Patience is the Companion of Wisdom

We need to grow in patience. Our impatience tends to cross over into our relationships with others. We often expect others to follow or “kow-tow” to our standards, our prejudices and to our schedules. There are even times when impatience can surface in our relationship with God: “When will this Mass be over?” “How long does God expect me to put up with this?” “Why isn’t the Lord answering my prayer?”

We are called to be patient with other people, but that’s not always easy. In terms of our relationships with others, we shouldn’t allow someone else’s faults to cause us to sin through impatience. The people who get on our nerves are in fact the ones to whom we need to show acceptance and understanding. They may not “deserve” to be treated as such, but we must try to extend these attributes of patience and understanding to them if we wish to please God. God is infinitely patient with each one of us, so it’s not too much for Him to ask that we try to show a little patience toward others.

St. Sylvester said, “Patience is the companion of wisdom.”