Patient suffering

I'm being redundant, as a guest homilist reminded us this past weekend at Mass.

As you probably know, the word "patient" comes from the Latin root "pati" meaning "to suffer."

So, to be patient is to suffer.

Reassuring words for a mother. When we strive to remain patient with the 10th diaper change of the day, with a toddler who's left a trail of destruction in the room we cleaned yesterday, a 7-year-old who spilled her second cup of milk in fifteen minutes, or a teen whose attitude toward algebra could rival a toddler's defiance any day ... then we are suffering. We are experiencing the passion of our vocation, and God is drawing us closer to Him through it.

Thank you, Lord, for these opportunities to suffer, to be patient, to grow -- little by little, step by step -- in holiness.