8/3/2019 'Let us imitate that patient endurance of His'

1/4

PATIENT NDURANCE F HIS' '

INTRODUCTION: THE CALL TO PATIENCE

Patience to endure suffering with Christ-like love andsacrifice is the virtue which holds the key to the universalChristian vocation of the peacemaker. o practice patienceis to sow the seed of the divine gift of peace-magnifiedby faith, hope and ove-in a Fallen world troubled by thebitter fruit of suffering, wrath, harsh words and acts, vio-lence and revenge. n the midst of such sin, we can betterfollow Jesus'call to be peacemakers y learning to bepatient, n the same humble way that Christ was patient.Some wrongly belittle patience as passive or of minorimportance, but in truth it is robust and active.

The faithful habit of the virtue of parience, righrlyunderstood and embraced by the Christian disciple, helpsto form the Christian into a sower of peace n a world ofdiscord, one who can better ollow in the footstens of thePrince of Peace. Striving to become more patient n thisway will not only help us the better o see, hear and obeyChrist Jesus; but will provide both a slgn of, and away ofbringing, Christ's peace where it is most needed. Asalways, we are to turn to Holy Tradition and Scripture,served by Magisterial teaching, to help guide us via thepractice of patience nto the way of peace. n this article,shall briefly explore dual aspects of the virtue ofpatience-endurance and love-in Scripture, Traditionand Magisterial eaching.'After quickly reviewing he bib-lical understanding f peace, shall link peace with the

witness and practice of patience.PATIENCE, ENDURANCE AND LOVE

Early Christian writers saw patience as fundamental tothe Christian ife, describing t in rich Biblical and theo-logical language. Church Fathers such as St. JohnChrysostom preached passionately of the need forChristians o practise patience. St. Polycarp, St. Cyprian,Tertullian and St.Augustine wrote reatises n the virtue ofpatience. Let us mitate that patient endurance f His . . .for that s the example He set us in His own person."t

Scripture, oo, is rich with instruction and with livingexamples of holy patience and peace.3 he Bible is one

long nanative illustrating God's patient love for sinfulman and or all creation. As God was patient with the peo-ple of Israel, with the early Church and with individualpersons, so, too, we are to be patient with ourselves andwith others amidst he sufferings of this world. Examples

MR TUMEINSKI, of Worcester, Mass., has taught courses n FaithFormation and Catholic School Teachins since 2009 at Anna MariaCollege l Paxton, Mass.

,,LETUS IMITATE HAT

MARC TUMEINSKI. M.A.

superabound n the Bible. The patience of God with Hispeople n Egypt and n the desert has profound essons orcontemporary Christians and the Church. The life of Jobteaches s patience n the face ofunexplained suffering. nhis letter to the Galatians, St. Paul teaches hat peace andpatience are among the unitary fruits of the Holy Spirit.The book of the prophet saiah s full of wisdom concern-ing patience. ndeed, rom her beginning, he Church hasheard n the proclamation of Isaiah prophetic descriptionsof Jesus he divine Messiah, rue God and true man, theOne who brings peace hrough His patient sacrifice. t isChrist the Suffering Servant who "gave my back to thesmiters, and my cheeks o those who pulled out the beard"and who "hid not my face from shame and spitting" (Is

50:6). Through His patient endurance, the SufferingServant s vindicated by the Lord God (50:8-9), and canthus proclaim peace o Israel (52:7).

One of the most familiar prophetic titles of Christ foundin Isaiah s Prince of Peace Is 9:6), a title which is bothinspiring and comforting: inspiring in that we can trust thatthe Messiah is bringing about a perfect peace, a peacefounded on patience, and a peace which faith and reasontell us that no human ruler could bring; comforting in thatit reveals to us even more about the divine nafure of theMessiah. He is not only Mighty God (Is 9:6), a Biblicaltitle that eaches f divine udgement, but Mighty God andPrince of Peace. He is the Messiah who in His love per-

fectly tempers ustice with mercy. These attributes of theMessiah are not contradictory but complementary. Howwill the Messiah bring about peace and ustice? Not by thesword but through His patient and suffering love, ulti-mately revealed or us on the Cross, by His Resurrection,and with the gift of the Holy Spirit. This truth seems ollyto the world, but is salvation or those who believe.

Christian disciples undoubtedly are called to this same"folly", to the beatitude and vocation of patient enduranceandpeacemaking,in mitation of the Son of God. "Blessedare he peacemakers, or they shall be called sons of God"(Mt 5:9). Only consider how many times we pray forpeace during he Mass: Lamb of God, grant us peace; fferto one another a sign ofpeace. n the Eucharist, we receivethe very gift of peace. In the primitive Church, an earlyword for the Eucharist was pcLX, eace.oOur challenge-as ndividuals, as parishes and as he Church-is to carrythis gift of patience and peace with us into our homes,workplaces and schools; nto our conversations and ourdisagreements; nto our decisions and our actions; ntomoments of interpersonal conflict and of suffering.

Social Justire Review 187 Novemb er-Decemb er 2070

8/3/2019 'Let us imitate that patient endurance of His'

2/4

THE CALLAND CHALLENGEOF SHALOM IN SCRIPTURE

If patience and peace are intertwined in the Christianvocation, what exactly is the peace we are seeking andwhich patience brings? It is not the false and often idola-ffous lure of "peace and security" so often held up by theworld. For those seeking truth, the Word of God inScripture offers a window into the reality of peace. Inreading he Old Testament, or example, we sense strongdesire or sftalom. Shalom s a broad erm, describing oon-cord between peoples 1 Kgs 5:i8), seeking he good ofacity (Ps 122:6), praying for others' welfare @x 4:18),physical safery Ps 4:9), a good death Gn 15:15), health(Ps 38:4), friendship (Jer 20:10), and spiritual well-being(P s 4:9).

We know that man broke shalom by his disobediencetoward God, and hat this continues o bring about no endof strife between individuals and societies; yet theMessianic hope of Israel was of an age of peace Ps 72:7)which would be universal and everlastin (Is 2:2-4) T\ereign of God ushered n by Jesus Mt 4:17) is the adventof this promised reign of shalom, he Kingdom of righ-teousness and peace (Rom 14:17).5 This is truly GoodNews, the iving and effective Word of God amongst us.

A prayerful reading of the Gospels clearly reveals to usthat this Messianic peace s not a "worldly" peace, won byweapons or governments, ut a peace wrought by Christon the Cross.6 et many Christians seem sadly confusedabout the nature of peace; we often mistake t for the mereabsence f violence or war, or equate t with a stalemate fopposing forces or a fteaty negotiated by diplomats.Peace, ather, s the positive fulfrlment of God's promise(Mk 1:14-15), and he good news of salvation announcingshalom (Is 52:7). Christ's way of peace and His under-standing of peace are radically different from the world's

way; indeed, he world's way is antithetical o His way (Is55:8).

The restored ovenant ofpeace between God and sinfulman is no human accomplishmenl it is bestowed byJesus' ong-awaited establishment f the Kingdom.'As Heentered erusalem, he disciples greeted esus s he "Kingwho comes n the name of the Lord. Peace n heaven" (Lk19:38). The risen Lord gave his peace o His disciples Lk24:36) on earth. And although he covenant Kingdom isnot yet complete, we see t truly present n Jesus' earthlyministry and the subsequent ministry of His disciples.With God's grace, we enjoy its fruits here and now, eventhough not fully.s

We are called by the Lord to be a people of peace, o beGod's family of peacemakers ogether n the midst of afallen world. We humbly welcome the gift of peace whichChrist brings, reconciling us to the Father. We sffive to(re)build peace between ourselves and others, restoringand even exceeding he peace which reigned n the Gardenbefore the Fall. A fundamental question is, how? A key to

unlocking this question is found in the practice of theChristian virtue of patience, ruit of the Holy Spirit. AsCatholics, we can mine great riches concerning he wit-ness and the practice of patience from our heritage ofScripture, Tradition and Magisterial eaching.

PATIENCE: A SIGN OF PEACE

St. Paul nsffucts he Christian community to selve oneanother hrough ove (5:13),living in the Spirit (5:25) andbearing he holy fruit of the Spnt (5:22-23), ncluding thefruit of patient endurance. We are o receive from the HolySpirit, and then to live out, this gift and responsibility ofthe virtue of patience, ong-suffering, endurance and for-bearance, or the sake of Christ and His Kingdom.Oppornrnities to practise this virtue abound, in big waysand small, in our daily interactions, n our relationshipswith family and friends, n encounters with strangers, nsetbacks nd frustlations, n conflicts with enemies, evenin our most severe ribulations. "The patience of man,which is right and laudable and worthy of the name ofvirtue, is understood o be that by which we tolerate evilthings with an even mind, that we may not with a mind

uneven desert good things, hrough which we may arriveat better."e

Christians individually and communally are to helpbring about shalom and to minister to others n part by ourpatient endurance 2 Co 6:6), by rejoicing n God's provi-dential love and mercy even when we are suffering (2 Co6:10). "Like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, nd ike asheep hat before ts shearers s dumb, so he opened not hismouth" (Is 53:7). Patiently aking up our cross of long-suf-fering, whether deserved or undeserved, s redemptive.Such patience can help to heal our fallen relationships andfallen creation, bringing the peace of the Kingdom whereit is most needed.

Having heard the word of God and eaten of His bread,we are thus able to bear holy fruit through our patient per-severance Lk 8:15). Mercifully, we a.re ot alone n this.By virtue of our Baptism, we are part of God's covenantfamily. As members of the Body of Christ, which tran-scends ime and space, we share n the inheritance of thesaints. nspired by their example and even more aided bytheir prayers, we can spread ood ruit in this world by ourendurance, acrifice, ove and patience cf. Col 1:10-12).

A key insight of Scripture is that our efforts to embodypatience, teadfast ndurance nd ong-suffering are hem-selves a reflection of God's nature. Love the patience hatis of God, the patience of Christ; let us retum to Him thatwhich He expended or us."'o God indeed s our exemplarof patience. The God of the covenant eveals His name oMoses; He is "slow to anger" (Ex 34:6). In embracinglong-suffering endurance-particularly in the face ofphysical and mental suffering or in resisting emptation-we show to others n some small way the face of our mer-ciful Father. Many of us have become more patient by

Socinl Justice Review 188 Nov emb er-Decemb er 2010

8/3/2019 'Let us imitate that patient endurance of His'

3/4

seeing his virtue n others. Our patient rust n Him, in thedarkest of times, is a lamp set on a stand (Mk 4:21).Christians individually and united can thus become a signof light in a darkened world. We can reflect, even indis-tinctly and intermittently, the light and glory of theKingdom of shalom proclaimed and instituted by Christ."Thus it is God who clothes us n the garment of light, thegarment of life. Paul calls these new 'garments' fruits ofthe spirit', and he describes hem as follows: 'love, joy,

peace, patience, kindness, goodness, aithfulness, gentle-ness, self-control'." " Our example of patience, of reflect-ing the divine patience as much as we are able, willtherefore be used by God to help bring others to the truthof His holy peace.

PATIENCE: AWAY OF PEACE

Patience s not only a sign ofpeace; it is also a way ormeans o peace. The way is not easy, ut we have he hopeof glory, the example of the saints and the aid of grace tokeep us on the way. To help build up the peace of theKingdom here and now, we are to be patient in proclaim-ing the truth, in working for justice, in loving our neigh-bours and our enemies, and in freely taking up our crossdaily." We are taught by the early Church Fathers thatpatience s an aid to the exercise of the theological virtuesof faith, hope and charity. "Impatience . . . is opposed tofaith." " "Hope is practised hrough he virtue of patience,which continues o do good even n the face of apparentfailure, and through the virtue of humiJity, which acceptsGod's mystery and rusts Him even at times of darkness."laPreaching on St. Paul's famous instruction that "love ispatient" (1 Cor 13:4-5), St. John Chrysostom said,"Consider, or example, rom what point he at once began,and what he set irst, as he cause of all its excellence. ndwhat s this? Long-suffering." 15

With unfailing gentleness, we are to avoid anger at ourneighbours and our enemies.r6 ith the help of the HolySpirit, we are o keep watch over our tongues, epress ourpride, extinguish the flames of enmity, remain courageousin adversity, perfect our passions, fortify our faith andremain gentle when wronged." Even in the face of graveinjustice and evil, we are not to respond with evil and vio-lence in return but rather with patient hope and enduringtrust n our Lord." Such perfection seems mpossible, andso t is for man on his own, but aided by God's grace, t isthe call to holiness which each Christian disciple and com-munity hears rom our Lord (Mt 5:48).

By grace we can endure even during times of severetrial and conflict, as he example of the marfyrs and saints,

amplified by the exhortations of the Magisterium, teachesus. We are to be patient, to practise endurance and for-bearance, n the face of injury, theft, curses, punishment,bodily suffering or the death of a loved one. We start with,but do not stop at, patient endurance. Rather, we are o gobeyond, to the active ministry of patient love. We arepatiently to refirn good for evil, charity for malice, and

peace for assaults. n the face of an angry attack, practis-ing patience will at the very least bring us the joyful trustof eternal safefy n God our providential Father.'e Not onlycan we endure, but we believe that our humble efforts willbe used by God to spread His word and His Kingdom."You are he salt of the earth" (Mt 5:13) . . . Have salt nyourselves, nd be at peace with one another" Mk 9:50).

We can and should make the practice of patience nto avirtuous habit. The exercise of patient endurance must berooted in prayer-flrst, throughout and last. "Pray con-stantly" (1 Th 5:17). We should pray for patience, mplorethe intercession f Mary and the saints, and ask others opray for us, that we may become more patient. Worthyreception of the sacraments will more deeply incorporateus into the Body of Christ, of Him who is our model ofpatience. Meditating on His Passion, on Jesus' patientendurance n the face of unjust persecution and torment,will help mentally and emotionally to form us into morepatient disciples; almsgiving, he works of mercy and ast-ing will likewise form us bodily and spiritually to becomemore patient. Uniting our suffering to Christ's, we canstrengthen our resolve to be patient. Whenever we fail,availing

ourselves of the sacrament of Reconciliation willrestore us to life and grace.

At first, we may only be able o act patiently, sometimeseven in opposition to how we truly think or feel, and thatonly in small ways, perhaps even ust by abstaining romlashing out at another: by holding back a hostile word orby refraining from expressing our wrath. We may still inour minds, hearts and souls be entangled n impatience.Yet over time, and with divine grace, he mindful practiceof Christian patience will help change us as persons. Bydeveloping the habit of patience, we will over timebecome more patient, not only in word and deed, but inwho we are as persons made n the image and ikeness ofGod, as disciples of Christ. We can develop his habit byremembering in our prayers, houghts, words and acts hatthe person n front of us at this moment is likewise madein the image and likeness of the etemal and holy God. Wecan say a loving word and perform a merciful act-nomatter how small-to and or our neighbour, and even, asJesus commands, our enemies. Christ and many of thesaints have done his from the cross of martyrdom. Few ofus are called to such sacrifice, but reading Scripture andmeditating on the lives of the saints will provide us greatfruit for contemplation, rayer and action n small ways nour daily lives. We can act n trust that our heavenly Fatherloves us and sustains s.

Patient ong-suffering s not passive but rather an active

engagement n peacemaking. Violence and wrath too oftenand too easily consume us: our time, mind, emotions andenergy. When angry words, pride, enmity and violence areconsciously put aside and et go of,'o he Christian disciplehas the space n which he may patiently practise the spiri-tual and corporal works of mercy: feeding the hungry, vis-iting the mprisoned, ounselling he gnorant, and burying

Social Justice Review 189 Novemb er-Decemb er 2070

8/3/2019 'Let us imitate that patient endurance of His'

4/4

-

the dead. We can hen see our way clear o loving as Christloves-both neighbour and enemy-for His sake, rustingthat He will bring good from our efforts, either now or inthe world to come. Too often, ndividual persons, ommu-nities and states have fallen into the idolatrous frap ofbelieving that by their own efforts, they can bring about,perhaps even impose, peace: not so. Such efforts haveoften started with the best of intentions but have ended ncreating greater misery, suffering and sin. Rather, we are

to trust our heavenly Father and to strive to become morefaithful, patient and peaceful in imitation of the Son.

CONCLUSION: PATIBNCE AND THECOVENANT OF PEACE

From the kitchen table and the office water cooler, intothe neighbourhood streets and parks, parking lots and hos-pital rooms, o the classroom, orporate boardroom, ourt-house,legislative chamber, and nto distant ands, Christ'sgift of peace is sorely needed. The Christian disciple isinvited, welcomed and equipped o help bring the peace ofthe Kingdom into this world. "Whatever house you enter,frst say,'Peace be to this house!"' (Lk l0:5). To bringpeace n this way, Christians would do well to recover thepractice of the virtue of patience. As we have seen,patience is not shallow, mere good manners or compla-cence. Rather, Christian patience s a robust virtue, requir-ing fortitude, wisdom, faith, hope and ove."

To strive to live with patient endurance and ong-suffer-ing as a sign and a way of peacemaking s ultimately to befaithful to the new covenant nstituted by Christ. Tertullianchallenged Christians with a question that continues toring through the centuries: "Do you see whom patiencegains or us as a Father'l""

NOTF.S

1. My mdentandilg of patience is also influenced by the taching of the Rev.Emmuel Chrles McCarthy on the nature of Christim love m incorporating:1) the willilgness to seroe without the desire for reciprmation, md 2) the will-ingness to suffer without the desire for retaliation. Cf . E. C. McCarthy, "Agape:the Vmation of the Sewmt of God", in Boldly Like God, Go Agairct the Swords(retreat audiotapes, n. d.).

2. Epistle of Polycarp to the Philippims $8.

3. The language assmiated with patient endumce md love h Scripture is a richtretrre, worthy of deep study md assimilation. Grek tems in the New

Testament stch as mkruthumeo (Strong's G3114 et seq.) me found, e. g. inMt18: 26, L8:29;Lk 18: 7; Acts 26: 3; Rom 2: 4,9: 22: 1 Cor 13: 41 2 Cor 6:6:Gal5:22:Eph4:21Coll:11,3: 12;1 Th5: 14; 1 Tim 1: 16;2Tim3: 10,4:2; Heb 6: 12, 6: 15; Jmes 5: 7-8, 5: l0; I Pet 3: 20|. Pet 3: 9, 3: 15. h the OldTestament, he Hebrew tms'arek nd aph (Strong's H750, H639) me found,e. 9. , n Ex 34: 6; Num 14: 8; Neh 9: l7; Ps 86: 15, 103: 8, 145: 8; hov 14: 29 ,15: 18, 16 : 3Z;Ercll :8; Jer 15: 15; Ez 17:3' ,Joel2:13; on 4: 2; Nah 1: 3.

Icture by Ctrdinal Ratzinger, "Eucharisl, Comunion md Solidtrity", to thebishops' conference of Cmpmia, Italy, held at Benevento, 2 June, 2ffi2(accessed onLine)

Rolmd Bainton, Christim Axitudes Tmard Wqr and Peqce (Nashville:Abirgdon Press, 1960), 54; Joh Hugo

TheGospel of Peace privately printed,

1944),98.

Raymond Brown e, ql., eds., The New Jerome Biblical Commentary(Englewood Cliffs, N. J.: Prentice Hall, 199t)), 43: 28,301. The Chalknge ofPeace Washington, D. C.: United States Catholic Conference, 3 May, 1983),no.49.

The Chnllenge ofPeace (op. cit.),no.54.

ff Lisa Sowle Cahill ,lnve Your Enemies (Mimeapolis: Fortress hess, 1994).

St. Augustine, On p atim e \2.

lO. Terh:Jlin,Of patience El6.

11. BenedictX\rI,Pope,EmterVigilHomilyatSt.Peter'sBffilica(3April,2010).

12. Catechim of thc Catholic Church,2nd ed. lVmhinSon, D. C.: U. S. CatholicConference, 1997) 5\726: Mrc Tmeinski, "Peace in the Nme of God",Homiletic & Pmnral Rnim 109(10) (July,2009),56-61, md'"The Prllm ofPwe" , Social lwtice Raim 100(5-6) (May-June , 2009),77-8O; Pope JohnXXil, Pacm in kris (11 April, 1963) $37.

13. Tertil\n,Of patierce 55.

14. Benedict XVI, Pope, Dew caitas est (25 Dec., 2005) $39.

15. St. John Chrysostom, "Homily 33 on lst Corinthians"

16. Episde of Polycarp to the Philippins (op. cit.) $12.

17. St. Cyprim, Ou the advmnge of patierce 520.

Tertd\n,Of patierce $6 .

rbid.,E8.

To let go of anger s not !o "stuff it down" where it will only re-surface later andelsewhere, with possibly gHter destuctive fore-a tm-@mon mistake ofboth individuals md societies. Rather,I m talkiry about mgnizing that hatedmd wrath re not of Ckist, praying individually and commally for metanoia,renouncing the sin of wraft, striving to exercise patience at every moment, rek-

ing reconciiiation, rreiving the Sacment of Reconciliation, md wking theHoly Face ofChrist in the persons acing us.

Much cm md should be written about the intimate link betwen patiene mdthe other virhres: hope, fortitude, tempermce, justie, prudence, etc. Se, e. 9.,Stanley Hauevm, The Peaceable Kingdom: A Primer in Christinn EthicsQ.{otreDme, Ind.: University of Nohe Dme Press, 1983), 102-6.

22. Tefillliadt,Of patkrce $6.

7

8

9

18

19

n

21

Social Justice Review 190 Novemb er-Decemb er 20 0