Perseverance

Why did Thomas Edison not give up trying to invent the light bulb after testing thousands of materials that would not make the right filament?  Why did Hillary doggedly climb to the summit of Mount Everest?  (As he reportedly said, “Because it was there”). Why did Jeanette Rankin not give up on women’s suffrage and just forget about seeking political office?  Why did Roger Bannister try so hard to break the four-minute mile in 1954?  They had perseverance.

Perseverance

Look at Lincoln’s resume before he was elected president. in spite of a past littered with failures; he became one of, if not the greatest Presidents of the United States.  To take another somewhat controversial example, Richard Nixon, why did he not just fade into obscurity after resigning from the presidency?  Instead, he went on to write at least nine bestselling books on everything from diplomacy to world leaders that he knew personally.  He was consulted about world affairs by every president up to President Bill Clinton who was in office when Nixon died.  Like him or not, Nixon was a man who continually reinvented himself after each of his life’s failures, no matter how disastrous.  He, too, knew the value of perseverance.

The Saints

Let us glance at a few examples from our own Catholic Church.

For instance, Saint Frances Cabrini (“Mother Cabrini”).  Despite her frail health and her strong desire to go to China, she was advised by the Pope to go west to America and minister to the immigrant population.  Mother Cabrini founded sixty-seven institutions, including schools, hospitals, and orphanages, one for each of her sixty-seven years of life on this earth.  She was also the first naturalized American Saint.  A great example of what one person can do against all odds.

Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton came from wealth, was married with children, and lived quite a different life from the widowed convert who was to found the Sisters of Charity and become the first American-born saint.

Saint Martin de Porres of Lima, Peru was the child of a black mother and a Spanish father.  Because of this, he was ridiculed and severely mocked.  However, through his great perseverance and humility, he was finally accepted into the Dominican order he so earnestly yearned to join and became a model for those who seek God through poverty, sacrifice, penance, and humility.

Why is Perservance Crucial

What then, exactly, is perseverance and why is it so crucial? “True perseverance is a trait that is often developed over a lifetime.  In fact, sometimes it is known as “Final Perseverance” and for good reason.   In Fr. John Hardon’s definition, drawing much from the council of Trent, it means, “

Remaining in the state of grace until the end of life.  The church teaches that it is impossible, without the special help of God to persevere in the state of grace to the end.  Final perseverance cannot be strictly merited, as though a person had a claim on dying in grace because he or she had been faithful through life.” The reason for this is that “the possibility of a fall always remains, one cannot know with infallible certainty whether one will, preserve unless one receives a special revelation to that effect (Hardon, John A., S.J., Modern Catholic Dictionary).

Like so many other mysteries of our faith, we only get what we need by letting go of what we think we have.  I believe it is a safe assumption that the three Catholic Saints mentioned at some point in their life had a conversion experience, a sure knowledge of God, an ever-deepening gift of love, and a desire to serve God, to do His will for the rest of their lives, a total giving of self and a letting go of all human desires.  They realized that their lives were not about themselves but about doing God’s will, crafted for each of them in a unique and special way.  They set their minds and hearts on a goal and would not be distracted from that goal until it was reached through virtuous, heroic perseverance.

Reviewing the type of commitment mentioned above may seem a bit daunting to the average Catholic.  On top of that we may even recall, in the recesses of our memory, something about Christ’s words in the Gospel regarding the “lukewarm”.  Well, we sure don’t want to fall into that category.  But, what is there to do?  How can I become better at and more aware of the need for perseverance in my life?

There are at least two main areas where we can develop incrementally and without too much difficulty, especially after we make these areas habitual.  They are Perseverance in Faith and Perseverance in Prayer.  You can even do it at home.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches us that,

Faith is an entirely free gift that God makes to man. . . To live, grow and persevere in the faith until the end we must nourish it with the word of God; we must beg the Lord to increase our faith; it must be ‘working through charity.’ Abounding in hope, and rooted in the faith of the church (CCC 162).

Notice the appearance of the three theological virtues of Faith, Hope, and Charity in the above citation.  It may well be that we are beginning or have begun the process already!  The Catechism adds,

The children of our holy mother the Church rightly hope for the grace of final perseverance and the recompense of God their Father for the good works accomplished with His grace in communion with Jesus (CCC 2016).

So we know there is an important relationship between perseverance and Faith.  That seems reasonable enough and something about which I can be mindful.  What about perseverance and prayer?

Well, this is also explained for us in the catechism and it brings in the concept of love, too.  Saint Paul exhorts us to “Pray constantly… always and for everything giving thanks in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father.  and adds…it has been laid down that we are to pray without ceasing”.

This tireless fervor can come only from love. Against our dullness and laziness, the battle of prayer is that of humble, trusting, and persevering love.

This love opens our hearts to three enlightening and life-giving facts of faith about prayer.  It is always possible to pray, Prayer is a vital necessity, and Prayer and Christian life are inseparable…” Finally, we are reminded of Jesus’ words that, “whatever you ask the Father in my name, He [will] give it to you. This I command you, to love one another” (CCC 2742-2745).

In conclusion, let us commit then, to help save our souls and those of our fellow Christians, with God’s good help, by persevering in all good things.  Persevere in Prayer, persevere in Faith, persevere in love, persevere in compassion, and persevere in charity.  The list goes on and on but as many roads lead to the same destination, may the roads we travel lead us to God, God is Love!