By your perseverance you will secure your lives. (Luke 21:19)

Let’s get down to the experience where the rubber meets the road. What do you do? You don’t just throw your hands up and quit. You stay the course. Perseverance is a big word. It's sometimes a scary word too because it means working hard and staying focused on your goals in the face of failures or obstacles. Perseverance is a virtue, the greatest gift, that enables us to persist firmly against difficulties. Whether it be a struggling to overcome a particular weakness or parents raising a special needs child, or a couple trying to resolve critical issues in their marriage, perseverance enables one to continue to strive for the good no matter how difficult it might be to obtain it. Since perseverance is a virtue, it can be learned and taught with the help of God through prayers. “Human virtues acquired by education, by deliberate acts and by a perseverance ever-renewed in repeated efforts are purified and elevated by divine grace. With God's help, they forge character and give facility in the practice of the good. The virtuous man is happy to practice them.” (CCC, 1810) When thing gets tough, don’t forget “the finish line is waiting for you.”

How do you respond when difficulties come your way?

When the copy machine doesn't work?

When the hard drive on your computer crashes?

When a traffic jam causes you delay?

When the kids don't put on their shoes quickly enough and you're late for Mass again?

A New Serenity Prayer

God, grant me the serenity

to accept the people I cannot change,

which is pretty much everyone,

since I’m clearly not you, God.

At least not the last time I checked.

And while you’re at it, God,

please give me the courage

to change what I need to change about myself,

which is frankly a lot, since, once again,

I’m not you, which means I’m not perfect.

It’s better for me to focus on changing myself

than to worry about changing other people,

who, as you’ll no doubt remember me saying,

I can’t change anyway.

Finally, give me the wisdom to just shut up

whenever I think that I’m clearly smarter

than everyone else in the room,

that no one knows what they’re talking about except me,

or that I alone have all the answers.

Basically, God,

grant me the wisdom

to remember that I’m

not you. Amen

Peace in Christ,

Father Vincent-Vuong Nguyen