"When you are excited to impatience, think for a moment how much more reason God has to be angry with you, than you can have for anger against any human being; and yet how constant is His patience and forbearance."
St. Elizabeth Anne Seton
For Reflection:
For what could God be most angry with me at this moment? Ask for forgiveness and extend His forgiveness to the one you are currently most impatient with.
(See tomorrow's Grace Line for another saint's suggestion to acquire patience.)
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"Restraining my impatience cost me so much that I was bathed in perspiration."
St. Therese of Lisieux
For Reflection:
How consoling to know that the Little Flower struggled so with patience - at least once! Am I willing to "sweat" to acquire this virtue? St. Therese pray for me!
(See tomorrow's Grace Line for one saint's suggestion on how to increase patience.)
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"Be patient with everyone, but above all with yourself. Do not lose courage in considering your own imperfections but instantly set about remedying them - every day begin the task anew."
St. Francis de Sales
For Reflection:
Why is practicing patience with ourselves a good way to learn to be patient with others? How can I begin anew today to set about remedying my own imperfections?
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"Only the strong man can exercise living patience, can take upon himself again and again the things that are; only he can always begin anew. Patience without strength is mere passivity, dull acceptance, growing accustomed to being a mere thing."
Romano Guardini
For Reflection:
What characteristic marks a patient person? Why? Do I see myself as this kind of a person? Why or why not?
(See tomorrow's Grace Line for encouragement if you feel you fall short.)
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"We can resist or change many things according to our wishes; but basically we must accept what comes and is given to us. To understand this and to act accordingly is patience. Anyone who is unwilling to do this is in constant conflict with his own existence."
Romano Guardini
For Reflection:
To what extent do I accept what comes and is given to me? How can I bring myself into conformity with the permissive will of God?
(See tomorrow's Grace Line by Father Guardini to discover the characteristics of a patient person.)
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"In this existence in time and finiteness, we constantly find the tension between what man is and what he would like to be; between that which has been realized and that which remains to be accomplished. And it is patience which endures the tension."
Romano Guardini
For Reflection:
According to Father Guardini's definition of "tension," what is my current one? How well am I enduring it with patience?
(Read tomorrow's Grace Line for another insight on patience by Father Guardini.)
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"Patient endurance attains to all things. The one who possesses God is lacking in nothing; God alone is enough."
Teresa of Avila
For Reflection:
Could the cause of my current impatience be a deficiency in the things of God? How can I begin to rectify this today?
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"God is a farmer, and if He abandons man, man becomes a desert. Man is also a farmer and if he leaves God, he turns himself into a desert as well."
St. Augustine
For Reflection:
How have I seen the truth of these words? Am I contemplating "abandoning God" in any way? I will pray for the virtue of patience to remain steadfast lest my soul become a wasteland.
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Six years ago, I had a heart attack due to stress, not blockage. Though my recovery was complete, I felt brokenness within my heart.
Looking back, I can see God's hand during my recovery. His tenderness was felt in the eyes of my husband, Ken. His strength was experienced in the hands of the cardiac rehab staff.
While recuperating, I became an EWTN junkie. I watched The Abundant Life and later began watching the Women of Grace® TV programs and learned much from Johnnette, Fr. Ed and their guests. Johnnette's enthusiasm made me yearn for peace and purpose.
One day, after prayer, I asked myself, "Could I become a woman of grace?" At daily Mass, a hunger for Scripture began to grow in my heart. I signed up for my first bible study at St. Timothy's Church, on Revelation, and realized that I had jumped into deep waters. My table leader encouraged me to be persistent and watch the Holy Spirit work through the study. A few months into the study, Scripture began to come alive for me. The following year, I was asked to be a table leader. Though I had my doubts, prayer once again opened my heart and I gave a reluctant "yes."
Immersing myself in the lessons, I sensed that God wanted me to have a more active faith. I began volunteering at St. Joseph's Hospital and there I met a pastoral care volunteer who had a deep Marian devotion and an interior radiance. "Now there's a woman of grace," I thought. Little did I know, that only a few short years later, I would volunteer as a Eucharistic Minister at the same hospital where I went through cardiac rehab.
Last year, a bible study facilitator gave me a flier for the Women of Grace® study series at St. Lawrence Church in Tampa. I wasn't sure what was involved, but knew I needed to attend. Once again, God was calling my name. The facilitators, Isabelle and Amy, modeled a spirit of receptivity, trust, and surrender. Through the study, I began to pray more before the Blessed Sacrament, to say the rosary and the Divine Mercy Chaplet. As a result, I experienced Our Lady as my spiritual mother and a deeper sense of peace and healing in my heart. It seemed that the Women of Grace study ended too soon but I knew it was time for me to leave the upper room and become an "apostle" for Jesus and Mary.
Spiritually transformed and energized, I was inspired to serve God as a Women of Grace facilitator. In May, I co-facilitated a small group in my home. At times it felt like I was on training wheels, yet the Holy Spirit worked through my imperfections and it was a blessing to bond with my spiritual sisters. In June, I co-facilitated a larger group at St. Mark the Evangelist. The scripture passage "And Jesus said to His disciples, 'Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life....Instead, seek His kingdom...for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.'"
As a former corporate trainer, I learned that facilitating a spiritual study, like Women of Grace, is propelled by the Holy Spirit. When I surrender to God's love, He does the rest.
I am grateful to Our Lady for the gift of a holy boldness. God truly qualifies the unqualified. How blessed I feel to play a small part in the anointed work of Women of Grace®.
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"Grandma," called my almost five-year old granddaughter from the backseat of the car.
"Yes, Julia," I replied.
"Grandma, do you know Jesus' phone number?"
"No darling, I don't. But sometimes I sure wish I did!"
"Well, how do we talk to Him?"
"Oh," I said, "we just have to pray -- even in our hearts -- and He hears us."
"How do we know what He says back?"
"Julia, Jesus always answers us. But we hear His answers in our heart. We have to listen very carefully."
Things were quiet for a few minutes.
"Julia, what are you doing?" I asked.
"Shhhh -- Grandma. I'm listening."
Are you listening today?
"And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice. " -- 1 Kings 19: 11-12
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