The fullness of love, joy and peace can only be found in Heaven. Here we have a foretaste of eternal happiness to the extent that we are faithful. In the face of obstacles, souls who allow themselves to be guided by the Paraclete produce the fruit of patience, which leads to bearing with equality of spirit, without complaints or sterile lamentations, the physical and moral sufferings that every life brings with it. Charity is full of patience; and patience is, on many occasions, the support of love. "Charity," wrote St. Cyprian, "is the bond that unites the brethren, the foundation of peace, the bond that makes unity firm.... Take away its patience, however, and it will be devastated; take away the juice of suffering and resignation, and it will lose its roots and vigor ". The Christian must see the loving hand of God, who uses suffering and pain to purify those he loves most and make them holy. For this reason, they do not lose their peace in the face of sickness, contradiction, the defects of others, slander... and not even in the face of their own spiritual failures.
Long-suffering is similar to patience. It is a stable disposition by which we wait with equanimity, without complaints or bitterness, and as long as God wills, for the delays desired or permitted by Him, before reaching the ascetical or apostolic goals that we propose to ourselves.
This fruit of the Holy Spirit gives the soul the full certainty that - if it puts the means, if there is ascetic struggle, if it always recommences - those purposes will be realized, in spite of the objective obstacles that can be found, in spite of the weaknesses and the errors and sins, if there are any.
In the apostolate, the long-suffering person sets high goals, according to the will of God, even if the concrete results seem small, and uses all the human and supernatural means at his disposal, with holy stubbornness and constancy. "Faith is an indispensable requisite in the apostolate, which often manifests itself in the constancy to speak of God, even if it takes time for the fruits to come.
"If we persevere, if we insist, convinced that the Lord wants it, signs of a Christian revolution will be seen all around you, everywhere: some will give themselves, others will take their interior life seriously, and others - the laziest - will at least be alerted "
The Lord is counting on daily effort, without pause, so that the apostolic task will bear fruit. If at times these are slow to appear, if the interest we have shown in bringing a relative or a colleague closer to God seems sterile, the Holy Spirit will give us to understand that no one who works for the Lord with right intention does so in vain; my chosen ones will not work in vain . Long-suffering is presented as the perfect development of the virtue of hope.