Wait for the Lord!

    Be Patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains. You too must be patient. Make your hearts firm, because the coming of the Lord is at hand.  James 5:7 
In this passage from James, the apostle addresses himself to the poor, who are being oppressed by the rich men. He addresses them as his brothers and does not give this title to the rich. He tells them to be patient under their sufferings and to await the coming of the Lord. He preaches to leave punishing the rich man to God, who will judge his people justly, and put the poor in possession of the eternal kingdom and glory. Waiting for “the fruit of the earth” is a considerable amount of time from seed to full grown fruit, and during this period the man must wait, just as we must wait for the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Cheerfully bear all injuries, and establish your hearts, he states. Do not be dismayed, pluck up your spirits, and do not sink under your pressures. Be of courage, pick up your heads, and free yourself of your sorrows.
        In the Catechism of the Catholic Church, we read about Jesus’ reaction toward the sick, suffering, and oppressed. “Moved by so much suffering Christ not only allows himself to be touched by the sick, but he makes their miseries his own: ‘He took our infirmities and bore our diseases.’” (CCC 1505) According to our faith, we must try to take up our crosses and bear their weight. This does not mean however that we must suffer alone. The Lord knows what we can and cannot handle, and where we show weakness, He is there to pick up the slack. “Come to me all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. “ Matthew 11:28-30 Jesus pleads that we rely on him in our times of great hardship and pain. In James 5:7-10, we are told to be patient until the coming of the Lord, like a farmer waits for the rains. We may not be satisfied with this passage because it makes waiting seem easy. We imagine a farmer sitting on his front porch, bathing in the sun, waiting patiently for his corn to grow. But what we don’t understand is that for the farmer, his crop is life or death. If the rains don’t come, he doesn’t have food for himself or his family. The Lord understands that waiting for Him is difficult. Like the farmer who is anxious about the rains, sometimes we doubt that the Lord will ever come. But Jesus tells us that His yoke is easy, that he will take our suffering and impatience and doubt and trade them for love, hope, kindness, and rest. We must be patient in our suffering, bear our crosses and trust that the Lord will be with us always.
Of the ten core Holy Cross Values of Archbishop Hoban high school, the one that relates best to the passage written by the apostle James is the core value of Hope. The Holy Cross constitution states that  “As disciples of Jesus we stand side by side with all people.  Like them we are burdened by the same struggles and beset by the same weaknesses; like them we are made new by the same Lord’s love; like them we hope for a world where justice and love prevail.”
 The suffering  people of James community are being overwhelmed by the treatment of the wealthy people. James goes on to emphasize patience and hope.  The people of the community had started to lose hope that the Lord would one day save them.
This also applies to the feelings of many people of our community of Akron, Ohio who are less fortunate than we are. Hoban High School puts hope into action by giving hope to the people of our community by collecting the astounding number of 44,584 cans. These cans  collected by our student body that will go to many needy families this holiday season. We also serve the poor and vulnerable through our service hours.  Through our retreats we grow closer to God.  God is always with the poor and therefore when we grow in our relationship with God we too grow closer to the poor and suffering. During this advent season, are we taking opportunities to grow closer to God?  Will we make time for a parish teen retreat, Kairos, or Search? Is our prayer increasing?  Are we attending Church weekly?  How are we serving the poor?  Have we increase both our charity and our service?

Prayer of Patience

God, teach me to be patient, teach me to go slow,

Teach me how to wait on You when my way I do not know.

Teach me sweet forbearance when things do not go right

So I remain unruffled when others grow uptight.

Teach me how to quiet my racing, rising heart

So I might hear the answer You are trying to impart.

Teach me to let go, dear God, and pray undisturbed until

My heart is filled with inner peace and I learn to know your will.