Quit

“Blessed is that servant, whom, when his Lord shall come, he shall find so doing.” (Matthew 24:46).

Saint Alphonse of Liguori

My eldest son is currently undergoing some very important academic exams.  He has worked towards these exams over the last year or so and during that time I have afforded him a certain amount of freedom.  You see, he is a clever boy (may God bless him) and he likes to try things his own way.  And so, I deliberately offered my advice and then stepped back and allowed him to try things his own way.  I knew – all along – that my way was the better and more efficient way to get things done.  I knew also, that with my broader experience that I would be able to help him to achieve higher marks.  However, I also knew that there is more to be learned by making mistakes and learning along the way than there is by maximising marks.

This is not to say that I left him entirely alone.  There were some boundaries that I put in place to ensure that he would be able to learn within some sort of framework that would allow him to make decisions that would ultimately lead him closer to his goals rather than further away from them.

What actually happened as a result of this approach is that at one point things were not going so well.  He was finding that he could not really see the sorts of results that he believed he was capable of achieving.  At that point – after all was said and done – then and only then did he consent to listen to what I had to say and try things differently.

At one point he asked me whether there was even any point in trying to do things differently because surely it was too late for him to do anything that could cause a change for the better.  Of course this was not the case.  Of course there was hope for the future.  Of course, he would be able to make progress and improve if he was able to implement the changes that he was working on.

And so I prayed that he would experience the virtue of perseverance.  Saint Alphonsus De Liguori said, “Above all, it is necessary to ask of God every morning the gift of perseverance, and to beg of the Blessed Virgin to obtain it for you, and particularly in the time of temptation, by invoking the name of Jesus and Mary as long as the temptation lasts. Happy the man who will continue to act in this manner, and shall be found so doing when Jesus Christ shall come to judge him. ‘Blessed is that servant, whom, when his Lord shall come, he shall find so doing’ (Matthew 24:46).”

And I have been thinking about this today.  For just as it was never too late for my son to persevere, it is never too late for me to come closer to my Beloved.  And knowing that today, I am inspired to ask for the Grace not to quit – not ever to quit – no matter how hard it may become to persevere.

For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.