Friday| May 24, 2024
James 5:11
Indeed we call blessed those who have persevered.
7th Week in Ordinary Time
The Persevering Path
The first words of the Letter of James in today’s reading are: “Do not complain, brothers and sisters, about one another” (James 5:9). Whoa! How much chatter in the Church—in our parishes, in our chanceries, in our media—would cease if we truly followed those words!
Instead, James encourages us to persevere. It isn’t a popular word these days. We are so often encouraged to be kind to ourselves, to think about our own needs, to put ourselves first, while perseverance demands real humility on our part. We persevere in difficult relationships. We persevere in praying for our wandering children. We persevere in caring for sickly parents. We persevere in loving troubled neighbors.
Perseverance is the pathway to holiness. It reveals our faith that “the Lord is compassionate and merciful” (v. 11), and it demonstrates our desire to follow him.
Father in heaven, give me the faith to persevere in my love of you and others.
- Greg Erlandson
James 5:9-12 • Psalm 103:1-4, 8-9, 11-12 • Mark 10:1-12
