‘Perseverance in the race that lies before us.’ This is the theme of today’s passage from Hebrews. Will we persevere in our faith so that we will win the prize of everlasting glory?           Every day that I work in this parish and live in this neighborhood, I see reasons why it is hard for persons to persevere – expensive housing that is not always in good condition, the cost of basic needs, the difficulty of finding work, the low salaries that are often paid, the struggles parents have to give their children the values they need to grow into responsible adulthood, the tendency to find relief from stress in alcohol or even drugs for both youths and adults. It is easy to become weary in the face of the challenges that you face daily and to lose a sense of hope, to lose a sense that life has meaning and value. It is also easy to question whether your faith makes any sense. Should you persevere in trying to live a life lived in conformity with what you know God expects of you when it seems that the forces of evil are stronger than the forces of good?
            The author of Hebrew reminds us in stark terms that Jesus had to persevere through much hardship in his life – opposition from religious and social leaders, the contempt of many of his contemporaries, the injustice of his arrest, torture, and finally death. Remember his final prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus told his Father that he did not want to die. Yes, it was hard even for Jesus to persevere!  But then Jesus entrusted himself to the Father in the knowledge that his Father had never betrayed his trust, his Father had never disappointed him. Jesus, therefore, persevered in faith through his suffering and death and was vindicated by his resurrection.
            When you are tempted to despair, borrow the prayer of Jesus. Tell God, “I don’t want to fight the fight anymore.” And then ask Jesus for the grace to pray, as well, “But God I trust that you are with me to help me persevere so that I continue to live in the hope of one day sharing in the vindication of Christ – the resurrection of Christ!
            To persevere requires courage, but it also requires a profound confidence in God.
 
 
                            Fr.  Mark Hallinan, S.J.