Patience and Mercy

In a prayer booklet I am using this Lent Pope Francis wrote, “Patient and merciful.”  These words often go together in the Old Testament to describe God’s nature…In a special way the Psalms bring to the fore the grandeur of his merciful action.  (Misericordiae Vultus, N. 6)

I found myself thinking a great deal about patience and mercy as I read this today.  We live in a world where these virtues are seriously lacking at times.  The virtue of patience is often defined as “the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset.”  There are many obstacles in our lives to being patient but we need to remember that our God is always patient and gentle with us.  We are called to respond to the invitation to embrace God’s mercy. 

St. Teresa of Avila wrote, “Let nothing disturb thee; Let nothing dismay thee; All thing pass; God never changes. Patience attains all that it strives for. The one who has God lacks nothing: God alone suffices.”  May God alone suffice for us during this Lenten season.

Sr. Pat Schifini, OSU