Patience in the Apostolate
Patience with Those We Regularly Deal With
“Charity is patient.” We must have patience with those we deal with on a regular basis. This is particularly relevant if, for special reasons, we must assist in their development, or help them in sickness. We must be patient in spite of their defects, ill temper, lack of good manners, and obstinacy. If, after some time, these conditions lead us to lose our patience, we will lack charity, comradeship will be shattered, and our labors on their behalf will be rendered ineffective.
To carry out a work for souls, we must be patient. Things need not come out at the moment or in the way we prefer, but at the moment and in the manner God wants them to happen. Besides, if God has been so patient with us, how can we not be patient with the others?
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A Christian should be patient in his dealing with the others by moderating his desire for achievements. The following is to be done:
- To live the virtues of patience and obedience by being ready to undertake hard and unattractive tasks. A patient and humble person is a team worker.
- To willingly accept instructions from a superior, and to obey out of love of God. Faith helps in seeing God acting through one’s superior.
- Not to indulge oneself in fulfilling one’s own likings and inclinations.
***
Understanding and fortitude will help us to be patient, while allowing us to correct our friends at the opportune moment. Our words will reach their hearts and help them to overcome their defects if we wait for the suitable time, smile, and provide well‑founded answers. Impatience only creates obstacles, and is totally ineffectual.
***
At times we will have to tolerate certain minor evils in order to avoid greater ones and not end in useless bitterness and criticism. What is less good should not be classed as evil; the smoking flax should not be extinguished nor the broken reed crushed. Often Divine Providence allows evil in view of a superior good, which we do not yet see, but which will come out eventually.
***
Apostolic zeal should be not only edifying, but also patient and meek. Patience and serenity make advice and corrections acceptable. In vain will we have apostolic zeal if we are not serene; we will seem to speak through passion rather than reason and love of God; thus, we will accomplish nothing.
***
Patience also helps us to be understanding with other people, when it seems they do not improve or that they are simply not interested in mending their ways. It leads us always to treat them with charity, with human appreciation, and with supernatural outlook.
Anyone in charge of the formation of others (parents, teachers, superiors) has a particular need for patience, because “governing often consists in knowing how, with patience and affection, to ‘draw good’ out of people.”1 This advice can help all of us to examine ourselves in our personal prayer. “Each day you must behave towards those around you with genuine understanding, with great affection, together, of course, with all the energy this will call for. Otherwise understanding and affection become complicity and selfishness.”2
Charity is never weakness, and fortitude should never assume an aspect that is peevish, harsh, or ill-humored. (F. Fernandez Carvajal, In Conversation with God, 3)
Bearing Fruit
“Behold, the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient until it receives the early and the late rain. Do you also be patient; strengthen your hearts; for the coming of the Lord is at hand” (Jas 5:7-8).
We must labor to obtain the fruit of sanctity in each of us and in all those around us. When God wishes, he sends the rain of his grace to souls. We must pray, work with effort, and, at the same time, have patience. Souls need time to reach sanctity, and God has infinite patience with each of us.
***
Christ communicated his power to his disciples; he wanted them to be constituted in royal liberty, and overcome the reign of sin in themselves by self-denial and a holy life (cf. Rom 6:12). By serving Christ in others his disciples must–in humility and patience–bring their brethren to Christ the King; to serve him is to reign. (Second Vatican Council, Dogm. Cons. Lumen Gentium, no. 36)
***
When the miracle was all over, our Lord explained the meaning of it to his apostles. “From henceforth,” he said, “you will be catching men.” Our vocation as Christians does not starve or supersede our natural characters; it directs them and consecrates them to the service of God. Peter is a fisherman; very well, then a fisherman let him remain; only in future let him fish for men.
Why did our Lord number so many fishermen among his twelve apostles? Fishermen, after all, have not a very good reputation for telling the truth; and some of them are idle natures into the bargain. What is the quality our Lord saw in them? One thing, I think, which he prized especially in those who were to be his apostles: an indomitable patience. “In your patience”, he says to them, “you shall win souls.”
They have toiled all night and have caught nothing; weary hours of waiting, in the hope that the gray light of dawn will bring sport–and it has brought none. What, put out to sea again under the burning sun of midday, when the very hull of the boat must cast shadows that will scare away the fish to right and left? Yes; “at thy word I will let down the net.” There is no limit to Peter’s optimism and Peter’s endurance, so long as he is following his Master’s orders. It is in that patience that he won, and wins, men’s souls. (R. Knox, Pastoral Sermons)
***
Governing often consists in knowing how to steer people and extract good out of them, with patience and affection. (St. Josemaría Escrivá, Furrow, 405)
***
The Patience of God
The Lord tells a parable in the Gospel using for its setting a situation which was very familiar to the inhabitants of Palestine: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came seeking fruit on it and found none” (Lk 13:6‑9). The man then expressed his frustration to the vinedresser: “Lo, these three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down; why should it use up the ground?”
The fig tree symbolizes Israel, the Chosen People who had failed to correspond to Yahweh’s countless invitations (cf. Hos 9:10). Yahweh is the owner of the vineyard. The fig tree represents anyone who does not heed the Lord’s call to bear fruit (cf Jer 8:13). The Lord places the tree in the best location for bearing fruit. He provides all the attention and graces required.
God assists us from the very moment of our conception. He gives us a Guardian Angel to protect us all our days. He gives us the immense grace of Baptism, perhaps a few days after our birth. He gives himself to us in Holy Communion and through the entire course of our Christian formation.... Then there are innumerable gifts and graces of the Holy Spirit that we have received.
Despite all this care and cultivation, it is possible that the Lord may find we have borne little fruit in our life. Maybe he will find only bitter fruit. It is possible that our personal situation may reflect that prophetic metaphor of Isaiah: “Let me sing for my beloved a love song concerning his vineyard: My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill. He dug it and cleared it of stones, and planted it with choice vines; he built a watchtower in the midst of it, and hewed out a wine vat in it; and he looked for it to yield grapes, but it yielded wild grapes” (Is 5:1‑2).
The vineyard produced sour fruit. What was the reason for this bad harvest, when everything had been done to ensure that it would be a good one? St Ambrose wrote that the cause of spiritual sterility can frequently be traced to pride and hardness of heart.
In spite of the disappointments God returns with renewed generosity time and time again to look for results. This is the patience of God (cf 2 Pet 3:9) towards souls. He does not become discouraged by our lack of correspondence. He knows how to wait. He sees our faults and failings but he also sees our capacity for doing good. The Lord never gives up on any soul. He trusts us through thick and thin.
God himself has promised through the prophet Isaiah: “A bruised reed He will not break, and a dimly burning wick He will not quench” (Is 42:3). The pages of the Gospel are a continuous testimony to this consoling truth: the parable of the prodigal son, that of the lost sheep, the meeting with the Samaritan woman, and that with Zacchaeus. (F. Fernández Carvajal, In Conversation with God, 5, 54)
***
What God Expects of Us
“Let it alone, sir, this year also, till I dig about it and put on manure. And if it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.” It is Jesus who intercedes for us before God the Father, since we are the fig tree planted in the vineyard of the Lord. St Augustine commented: “The vinedresser intervenes. He steps in when the axe is about to fall upon the sterile root. He intercedes like Moses before God.... He who acts as mediator is full of mercy.”3 “Let it alone, sir, this year also....” How many times has this scene been repeated: Lord, give us another chance! “To realize that you love me so much, my God, and yet I haven’t lost my mind!”4 (F. Fernández Carvajal, In Conversation with God, 5, 54)
***
The parable of the fig-tree warns us that there is a limit to the long-suffering patience of almighty God. But it seems, from what we hear of the gardener, that there is room for intercession; it appears that we can prolong the Lord’s forbearance through our prayers. Without a doubt, this is very important. We can win some time for sinners to repent. (R. A. Knox, Pastoral Sermons, 6)
***
Each and every person has a specific divine vocation. Every life that is lived without reference to the divine plan is wasted. The Lord awaits our correspondence with his many blessings. Of course, we can never hope to give God as much as he gives us. “Man can never love God as much as He should be loved.”5 Nevertheless, with the help of grace we can offer him many fruits of our love: acts of charity, deeds of apostolate, and work well done. When we examine our conscience at night, we should be collecting those little fruits to put before the Lord. Then when we are called to depart from this world, we will leave it a little bit better, a little more beautiful.
Let us examine our conduct; if we were to go before the Lord this very day, would he find our hands full of good fruit? And what about our behavior yesterday? And last week? Perhaps we shall find that our life is brimming with good works done for the love of God. Or we may discover that we have been thinking too much about our own concerns, and that this has been a hindrance to the operation of divine grace.
We know very well that when God does not receive all the glory, life becomes sterile. Everything that is done without God will perish. Let us be sure to make some firm resolutions today. “God may have given us just one more year in which to serve him. Don’t think of one, or even two. Just concentrate on this one year....”6 (F. Fernández Carvajal, In Conversation with God, 5, 54)
***
“By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be my disciples” (Jn 15:8). This is what God wants from us: not the appearance of fruits, but fruit that will last. This will include people who have returned to the sacrament of Confession, hours of work done well and with right intention, little mortifications at meals, the struggle to be on top of one’s moods, living with a sense of order in cheerful disposition, and little acts of service to people in need. Let us not be satisfied with mere appearances. Can I honestly say that my works correspond with the graces that God has granted me? (F. Fernández Carvajal, In Conversation with God, 5, 54)
***
Let us intercede before the Lord that he may extend his divine patience on behalf of those sinners with whom we can do apostolate. “We are in no hurry to have the tree cut down. We want it to grow through the Lord’s forbearance, through his mercy. Let us not fell the tree when it can still give much fruit.”7 Let us resolve to have patience in our own apostolate. Let us use all the human and supernatural means to bring people closer to Jesus.
Our Mother Mary will obtain the grace we need. She will help us encourage souls to give abundant fruit, especially our friends and members of our family. (F. Fernández Carvajal, In Conversation with God, 5, 54)
Constancy in the Apostolate
See how patient our Lord was with the defects of the apostles. When John and James asked him for the first places in the kingdom of heaven, Jesus did not rebuke them harshly. When Jesus had to correct any fault in his disciples, he did so clearly and with divine firmness, but without ever losing his affection for and patience with that person. Likewise, true charity teaches us to accept others as they are, with their faults and mistakes. Then, with God’s grace, we will try to help them overcome their defects.
***
In order to remain calm, while we see our friends slowly getting closer to God, we must see things in the light of eternity. We must single out every issue and then apply the remedy with charity and patience.
***
Patience is needed in our apostolate. God gives the interior increase; without it we will only have unripe, green fruit. We must help others, but at God’s pace. We should do his apostolate, not our own. We should not do anything for ourselves, but only God’s glory. Our role is that of an instrument: we prepare things for God to act, because “neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the growth” (1 Cor 3:6-7).
If some are slow to respond, let us shower them with affection. We have to know how to waste time with them, to strengthen our friendship and facilitate their encounter with God. (F. Fernández Carvajal, In Conversation with God, 2, 28)
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We ought to be particularly constant and patient in the apostolate. People need time, and God is patient; he is always ready to give his grace, to pardon offenses, and to encourage progress. He has had, and continues to have, this limitless patience with us. And we ought to have it with those whom we wish to bring to our Lord, although it might seem on occasions that they are not listening, or that the things of God do not interest them. We cannot abandon them just for this reason. On these occasions it will be necessary to intensify both our prayer, and our mortification, our charity, too, and our sincere friendship. (F. Fernández Carvajal, In Conversation with God, 2, 28)
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None of our friends should ever be able to tell our Lord in the words of the paralytic: “‘I do not have anyone to help me.’ This, unfortunately, could be said by many who are spiritually sick and paralytic, who could be useful–and should be useful.
“Lord, may I never remain indifferent to souls.”8
Let us ask ourselves if we are sufficiently concerned about those who accompany us on our journey through life; let us ask ourselves if we are concerned about their defects as something we have come to regard as incorrigible; are we really patient towards them?
It would also be good to recall that, with mortification, we can also atone for the sins of others and, in some way, merit for them the grace of faith, of conversion, of a greater dedication to God.
In Jesus Christ lies the remedy for all the evils of which humanity complains. In him everyone can find life and health. He is the fountain of those waters that give life to everything. This is what Ezekiel the prophet tells us: “This water flows east down to the Arabah and to the sea; and flowing into the sea it makes its waters wholesome. Wherever the river flows, all living creatures teeming in it will live. Fish will be very plentiful, for wherever the water goes it brings health, and life teems wherever the river flows” (Ez 47:8‑9). Christ converts into life everything that was previously death, and turns shortcomings and error into virtue.
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“Love is patient”–Caritas patiens est (1 Cor 13:4). The virtue of patience is an indispensable support for charity. Our apostolate is a clear manifestation of charity. Here patience is essential. The Lord wants us to sow his seed with a great peace of mind. We should remember that he has prepared the field beforehand. Let us be mindful of the rhythm of the seasons. We should wait for the right time and place. Let us not give in to discouragement. Our hope should rest in the Lord. He will make a tiny shoot grow into a fine ear of wheat. (F. Fernández Carvajal, In Conversation with God, 5, 94)
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Jesus gives us many examples of how to live patience. The Lord was well aware that the crowds did not grasp the full import of his teaching: “Seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand” (Mt 13:13). Nevertheless, Jesus manifests tireless devotion to these same people. He travels through the length and breadth of Palestine.
It is clear that even the Twelve Apostles had their limitations. The Lord tells them on the eve of his Passion, “I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now” (Jn 16:12). The Lord was understanding towards his disciples. He had patience with their defects and their less than perfect ways. He did not give up on them. In the years to come these same men would be the pillars of his Church. (F. Fernandez Carvajal, In Conversation with God, 5, 94)
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Patience and constancy are necessary for any work of spiritual formation, whether aimed at ourselves or at others. Patience is closely allied to the virtue of humility. The patient person accepts the workings of God’s Providence and operates within that general framework. He recognizes his own defects and is not dismayed by the defects of others.
“A Christian who practices the manly virtue of patience will not become disconcerted at the fact that most people are indifferent to the things of God. The truth remains that there are a good many people who have deep longings to encounter God. Their inner desire may be compared to a wine cellar in which is locked away a very good wine. It so happens that souls are like arable land. The farmer must accommodate himself to the seasons and the soil. Hasn’t the Master likened the Kingdom of God to a householder who went out to hire workers for his vineyard? (cf Mt 20:1‑7).9 (F. Fernandez Carvajal, In Conversation with God, 5, 94)
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The Lord has been so incredibly patient with us. Let us be sure to exercise patience towards others in the apostolate. St Paul teaches us: “Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things”–Caritas omnia suffert, omnia credit, omnia sperat, omnia sustinet (1 Cor 13:7). If we live the virtue of patience we will be faithful. We will become holy and help others to become holy, as many as the blessed Virgin entrusts to our care. (F. Fernandez Carvajal, In Conversation with God, 5, 94)
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You must draw from the hidden life of Jesus this further consequence: You must not be in a hurry ... even though you are!
First and foremost, that is, comes the interior life. Everything else–the apostolate, any apostolate–is a corollary. (St. Josemaría Escrivá, The Forge, 708)
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Grace, like nature, normally moves by degree. We cannot, strictly speaking, move ahead of grace. But in all that does depend on us we must lay the groundwork and co-operate with God who grants his grace to us.
Souls have to be encouraged to aim very high; they have to be impelled toward Christ’s ideal. Lead them to the highest goals, which should not be reduced or made weaker in any way. But remember that sanctity is not primarily worked out with one’s own hands. Grace normally takes its time, and is not inclined to act with violence.
Encourage your holy impatience..., but do not lose your patience. (St. Josemaría Escrivá, Furrow, 668)
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We must continue our apostolate even if the fruits are not apparent, if God wants it that way. Others–in the future or in some other part of the world–will reap the fruit of our effort, for at times, “one sows, another reaps” (Jn 4:37). We must be patient with others, because Christ has been even more patient with us.
Footnotes:
1 St. Josemaría Escrivá, Furrow, 405.
2 St. Josemaría Escrivá, Furrow, 805.
3 St Augustine, Sermon 254,3.
4 St. Josemaría Escrivá, The Way, 425.
5 St Thomas, Summa Theologiae, 1‑2, q.6,a.4.
6 St. Josemaría Escrivá, Friends of God, 47.
7 St Gregory Nazianzen, Catena Aurea, 6.
8 St. Josemaría Escrivá, Furrow, 212.
9 J. L. R. Sanchez de Alva, The Gospel of St John.
“Charity is patient.” We must have patience with those we deal with on a regular basis. This is particularly relevant if, for special reasons, we must assist in their development, or help them in sickness. We must be patient in spite of their defects, ill temper, lack of good manners, and obstinacy. If, after some time, these conditions lead us to lose our patience, we will lack charity, comradeship will be shattered, and our labors on their behalf will be rendered ineffective.
To carry out a work for souls, we must be patient. Things need not come out at the moment or in the way we prefer, but at the moment and in the manner God wants them to happen. Besides, if God has been so patient with us, how can we not be patient with the others?
***
A Christian should be patient in his dealing with the others by moderating his desire for achievements. The following is to be done:
- To live the virtues of patience and obedience by being ready to undertake hard and unattractive tasks. A patient and humble person is a team worker.
- To willingly accept instructions from a superior, and to obey out of love of God. Faith helps in seeing God acting through one’s superior.
- Not to indulge oneself in fulfilling one’s own likings and inclinations.
***
Understanding and fortitude will help us to be patient, while allowing us to correct our friends at the opportune moment. Our words will reach their hearts and help them to overcome their defects if we wait for the suitable time, smile, and provide well‑founded answers. Impatience only creates obstacles, and is totally ineffectual.
***
At times we will have to tolerate certain minor evils in order to avoid greater ones and not end in useless bitterness and criticism. What is less good should not be classed as evil; the smoking flax should not be extinguished nor the broken reed crushed. Often Divine Providence allows evil in view of a superior good, which we do not yet see, but which will come out eventually.
***
Apostolic zeal should be not only edifying, but also patient and meek. Patience and serenity make advice and corrections acceptable. In vain will we have apostolic zeal if we are not serene; we will seem to speak through passion rather than reason and love of God; thus, we will accomplish nothing.
***
Patience also helps us to be understanding with other people, when it seems they do not improve or that they are simply not interested in mending their ways. It leads us always to treat them with charity, with human appreciation, and with supernatural outlook.
Anyone in charge of the formation of others (parents, teachers, superiors) has a particular need for patience, because “governing often consists in knowing how, with patience and affection, to ‘draw good’ out of people.”1 This advice can help all of us to examine ourselves in our personal prayer. “Each day you must behave towards those around you with genuine understanding, with great affection, together, of course, with all the energy this will call for. Otherwise understanding and affection become complicity and selfishness.”2
Charity is never weakness, and fortitude should never assume an aspect that is peevish, harsh, or ill-humored. (F. Fernandez Carvajal, In Conversation with God, 3)
Bearing Fruit
“Behold, the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient until it receives the early and the late rain. Do you also be patient; strengthen your hearts; for the coming of the Lord is at hand” (Jas 5:7-8).
We must labor to obtain the fruit of sanctity in each of us and in all those around us. When God wishes, he sends the rain of his grace to souls. We must pray, work with effort, and, at the same time, have patience. Souls need time to reach sanctity, and God has infinite patience with each of us.
***
Christ communicated his power to his disciples; he wanted them to be constituted in royal liberty, and overcome the reign of sin in themselves by self-denial and a holy life (cf. Rom 6:12). By serving Christ in others his disciples must–in humility and patience–bring their brethren to Christ the King; to serve him is to reign. (Second Vatican Council, Dogm. Cons. Lumen Gentium, no. 36)
***
When the miracle was all over, our Lord explained the meaning of it to his apostles. “From henceforth,” he said, “you will be catching men.” Our vocation as Christians does not starve or supersede our natural characters; it directs them and consecrates them to the service of God. Peter is a fisherman; very well, then a fisherman let him remain; only in future let him fish for men.
Why did our Lord number so many fishermen among his twelve apostles? Fishermen, after all, have not a very good reputation for telling the truth; and some of them are idle natures into the bargain. What is the quality our Lord saw in them? One thing, I think, which he prized especially in those who were to be his apostles: an indomitable patience. “In your patience”, he says to them, “you shall win souls.”
They have toiled all night and have caught nothing; weary hours of waiting, in the hope that the gray light of dawn will bring sport–and it has brought none. What, put out to sea again under the burning sun of midday, when the very hull of the boat must cast shadows that will scare away the fish to right and left? Yes; “at thy word I will let down the net.” There is no limit to Peter’s optimism and Peter’s endurance, so long as he is following his Master’s orders. It is in that patience that he won, and wins, men’s souls. (R. Knox, Pastoral Sermons)
***
Governing often consists in knowing how to steer people and extract good out of them, with patience and affection. (St. Josemaría Escrivá, Furrow, 405)
***
The Patience of God
The Lord tells a parable in the Gospel using for its setting a situation which was very familiar to the inhabitants of Palestine: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came seeking fruit on it and found none” (Lk 13:6‑9). The man then expressed his frustration to the vinedresser: “Lo, these three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down; why should it use up the ground?”
The fig tree symbolizes Israel, the Chosen People who had failed to correspond to Yahweh’s countless invitations (cf. Hos 9:10). Yahweh is the owner of the vineyard. The fig tree represents anyone who does not heed the Lord’s call to bear fruit (cf Jer 8:13). The Lord places the tree in the best location for bearing fruit. He provides all the attention and graces required.
God assists us from the very moment of our conception. He gives us a Guardian Angel to protect us all our days. He gives us the immense grace of Baptism, perhaps a few days after our birth. He gives himself to us in Holy Communion and through the entire course of our Christian formation.... Then there are innumerable gifts and graces of the Holy Spirit that we have received.
Despite all this care and cultivation, it is possible that the Lord may find we have borne little fruit in our life. Maybe he will find only bitter fruit. It is possible that our personal situation may reflect that prophetic metaphor of Isaiah: “Let me sing for my beloved a love song concerning his vineyard: My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill. He dug it and cleared it of stones, and planted it with choice vines; he built a watchtower in the midst of it, and hewed out a wine vat in it; and he looked for it to yield grapes, but it yielded wild grapes” (Is 5:1‑2).
The vineyard produced sour fruit. What was the reason for this bad harvest, when everything had been done to ensure that it would be a good one? St Ambrose wrote that the cause of spiritual sterility can frequently be traced to pride and hardness of heart.
In spite of the disappointments God returns with renewed generosity time and time again to look for results. This is the patience of God (cf 2 Pet 3:9) towards souls. He does not become discouraged by our lack of correspondence. He knows how to wait. He sees our faults and failings but he also sees our capacity for doing good. The Lord never gives up on any soul. He trusts us through thick and thin.
God himself has promised through the prophet Isaiah: “A bruised reed He will not break, and a dimly burning wick He will not quench” (Is 42:3). The pages of the Gospel are a continuous testimony to this consoling truth: the parable of the prodigal son, that of the lost sheep, the meeting with the Samaritan woman, and that with Zacchaeus. (F. Fernández Carvajal, In Conversation with God, 5, 54)
***
What God Expects of Us
“Let it alone, sir, this year also, till I dig about it and put on manure. And if it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.” It is Jesus who intercedes for us before God the Father, since we are the fig tree planted in the vineyard of the Lord. St Augustine commented: “The vinedresser intervenes. He steps in when the axe is about to fall upon the sterile root. He intercedes like Moses before God.... He who acts as mediator is full of mercy.”3 “Let it alone, sir, this year also....” How many times has this scene been repeated: Lord, give us another chance! “To realize that you love me so much, my God, and yet I haven’t lost my mind!”4 (F. Fernández Carvajal, In Conversation with God, 5, 54)
***
The parable of the fig-tree warns us that there is a limit to the long-suffering patience of almighty God. But it seems, from what we hear of the gardener, that there is room for intercession; it appears that we can prolong the Lord’s forbearance through our prayers. Without a doubt, this is very important. We can win some time for sinners to repent. (R. A. Knox, Pastoral Sermons, 6)
***
Each and every person has a specific divine vocation. Every life that is lived without reference to the divine plan is wasted. The Lord awaits our correspondence with his many blessings. Of course, we can never hope to give God as much as he gives us. “Man can never love God as much as He should be loved.”5 Nevertheless, with the help of grace we can offer him many fruits of our love: acts of charity, deeds of apostolate, and work well done. When we examine our conscience at night, we should be collecting those little fruits to put before the Lord. Then when we are called to depart from this world, we will leave it a little bit better, a little more beautiful.
Let us examine our conduct; if we were to go before the Lord this very day, would he find our hands full of good fruit? And what about our behavior yesterday? And last week? Perhaps we shall find that our life is brimming with good works done for the love of God. Or we may discover that we have been thinking too much about our own concerns, and that this has been a hindrance to the operation of divine grace.
We know very well that when God does not receive all the glory, life becomes sterile. Everything that is done without God will perish. Let us be sure to make some firm resolutions today. “God may have given us just one more year in which to serve him. Don’t think of one, or even two. Just concentrate on this one year....”6 (F. Fernández Carvajal, In Conversation with God, 5, 54)
***
“By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be my disciples” (Jn 15:8). This is what God wants from us: not the appearance of fruits, but fruit that will last. This will include people who have returned to the sacrament of Confession, hours of work done well and with right intention, little mortifications at meals, the struggle to be on top of one’s moods, living with a sense of order in cheerful disposition, and little acts of service to people in need. Let us not be satisfied with mere appearances. Can I honestly say that my works correspond with the graces that God has granted me? (F. Fernández Carvajal, In Conversation with God, 5, 54)
***
Let us intercede before the Lord that he may extend his divine patience on behalf of those sinners with whom we can do apostolate. “We are in no hurry to have the tree cut down. We want it to grow through the Lord’s forbearance, through his mercy. Let us not fell the tree when it can still give much fruit.”7 Let us resolve to have patience in our own apostolate. Let us use all the human and supernatural means to bring people closer to Jesus.
Our Mother Mary will obtain the grace we need. She will help us encourage souls to give abundant fruit, especially our friends and members of our family. (F. Fernández Carvajal, In Conversation with God, 5, 54)
Constancy in the Apostolate
See how patient our Lord was with the defects of the apostles. When John and James asked him for the first places in the kingdom of heaven, Jesus did not rebuke them harshly. When Jesus had to correct any fault in his disciples, he did so clearly and with divine firmness, but without ever losing his affection for and patience with that person. Likewise, true charity teaches us to accept others as they are, with their faults and mistakes. Then, with God’s grace, we will try to help them overcome their defects.
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In order to remain calm, while we see our friends slowly getting closer to God, we must see things in the light of eternity. We must single out every issue and then apply the remedy with charity and patience.
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Patience is needed in our apostolate. God gives the interior increase; without it we will only have unripe, green fruit. We must help others, but at God’s pace. We should do his apostolate, not our own. We should not do anything for ourselves, but only God’s glory. Our role is that of an instrument: we prepare things for God to act, because “neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the growth” (1 Cor 3:6-7).
If some are slow to respond, let us shower them with affection. We have to know how to waste time with them, to strengthen our friendship and facilitate their encounter with God. (F. Fernández Carvajal, In Conversation with God, 2, 28)
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We ought to be particularly constant and patient in the apostolate. People need time, and God is patient; he is always ready to give his grace, to pardon offenses, and to encourage progress. He has had, and continues to have, this limitless patience with us. And we ought to have it with those whom we wish to bring to our Lord, although it might seem on occasions that they are not listening, or that the things of God do not interest them. We cannot abandon them just for this reason. On these occasions it will be necessary to intensify both our prayer, and our mortification, our charity, too, and our sincere friendship. (F. Fernández Carvajal, In Conversation with God, 2, 28)
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None of our friends should ever be able to tell our Lord in the words of the paralytic: “‘I do not have anyone to help me.’ This, unfortunately, could be said by many who are spiritually sick and paralytic, who could be useful–and should be useful.
“Lord, may I never remain indifferent to souls.”8
Let us ask ourselves if we are sufficiently concerned about those who accompany us on our journey through life; let us ask ourselves if we are concerned about their defects as something we have come to regard as incorrigible; are we really patient towards them?
It would also be good to recall that, with mortification, we can also atone for the sins of others and, in some way, merit for them the grace of faith, of conversion, of a greater dedication to God.
In Jesus Christ lies the remedy for all the evils of which humanity complains. In him everyone can find life and health. He is the fountain of those waters that give life to everything. This is what Ezekiel the prophet tells us: “This water flows east down to the Arabah and to the sea; and flowing into the sea it makes its waters wholesome. Wherever the river flows, all living creatures teeming in it will live. Fish will be very plentiful, for wherever the water goes it brings health, and life teems wherever the river flows” (Ez 47:8‑9). Christ converts into life everything that was previously death, and turns shortcomings and error into virtue.
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“Love is patient”–Caritas patiens est (1 Cor 13:4). The virtue of patience is an indispensable support for charity. Our apostolate is a clear manifestation of charity. Here patience is essential. The Lord wants us to sow his seed with a great peace of mind. We should remember that he has prepared the field beforehand. Let us be mindful of the rhythm of the seasons. We should wait for the right time and place. Let us not give in to discouragement. Our hope should rest in the Lord. He will make a tiny shoot grow into a fine ear of wheat. (F. Fernández Carvajal, In Conversation with God, 5, 94)
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Jesus gives us many examples of how to live patience. The Lord was well aware that the crowds did not grasp the full import of his teaching: “Seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand” (Mt 13:13). Nevertheless, Jesus manifests tireless devotion to these same people. He travels through the length and breadth of Palestine.
It is clear that even the Twelve Apostles had their limitations. The Lord tells them on the eve of his Passion, “I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now” (Jn 16:12). The Lord was understanding towards his disciples. He had patience with their defects and their less than perfect ways. He did not give up on them. In the years to come these same men would be the pillars of his Church. (F. Fernandez Carvajal, In Conversation with God, 5, 94)
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Patience and constancy are necessary for any work of spiritual formation, whether aimed at ourselves or at others. Patience is closely allied to the virtue of humility. The patient person accepts the workings of God’s Providence and operates within that general framework. He recognizes his own defects and is not dismayed by the defects of others.
“A Christian who practices the manly virtue of patience will not become disconcerted at the fact that most people are indifferent to the things of God. The truth remains that there are a good many people who have deep longings to encounter God. Their inner desire may be compared to a wine cellar in which is locked away a very good wine. It so happens that souls are like arable land. The farmer must accommodate himself to the seasons and the soil. Hasn’t the Master likened the Kingdom of God to a householder who went out to hire workers for his vineyard? (cf Mt 20:1‑7).9 (F. Fernandez Carvajal, In Conversation with God, 5, 94)
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The Lord has been so incredibly patient with us. Let us be sure to exercise patience towards others in the apostolate. St Paul teaches us: “Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things”–Caritas omnia suffert, omnia credit, omnia sperat, omnia sustinet (1 Cor 13:7). If we live the virtue of patience we will be faithful. We will become holy and help others to become holy, as many as the blessed Virgin entrusts to our care. (F. Fernandez Carvajal, In Conversation with God, 5, 94)
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You must draw from the hidden life of Jesus this further consequence: You must not be in a hurry ... even though you are!
First and foremost, that is, comes the interior life. Everything else–the apostolate, any apostolate–is a corollary. (St. Josemaría Escrivá, The Forge, 708)
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Grace, like nature, normally moves by degree. We cannot, strictly speaking, move ahead of grace. But in all that does depend on us we must lay the groundwork and co-operate with God who grants his grace to us.
Souls have to be encouraged to aim very high; they have to be impelled toward Christ’s ideal. Lead them to the highest goals, which should not be reduced or made weaker in any way. But remember that sanctity is not primarily worked out with one’s own hands. Grace normally takes its time, and is not inclined to act with violence.
Encourage your holy impatience..., but do not lose your patience. (St. Josemaría Escrivá, Furrow, 668)
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We must continue our apostolate even if the fruits are not apparent, if God wants it that way. Others–in the future or in some other part of the world–will reap the fruit of our effort, for at times, “one sows, another reaps” (Jn 4:37). We must be patient with others, because Christ has been even more patient with us.
Footnotes:
1 St. Josemaría Escrivá, Furrow, 405.
2 St. Josemaría Escrivá, Furrow, 805.
3 St Augustine, Sermon 254,3.
4 St. Josemaría Escrivá, The Way, 425.
5 St Thomas, Summa Theologiae, 1‑2, q.6,a.4.
6 St. Josemaría Escrivá, Friends of God, 47.
7 St Gregory Nazianzen, Catena Aurea, 6.
8 St. Josemaría Escrivá, Furrow, 212.
9 J. L. R. Sanchez de Alva, The Gospel of St John.