February: Mirror of Patience

February’s Theme: Mirror of Patience

You’ve heard it over and over. “Patience is a virtue.” Finding peace and calm in our days can be very challenging with all of the different demands and pressures on us. When something is out of our control, when we cannot have something instantly, when we are struggling with the same problem or issue, or when we are dealing with someone else’s faults, our patience can wear quite thin. 

St. Joseph’s life was a continual process of waiting on the Lord’s revelation to him. He had to wait for the Lord to reveal what Mary’s pregnancy was all about, and what his role was to be. When Jesus was an infant, St. Joseph had to take his family and uproot them to Egypt to flee Herod’s murderous threat (Matthew 2:13-23). In Egypt, he would have had to find new work, a new shelter for his family, and stay indefinitely in a foreign land. But Joseph was patient. Joseph trusted in God’s providential care for him. 

Patience, and trust in God, does not mean that we will not face daily anxieties or complete upheaval in our lives. But by God’s grace, practicing patience means we can deal with the daily annoyances, the faults of others, the little inconveniences, and the big problems that face us. In trials, we learn how to grow in virtue and live in God’s grace. Exercising patience and mercy, especially when dealing with others or with things out of our control, always bring about good. The Beatitudes remind us that every difficulty will result in some blessing from God. In this month, go to Joseph and ask his intercession to help us be patient and merciful, trusting in God’s plan and care for us.

-Athens Catholic Community.