God meets us on the road to give us strength to continue to the end
When Father Kevin Schroeder thinks about perseverance, his mind goes to the Camino de Santiago in Spain.
Earlier this year, he and a group of parishioners from Incarnate Word Parish in Chesterfield, where he is pastor, undertook a walking pilgrimage on a portion of the Camino, a popular pilgrimage route in Spain named for St. James.
“If I would think about doing six days of walking, with the bad weather and the challenging terrain, I would get discouraged very quickly,” Father Schroeder said. “But wisely, those who set up our trip and were leading us, they scheduled about every 5 or 6 miles to stop and get a coffee or some sort of snack, and those little bits of encouragement were such a great help to me making it through those six days of walking and helped me persevere to the end.”
Perseverance is that virtue that helps us to stay true until the end. In life, if we are only looking far ahead, it’s easy to get discouraged, Father Schroeder said. But if we keep our eye on God in the present moment, too, He’ll give us signs that He is with us the whole way.
“As you move a little closer toward Christmas and as you move a little closer to God in your life, look for those signs and encouragement that He lays out for you. Know He’s always near to you. He’s always helping you to approach the finish line, because He wants to be with you now at Christmas and forever in heaven,” he said.
Grow in perseverance
To cultivate the virtue of perseverance, it’s helpful to regularly reflect on where God is present in both the blessings and challenges of our daily lives, Father Schroeder said.
On the road to Emmaus, the disciples didn’t recognize Jesus in the moment. But they later realized He was the one with them the whole time.
“For me, what helps is setting a time each day just to say, ‘Where was God, or where did I need Him?’” Father Schroeder said. “And more often than not, you see He was there the whole time.”
Advent: On the Way with the Archdiocese of St. Louis
Watch a video of Father Kevin Schroeder’s Advent reflection on perseverance at stlreview.com/3L45Xwp
The Archdiocese of St. Louis is sharing video reflections and more throughout the four weeks of Advent. To watch the videos, follow the Archdiocese of St. Louis on social media:
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Read the St. Louis Review’s Advent stories at stlouisreview.com/topic/advent.
