“The servant of God cannot know how much patience and humility he has within himself as long as everything goes well for him. But when the time comes in which those who should do him justice do quite the opposite to him, he has only as much patience and humility as he has on that occasion and no more.” — St. Francis of Assisi
We would do well to recall this in our prayer. St. Francis couples patience with humility. In my short time of diaconate ministry, I have found that both virtues are hallmarks of a good deacon. We are not always well-received, nor well-understood. What may be ours in justice does not always come to us, yet in all things we are called to patience endurance and humble service.
