The virtue of the month for Challenge and Conquest in August is patience. Patience is such an important virtue to have in life because without it, you will give up easily or get frustrated and throw in the towel. Patience is a starting point for so many other virtues. Think of people you know that patient. Are they kind? Do they know how to listen? Are they less likely to get angry or get frustrated with you? St Paul said ” Love is patient…” which means to have true love, you really need to have patience. It’s important to be patient with God and learn how to not expect immediate results when we pray. To be patient with God is to know that he has a plan and we need to trust in him. There is a saying ” God has perfect timing. Never early and never late, always worth the wait.”
Patience is not only practiced with God, but it is most especially a virtue you need in dealing with other people – like your family, friends, or just strangers. Think of family. You need patience with your younger or older siblings, maybe when you have to wait for something . Sometimes in family life we encounter suffering or hard times and it takes patience to persevere through those moments. St Teresa of Avila once said “Patience achieves everything.” In school, there are so many opportunities for patience and with your friends too. How many times have you had to be patient for the sake or a good friendship?
Sometimes the hardest person to have patience with is yourself. The Youcat number of month is #86 about what Jesus had to wait 30 years to begin his public life. Think about it. Jesus was God, all powerful and essentially he could do whatever he liked. But he lived in a small town in Nazareth for 30 years before going out and preaching and teaching. If anyone in history has had to practice the virtue of patience to a heroic degree, it would be Jesus.