12 Vol. LVIII, No. 1 Magnificat Patience is a Christian virtue that makes us withstand all physical and moral sufferings with equanimity of soul, for the love of God and in union with Jesus Christ. We all have an ample share of suffering sufficient to make us saints, if we would only suffer courageously and for supernatural motives. Many, however, suffer complainingly, in bitterness of heart, at times even in a spirit of rebellion against Divine Providence. Others withstand suffering out of pride or ambition, thus forfeiting the fruits of their endurance. The true motive that should inspire us is submission to the Will of God and hope of the eternal reward that will crown our patience. Still, the most potent stimulus is the thought of Christ suffering and dying for us. Jesus, Innocence itself, bore so heroically so many tortures, physical and moral, out of love for us, in order to redeem us and sanctify us. Is it therefore not fitting that we, who are guilty and who by our sins are the cause of His sufferings, should consent to suffer with Him and His intentions, in order to cooperate with Him in the work of our purification and sanctification, and to partake in His glory by having shared in His sufferings? Noble and generous souls add to these motives the motive of zeal. They suffer to fulfill what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ and thus work for the redemption of souls. Herein lies the secret source of the heroic patience of the Saints and their love of the Cross. The degrees of patience correspond to the three stages of the spiritual life. At the start, suffering is accepted as coming from God, without complaint, without resentment, in hope of the heavenly reward. It is accepted in order to atone for sins and purify the heart, and to master disordered tendencies, especially sadness and dejection. It is accepted in spite of our natural repugnance, and if a prayer is made that the cup might pass away, it is followed by an act of submission to the Holy Will of God. In its second degree, patience eagerly and unhesitatingly embraces suffering, in union with Jesus Christ and in order to make us more like the Divine Model. Thus the soul is fond of following Him along the sorrowful road that He took from the Crib to the Cross; it contemplates Him, praises Him, and pours forth its love upon Him in all His sorrowful mysteries: upon His entrance into this world when He “emptied Himself” in His resignation in the lowly manger that was His cradle, where He suffered even more from the insensitivity of men than from the cold and the elements; amid the sufferings of His exile, the obscure labors of His hidden life; the work, weariness and humiliations of His public life; but above all in the physical and moral tortures of His long, sorrowful Passion. Strengthened by the words of Saint Peter, “Christ, therefore, having suffered in the flesh, do you also arm yourself with the same intent,”1 a man takes new courage in the face of pain and sorrow; side by side with Jesus, he tenderly lays himself out upon the Cross, for love of Him: “With Christ I am nailed to the cross.”2 When suffering increases, a loving, compassionate glance upon the Crucified Christ brings this response from His lips: “Blessed are they who mourn..., blessed are they who suffer persecution for justice’s sake.”3 Then the hope of sharing in His glory in the Heavenly abode renders the crucifixion undergone in union with Him more bearable: “We suffer with Him that we may also be glorified with Him.”4 Sometimes the soul, like Saint Paul, even comes to the point where it rejoices in its miseries and tribulations, knowing well that to 1. I St. Peter 4:1. 2. St. Paul, Galatians 2:19. 3. St. Matthew 5:5 and 5:10. 4. St. Paul, Romans 8:17. - Patience - Fr. Adolphe Tanquerey, P.S.S.
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