Persevere

By: Rick Hernandez

Fortitude is the moral virtue that ensures firmness in difficulties and constancy in the pursuit of the good. It strengthens the resolve to resist temptations and to overcome obstacles in the moral life. The virtue of fortitude enables one to conquer fear, even fear of death, and to face trials and persecutions. It disposes one even to renounce and sacrifice his life in defense of a just cause. “The Lord is my strength and my song.” “In the world you have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” (CCC 1808).
 
The virtue of fortitude works hand-in-hand with the virtue of perseverance. Father Eymard tells us that to live a virtuous life, we must strive towards the virtues without fear and that we must persevere in this struggle. When I think about perseverance, the first word that pops into my head is “abide”. The definition for “abide” is “to remain”. To remain, but remain where?
 
Remain in me, and I in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me. (John 15:4)
 
Jesus is asking us to remain in Him, and that means to persist in Him. Christ’s love is our anchor; it is what helps us to endure. Just as His Cross was rooted in His love, so are we to be rooted. This is what the virtue of fortitude is. “Fortitude is love bearing all things readily for the sake of the beloved” (St. Augustine). We are called to patiently bear, to abide, to remain, to persist. “Proclaim the word; be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient; … encourage through all patience and teaching. (2 Timothy 4:2).
 
Now, life is always asking us to move, to change, to act. It is good to change. We must evolve into the best version of ourselves, which means that we must work towards that better state, but how do we do that? How do we evolve yet remain? We can do that by working to align ourselves with the virtues. Out in the world, we are to live in His love, share from His hope and grow from His faith. Yes, we grow, and we change, but we strive to remain in our given state as beloved children of God through fortitude and perseverance.
 
On September 5th, we celebrate the feast day of Saint Teresa of Calcutta. Mother Teresa was deeply rooted in Jesus’ Cross, the place where Jesus abides. There was the place where her heart lived, yet she went out into the world, where she could meet Jesus’ heart in the lives of all the poor and the needy. It was difficult work there in the streets of Calcutta. Among the sick and the dying, Mother Teresa grew in the virtues and grew closer to the perfection we are called to pursue. With her guidance and example, she helped countless others to grow in virtue, helped them to care for one another. Through a virtuous life of love, hope, faith, humility, and selflessness, Mother Teresa persevered; there, she was courageous. There she taught us, through her humble life, how to abide in Jesus’s love… Can we persevere like that? Where do we abide?
 
Let us pray: “O eternal God, grant me the virtue of perseverance; without it, no one can please You nor be acceptable to You. This virtue brings to the soul an abundance of charity and the fruit of every effort. Oh! How happy I should be, Lord, if You would give me this virtue because even here on earth, it will make me enjoy a pledge of eternal life.” (St. Catherine of Siena). Amen.