Well, I posted yesterday about my plan to focus on 1 Corinthians 13 as a meditation for the rest of the year. It starts with reflecting on the virtue of patience. I will get lots of practice today because I have an appointment in Northern Virginia that will put me enroute for 85 minutes, most of it in what I call the "white knuckle zone." How I hate that drive! But today I will think of it as the learning lab experience offering me plenty of real-time practice. I will not call any drivers names (at least I'll try) and will take a deep breath before I get upset at any traffic slowdowns. I will repeat over and over, "Love is patient....Love is patient....Love is patient."
Ah....I feel better already! You know what they say about using a mantra to relax. Just thinking about the trip raises my blood pressure so I won't think about it.
This one comes from The Cultivated Mind:
Etymology 101
Word/Cognate of the Day: Patience
Patience (abstract noun): of Latin origin patientia; the Latin root is pati or pass; the Proto-Indo-European root is pei, all of which mean to suffer or endure; firm and unyielding (like a river's current). To suffer without complaint.
...yes, patience is truly a virtue...
Other words with the Latin cognate include: passion; compassion; compatible
Thus, a person in the hospital would be considered a patient (concrete noun) because they are suffering from an illness or disease; and to heal, they must be patient (adjective) to see the best results.
The picture of the little boy fishing made me laugh. I have never liked fishing and now I know why. Because it takes a serene and quiet and patient spirit. I don't think anyone would describe me that way. Choleric yes; serene sometimes; patient with difficulty; cheerful always. But one can grow in virtue and that's my goal for now -- to grow in the virtue of patience.
To be continued....
Mary Ann, just reading your column has me calmer, I need this lesson on patience , I thank you for starting me on this 1Cor:13 lesson, can’t hear it too many times Godspeed on your trip today
ReplyDeleteI woke up a little after three and got up at four. I planned to still go, but decided at about seven that it was too risky with so little sleep and being a rainy day. So I will practice patience at home today. I'm so glad the post was helpful.
DeleteDear Mary Ann,
ReplyDeleteI laughed reading your post, it was not a laugh of joy but of seeing myself so frail, so prone to fall….. humbly recognizing it, especially when applies to be patient with others, without being irritated, that’s a tough one. Every time I get upset with another driver (who is most of the time looking at the phone), immediately I offer one ‘Ave Maria’, and ask their Guardian Angel to watch over that person. Also, it helps to cross your heart the moment you sit in the car, say a prayer to your own Guardian Angel, (Act of Contrition), and ask St. Christopher to protect you from any danger on the road, especially for all sinners that will die this day!
Lord, thank You for the gift of Faith!
Indeed, some translations have it as "Love is longsuffering"
ReplyDeletePatience def (Merriam Webster)
ReplyDelete“1: bearing pains or trials calmly or without complaint; manifesting forbearance under provocation or strain; not hasty or impetuous; steadfast despite opposition, difficulty, or adversity.”
Perseverance def (Merriam Webster):
“continued effort to do or achieve something despite difficulties, failure, or opposition.”
Perseverance in the Catholic faith:
Perseverance is the ability to persist in higher virtues like faith, hope, and charity, even when faced with obstacles, delays, and temptations.
Fr John Hardon on Patience:
“A form of the moral virtue of fortitude. It enables one to endure present evils without sadness or resentment in conformity with the will of God. Patience is mainly concerned with bearing the evils caused by another.”
St Thomas Aquinas on Perseverance:
“St. Thomas Aquinas teaches that since the virtues of faith, hope, and charity have as their goal the end of life, the virtue of perseverance, a derivative of fortitude, allows us to persist in those higher virtues. But perseverance as a virtue cannot succeed with human effort alone.”
It seems to me that *patience* and *perseverance* go hand in hand toward the same goal, which is the Divine stairway that leads to heaven which is Faith Hope Charity - utterly dependent on the Grace of God every step of the way to advance.
St. Monica is an example of a Catholic saint who showed patience and perseverance … with little reward to show for it, until the end of her life, and then beyond as she watched with God in heaven and prayed.
To me these virtues are the essence of life while carrying our cross along the hard, sweaty, difficult way with Christ our Lord.