient with life and with the world in general, a really tall order!

We just have to make a better understanding of this particular virtue that actually plays an important role in our life. It should not just be something negative, to be tolerated. It should not be something we resort to because nothing else can be done, a kind of default when everything else fails.

Patience is a very positive virtue that in essence identifies us very intimately with Christ who was and is patience personified. His patience allowed him to express his supreme love for us by offering his life on the cross. This is the source, standard and goal of patience.

Many are the references in the gospel that highlight the value of patience. Charity, we are told, is patient. (1 Cor 13,4) "By your patience you will win your souls." (Lk 21,19) "Esteem it all joy, my brethren, when you fall into various trials, knowing that the trying of your faith begets patience. And let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and entire, lacking nothing." (James 1,2-4)

And so we need to do some tweaking of our mind and heart with respect to patience. There definitely are elements in our understanding, attitude and current condition that need to be changed or purified or conformed more tightly to the requirements of patience.

Let's remember that patience as a virtue is "a habitual and stable perfection of the intellect and will that govern our actions, order our passions and guide our conduct according to reason and faith." Its specific purpose is to assure us firmness in difficulties and constancy in the pursuit of the good.

We need to be clear about the organic link between our intellect and will on the one hand, and our actions, passions and over-all conduct on the other hand. That link should be strengthened and reinforced deliberately and not allowed to just be by itself.

Some anomalies may hold captive our intellect and will that would compromise patience. We may be dominated by laziness, complacency, lukewarmness that generate their own brand of impatience. Or we may fall into some kind of bitter zeal, imprudence, pride, vanity, greed, etc., that also have their own version of impatience.

These forms of impatience should be quelled as soon as they appear and are rightly identified to be so, since there is also a good kind of impatience.

St. Cyprian of Carthage has a rather extensive description of this virtue that I think is worthwhile remitting here. "It is patience," he said, "that both commends us to God and saves us for God. It is that same patience which tempers anger, bridles the tongue, governs the mind, guards peace.

"It is patience that rules discipline, breaks the onslaught of lust, suppresses the violence of pride, extinguishes the fire of dissension, restrains the power of the wealthy, renews the endurance of the poor in bearing their lot, guards the blessed integrity of virgins, the difficult chastity of widows, and the indivisible love of husbands and wives.

"It makes man humble in prosperity, brave in adversity, meek in the face of injuries and insults. It teaches us to pardon our offenders quickly. If you yourself should offend, it teaches you to ask pardon often and with perseverance.

"It vanquishes temptations, sustains persecutions, endures sufferings and martyrdom to the end. It is this patience which strongly fortifies the foundations of our faith. It is the patience which sublimely promotes the growth of hope."

How truly wonderful patience is!

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