It has been a little over a month since we have resumed our public celebration of the Mass. During this span of time which stretched from the Solemnity of Saint Joseph to Pentecost we have been forced to endure a lot. Mass was regulated for many to watching a stream on the internet and other plans that we had soon became altered. Even now that we have resumed our activities we don’t know which way the next twist in life will bring us. For all I know there may come a day when we have to close everything down again.
When we come to the realization that this world around us is out of our control it easy to fail to persevere and to become pessimistic. To this Saint Josemaria Escriva stated: “Don’t lose heart. Carry on! Carry on with that holy stubbornness which in spiritual terms is called perseverance.”
Some sadly approach prayer as if it were a genie in a lamp where we ask for our wish and get what we want just as quickly. This attitude of self gratification takes us away from the importance of perseverance. Perseverance is the key to faith because through it we practice humility and we come to realize our dependence upon God. We cannot claim to have faith if we do not persevere when for example we don’t feel anything when we come to church or pray.
Faith is not dependent upon our feelings. As we should know our feelings are constantly changing. One moment we are happy and the next moment we are sad. Faith is dependent upon the unchanging God. Saint John of Cross speaks of something which is known as the dark night of the soul. To outsiders something like the dark night of the soul may seem to express a lack of faith, but in reality it expresses true faith itself. The dark night of the soul is to have all feelings stripped away to the point where one only has God. This is to master perseverance at its most difficult point and to embrace true faith.
From Saint Josemaria Escriva we are told: “Persevere along your way no matter what happens; persevere, cheerfully and optimistically, because the Lord is bent on sweeping aside all obstacles. -Hear me well: I am quite certain that if you struggle, you will be a saint!”
Perseverance then comes out of the struggle of our everyday life. We must be constantly reminded that all of us are invited to become saints. So many forget about this invitation as they set out for the ways of the world. Our faith is countercultural because it cannot be a one and done relationship with the Lord, but must be a journey that we partake in at every moment of our life. When things get tough and do not go as we wish we cannot allow ourself to abandon the flame of faith, but instead we must persevere and through our perseverance we will come to embrace the reality of faith itself.
I know that some have struggled during our period of closure. I know that some continue to struggle despite the fact the we have resumed our public celebration of the Mass. May we come to realize the beauty that is found in this struggle and how through it we are invited to persevere and to develop true faith. Faith which is not dependent upon a cult of personality, a feeling, or what we wish it to be. Instead may we come to embrace Christ and His Church on this earth. For this ultimate truth may we always persevere.
