a) What is patience?
Patience is the virtue that enables us to bear present difficulties without sadness or bad feelings, in obedience to God’s will.
Patience has three grades: first, to bear the difficulties without complaining; second, to use these hardships to improve in our virtues; and third, to desire the cross and sufferings out of love for God and accept them with spiritual joy.
b) Why should Altar Servers live the virtue of patience?
Difficulties cannot be totally eliminated, even though we should strive to solve them. They should never make us sad, but rather be cheerfully accepted and offered up to God.
Patience in the little things of daily life will help the Altar Server mature humanly and spiritually. Even greater challenges will bring him not sadness or discouragement, but the desire to learn, improve, and unite himself with Christ’s cross.