... a single great decision is not enough. It is certainly important, it is essential to dare to take the great fundamental decision once, to dare to utter the great “yes” that the Lord asks of us at a certain moment of our lives. But the great “yes” of the decisive moment in our life – the “yes” to the truth that the Lord puts before us – must then be won afresh every day in the situations of daily life when we have to abandon our “I” over and over again, placing ourselves at the Lord’s disposal when deep down we would prefer to cling to our “I”.
An upright life always involves sacrifice, renunciation. To hold out the promise of a life without this constant re-giving of self, is to mislead. There is no such thing as a successful life without sacrifice. If I cast a glance back over my whole life, I have to say that it was precisely the moments when I said “yes” to renunciation that were the great and important moments of my life.
...
Anyone who gives his life – day by day in small acts, which form part of the great decision – that person finds it. This is the challenging, but also profoundly beautiful and liberating truth that we wish to enter into, step by step, as the Cross makes its journey across the continents. May the Lord bless this journey. Amen.
(Benedict XVI, Homily, Palm Sunday--24th World Youth Day, 5 April 2009)
Dare to say "Yes!" everyday
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."(Heb. 12:1–3)
The Christian life is not a sprint. It is long distance, a marathon—and the run requires patience and perseverance. In his coaching passage in Hebrews, Paul's word for perseverance, in its root, is the same word used to express endurance in Matthew 10,". . . he that endures to the end shall be saved." The beautiful passage in 1 Corinthians 13 employs the same word to say that love endures all things. So whether with God—the vertical relationship of our lives—or in the horizontal relationships with our friends, husbands and wives, parents and children, we are advised to pace ourselves, to persevere and endure.
How do we endure? A day at a time. Patience doesn't arrive prepackaged and complete. We must appropriate it over and over again, morning by morning, day by day, throughout life. One of the greatest and most popular prayers of the 20th Century is used by Alcoholics Anonymous and was originally written by Reinhold Niebuhr. Beautiful, marvelous, profoundly real, "The Serenity Prayer" has at its heart the cross and resurrection of Christ:
"God, grant me the serenity to accept those things I cannot change, the courage to change those things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference."
It also speaks the theme of endurance—"living one day at a time, enjoying one moment at a time . . ." which upends our compulsive lives.
This brings us to verse three and Paul's final point: Patience has been modeled for us. By whom? By the Lamb who was slain before the foundation of the world. How can we comprehend Christ's suffering and patience? Simply by knowing Him. In The Revelation, the Christ who is to come shows us his scars. He forever is the wounded healer. Suffering is at His heart. His triumph comes through his suffering. And He calls us to be like him. "Consider him who endured such contradiction of sinners against himself . . ."
How do we acquire patience and perseverance? Only one way: We look to Christ. We keep our eyes on the grief of the cross and the glory of His resurrection and triumph. We keep looking day after day as often as we need. We just keep looking to Christ.
(Howard Butt, The High Calling of our Daily Work, http://www.thehighcalling.org/Library/ViewLibrary.asp?LibraryID=110)
Always bear in mind that in the spiritual life beginnings count for little; we look for progress and attainment. Judas began well, but finished badly, and St Paul finished well although he had begun badly. Perfection lies in unvarying perseverance, in the acquisition of the virtues and in progress in them because, in the sight of God, not to advance is to fall back, since man never remains in the same state. [p. 121]
(St Vincent de Paul. From Jacques Delarue, The Holiness of Vincent de Paul, Geoffrey Chapman Ltd, London 1960, 132 pp)
Of [my] free choice My God and out of love for You--
I desire to remain and do what ever be Your Holy Will in my regard. ...
Even if I suffer more than now--I still want to do Your Holy Will.--
This is the dark night of the birth of the Society.--
My God give me courage now--this moment--to persevere in following your call.
...
Today--my God--what tortures of loneliness.--
I wonder how long will my heart suffer this. ...
My God, give me courage now to fight self and the tempter.
Let me not draw back from the sacrifice I have made of my free choice and conviction.--
Immaculate Heart of my Mother, have pity on thy poor child.
For love of thee I want to live and die an M.C.
...
The more the work is spreading the more clear it becomes [it is] His Will.
Soon it will be one year [since she had left Loreto]--
though there has been plenty of suffering and tears,
there has not been one moment of regret. I am happy to do God's will.
(Blessed Mother Teresa, Come Be My Light, p 134-136)
10 Nam et cum essemus apud vos, hoc praecipiebamus vobis: Si quis non vult operari, nec manducet.
11 Audimus enim inter vos quosdam ambulare inordinate, nihil operantes sed curiose agentes;
12 his autem, qui eiusmodi sunt, praecipimus et obsecramus in Domino Iesu Christo, ut cum quiete operantes suum panem manducent.
13 Vos autem, fratres, nolite deficere benefacientes.
Do not let anyone have any food if he refuses to do any work.
Now we hear that there are some of you who are living in idleness, doing no work themselves but interfering with everyone else’s.
In the Lord Jesus Christ, we order and call on people of this kind to go on quietly working and earning the food that they eat.
My brothers, never grow tired of doing what is right.
(II Thessalonians 3:10 - 13)