Patience: April 21
God sends us trials and infirmities to give us the means of paying the enormous debts we owe Him. Hence, the wise receive them with joy, thinking more of the good they derive from them than of the sufferings they are undergoing.
St. Vincent de Paul clearly explained this thought of his in a sermon. "There was a king," he said, "who kept in prison two men owing him large sums of money. Upon seeing that they were unable to pay their debts, he threw a bag of money to each of them. Both felt the impact of the heavy bag upon their backs. One of them, angered by the blow, burst out impatiently without paying any attention to the bag. The other, paying little heed to the pain, realized the favor he had received, thanked the king, and with that money paid his debt. So it is with us. All of us owe great debts to God for the many benefits received from Him and for the many offenses we have given Him. We have no means of making satisfaction. God, moved to pity on this account, sends us the gold of patience in the bag of tribulations. He who accepts his trials with patience makes satisfactions to God with this precious gold and increases in grace. He who does not, increases his debts and makes himself ever more displeasing to God."
