“...having heard the word, hold it fast, and bear fruit in patience.”
Our blessed Savior is pleased with those who, with a right and good heart, hear His word, hold it fast, and bear fruit... in patience.

If we wish to please Christ then we must bear fruit in patience. Today we will speak on patience.
 
First, let us be sure of our need to obtain patience.  Patience is a most repeated counsel in holy scripture: “wait on God in patience.” (Eccu. 2:3); “in thy tribulations keep patience.” (Eccu. 2:4);  “woe to them that have lost patience.” (Eccu. 2:16); “in your patience you shall possess your souls.” (Lk 21:19); “reprove, entreat, rebuke in all patience.” (2 Tim. 4:2); “be sound in faith, in love, in patience.” (Tit 2:2); “patience is necessary for you that doing the will of God, you may receive the promise.” (Hb 10:36)

Now what is patience?

Patience is the moral virtue (strength of soul) which inclines a man to endure present evils so that he not become unduly sorrowful.  It is derived from the Latin verb “pati” which means ‘to suffer.’  And so we say the patient man is he who ‘bears pains and trials calmly or without complaint.’

When doing laundry, St. Therese of the Little Flower was repeatedly splashed with washing water by one sister in particular.  This very much irritated her, but rather than grumble and complain, the saint, thinking surly the sister would soon enough realize her fault, did no small violence to herself and kept silent. The sister, however, never discovered her fault.  When Therese did laundry, so this other sister continued to splash dirty water all over her.  And so it happened that by bearing this trial calmly, and without complaint, the saint trained herself in patience and thereby advanced her perfection.

Patience is a part of the cardinal virtue of fortitude. Principally, fortitude is about dangers of death and as such patience relates to fortitude as a secondary virtue.  “It belongs to fortitude to endure, not anything indeed, but that which is most difficult, namely dangers of death: whereas it may pertain to patience to endure any kind of evil.” (IIa, IIae, Q.136, a.4)

Now all the saints excelled in patience, in calmly enduring various evils, but Job is a unique figure.   The just man Job suffered all manner of material and physical evils.  Satan has just traversed the earth and God asks him whether he witnessed the just man, Job.  Satan tells God that Job is only good because God has richly blessed him with large herds, much wealth, and a greatly honored  family...  “great among all the people of the East.”  “Take away these things,” Satan says, “and you will see that Job will bless You no-longer.” And God says to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your hands, only do not touch his person.”  So it happened.  Soon enemies attacked Job’s herdsmen, stole his animals and killed his servants, a building crushes his children and kills them.  Hearing these things, Job rends his garments saying, “Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked I shall return thither: the Lord gave, the Lord hath taken away: as it has pleased the Lord, so it is done: blessed be the name of the Lord.” (Jb 1:21) And scripture records that in nothing does Job offend God.

 But Satan is not discouraged.  He says to God, “Skin for skin, and all that a man hath he will give for his life.  Put forth Thy hand and touch his bone and his flesh then Thou shalt see that he will no-longer bless Thee.”   And so the Lord told Satan, “Behold, he is in thy hand, but yet save his life.”  And so it happened.  Satan goes forth and afflicts Job with a very grievous ulcer so that from the sole of his foot to the top of his head his body is sore.  In this condition, Job takes himself atop a dunghill, sits down, and uses a broken piece of pottery to scrape away the ooze.  Then his wife comes and yells at him, “How long will you remain in your simplicity. Bless God and die.”  But Job quiets her with his reply, “If we have received good things at the hand of God, why should we not receive evil?” Next, his friends come and, after sitting with him in silence seven days, petition him to admit that he has offended God to receive such temporal punishments.  Job, however, maintains his innocence.  But his friends don’t believe him and he is falsely accused of blasphemy.  Finally, the patience of Job proves his devotion to God which wins him a double portion of what he had before his ordeal began.

Whether we suffer the trials of Job (loss of possessions, children, or family name, or our friends turn against us) or we only suffer the little splashes of dirty water of a St. Therese, we too shall have many opportunities to perfect our patience in our life.  To advance our patience we must bear well all evils, both small and great, plus their circumstances. 

On these two points, in his Introduction to the Devout Life, St. Francis de Sales is instructive,   
“Some are unwilling to suffer any tribulations but those that are honorable i.e., to be wounded in war, to be put in prison for a just cause, to be persecuted for religion, or to be impoverished by a lawsuit in which they win out.  These people do not love tribulation, but the honor that accompanies it.  The true sufferer and servant of God bears up equally under trials accompanied by ignominy as those that are honorable. To be despised, criticized, or accused by wicked men is pleasant to a man of good heart; but to be reproved, denounced, or mistreated by good men, by our friends, or by our relations, this is the test of virtue.”

Perfect patience embraces all circumstances surrounding the chief evil being endured.  “Many would be content to suffer evils provided they were not inconvenienced by them.  I would not be vexed at being poor, says one, if it did not prevent me from serving my friends, from giving my children a proper education, or from living as honorably as I wish. ...Another is content to suffer patiently a detractor, provided no one believed him. And so evils are endured calmly in part, but not in whole.  Some say they do not complain on account of their sickness, but for want of money to obtain a cure, or because they do not want to be troublesome to those about them.  Now I say, Philothea (lover of God), that we must have patience not merely to be sick, but to accept the sickness that God wishes, in the place He wishes, among the persons He wishes, and with those inconveniences He wishes.  And so with all other evils.”

We are obligated, however, to overcome evils within reason, provided in the end we resign ourselves to God’s will.  “When any evil befalls you, apply the remedies that are in your power and that are agreeable to the will of God.  To act otherwise would be to tempt His Divine Majesty.  Having done this, wait with resignation for the success that it may please God to send.  If it be His will that the remedies overcome the evil, return to Him thanks with humility.  If it be His will that the evils overcome the remedies, bless Him with patience.”

We have all heard the word of God, we are now attempting to hold it fast... what remains to us is to bear fruit.  Patience, we are told, shall bear fruit a hundred fold.    

Towards this end, we ought to frequently recall the many sufferings of our Lord.  The more we know His great love for us, the more earnestly shall we accept our daily trials and afflictions by enduring injuries, contradictions, and discomforts with all possible meekness.