Endure, persevere with faith and hope

By Fr. Roy Cimagala *

          GIVEN the fact that we have already been warned by Christ

that the world will end badly and that in our life, we will always

have some trouble, (cfr. Lk 21,12-19) we should be properly prepared

for this condition in our life by learning how to suffer with faith,

hope and optimism, how to endure and persevere in the drama of our

life.

          We have to remember that if Christ could not help but had to

offer his life to save us, how can we think that our life and the

world in general would take a different path? Remember Christ telling

his disciples, “A servant is not greater than his master. If they

persecuted me, they will persecute you also.” (Jn 15,20) But let’s

always keep in mind his assurance, “In this world you will have

trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (Jn 16,33)

          Let’s just have to learn how to suffer, always with Christ,

that is, with faith, hope and optimism, convinced that all these

troubles will always be for the good. It would also help a lot if we

maintain a sporting spirit in life with a good and healthy sense of

humor.

          To be sure, we can manage to find joy in suffering only if

we identify ourselves with Christ. With Christ, suffering becomes an

act of selfless love that can take on anything. Only in him can we

find joy and meaning in suffering. With him, suffering loses its

purely negative and painful character, and assumes the happy salvific

character.

          We need to process this truth of our faith thoroughly,

always asking for God’s grace and training all our powers and

faculties to adapt to this reality. That’s why Christ told us clearly

that if we want to follow him, we simply have to deny ourselves, carry

the cross and follow him. There’s no other formula, given our wounded

human condition.

          This self-denial and carrying of Christ’s cross will enable

us to see that suffering is obviously the consequence of all our

sins—ours and those of others. Embracing suffering the way Christ

embraced his cross unites our suffering with that of Christ.

          For us to have this conviction, we really need to deepen and

strengthen our faith which will lead us to have an unwavering hope

that despite whatever, everything would just turn out right.

          With faith and hope, we can manage to endure anything and to

persevere, because as St. Paul told us once: “God, who began the good

work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished

on the day when Christ Jesus returns.” (Phil 1,6)

          The Pauline words somehow tell us that the secret of

perseverance is our strong faith in God, in his omnipotent and

merciful providence that can always make do with whatever situation we

may find ourselves in any given moment.

          We have to see to it that we keep that faith alive and

burning. And to make that faith vibrant, we need to keep ourselves

always in love. It’s love that keeps our faith going. It should be a

love that goes beyond good intentions, sweet words and nice feelings.

It has to be expressed in deeds.

          One clear manifestation of an operative love that nourishes

our faith that in turn enables us to persevere and to be faithful to

the end is the practice of a daily examination of conscience. Such

practice will help us to be always vigilant and properly focused and

directed.

* Chaplain Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise (CITE), Talamban, Cebu City

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com