14 February 2022
Memorial of Saints Cyril, Monk, and Methodius, Bishop
“Be Kind to Me Lord and I Shall Live”
This week we are graced to travel through the letter of St. James. It is one of the smaller epistles in the New Testament but it’s spiritual richness is profound and worth praying with this week.
St. James tells us that we should rejoice when our faith is tested! Why? Because through our testing we develop perseverance and wisdom. When I was a student, I used to hate tests. They seemed artificial, stressful, arbitrary, and something to be gotten over with as quickly as possible. Yet, if I’m being honest with myself, it was precisely the work and time put in in preparation for the test that helped me cement my learning in the course and rooted this learning deep within me. Testing really did produce good fruit in my intellectual life. I think this is something St. James is trying to draw our attention to the benefit of testing in our spiritual life.
Pressure and trails have the possibility for destruction but also for the creation of something precious. Diamonds are produced only after intense stress and pressure. St. James is asking us for a conversion of our hearts and minds around spiritual trials in our lives. We need not run toward them, but neither should we be afraid of them. Rather, we should rejoice as opportunities to grow in faith and for our trust to be perfected through practice.
Think back to a time you felt you were tested; how did you grow for the better through it? What helped you endure? Today, St. James asks us to pray for the cultivation of trust and joy admits our trials knowing that God will never abandon us no matter what we are going through.