Thought for the Day – 4 June – Meditations with Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)
PATIENCE
Meditations for a Month
The Second Degree of Patience
- The repression of external signs of impatience has no value in God’s sight except, insofar as it is a step to the interior virtue. The soldier, the courtier, the servant, suppresses the exterior marks of impatience, from fear of punishment and hope of reward. The Christian must do more than this; he must have within himself, the motive of imitating the patience of Jesus Christ. Smoke is the sign of fire within but the smoke will not warm the house, unless there is the fire on the hearth; so too, external patience will not please God, unless there is also the motive of patience within the soul.
Am I striving after the interior virtue? Have I even succeeded in repressing the exterior impatience for Christ’s sake? - When some unkindness or injury is done us, there arises in us a double feeling. We feel pained and hurt; in this there is no sort of sin. But we are also conscious of another feeling – a desire to retaliate, a wish to see some retribution befall the offender. We are bitter towards them, we are tempted to indulge ourselves in an animosity which approaches sometimes even to hatred!
This is what has to be expelled from our souls if we are to resemble Him Who was meek and humble of heart. - What must we do to rid ourselves of this bitterness? Dislike may remain in spite of all our efforts; this we cannot help. But we must resolve that no unkind wish towards the offender shall be indulged. Then we must set to work to pray for calmness and a spirit of forgiveness and we must think of all we deserve for our offences against God and must say, from our heart:
‘Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.‘
Last of all, we must pray for the offender.
AnaStpaul 