Reading the Letter of Saint James

Brothers and sisters, be patient while you wait for the Lord’s coming. Consider how the farmer waits patiently for the precious fruits of the earth, until the first harvest and the last harvest are gathered. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near.

Brothers, do not grumble against one another, so that you will not be judged. See, the Judge is standing at our door.

Brothers, take as examples of steadfastness and patience the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.

The art of fruitful waiting: cultivating patience like the sowers of the Gospel

A call to stand firm in the active hope that transforms our relationship to time and to others.

Impatience is eating away at our modern lives. We live in a state of constant urgency, demanding instant results, unable to tolerate the slightest delay. Yet, Jacques' letter invites us to an inner revolution: to learn patience of the farmer who sows in autumn and patiently awaits the following summer's harvest. This waiting is not passive; it is an inner work, an active trust, a renewed solidarity. The text is addressed to first-century Christian communities, tempted by discouragement and fraternal tensions, but its relevance transcends time to reach our contemporary lives, thirsting for meaning and lasting hope.

We will first explore the context of this letter and the concrete framework of its message. Then we will analyze the spiritual dynamics of patience biblical. We will then develop three essential dimensions: patience Agriculture as divine pedagogy, community life tested by waiting, and prophetic witness as a model of endurance. We will engage in dialogue with spiritual tradition, offer concrete avenues for meditation, before concluding with a reflection on the transformative power of this message.

The breeding ground for demanding discourse

The Letter of James belongs to the corpus of Catholic epistles in the New Testament, writings addressed not to a particular community but to the entire nascent Church. Its author, traditionally identified with James the Just, brother of the Lord and central figure of the Church of Jerusalem, speaks with the authority of a pastor confronted with the concrete challenges of communities in distress. The entire epistle breathes practical wisdom, rooted in the Jewish wisdom tradition, but illuminated by faith to the risen Christ. It engages with social tensions, the trials of faith, the dangers of wealth and the urgency of living the Gospel concretely.

Our passage is located in chapter five, in a section where James addresses the relationship between rich and poor, and then exhorts us to patience Awaiting the Lord. The historical context is that of early Christian communities, likely Judeo-Christian, facing persecution, glaring inequalities, and the first signs of disillusionment with the apparent delay of the Second Coming. The first disciples had believed that Christ's glorious return would occur in their lifetime. But as the years passed, trials mounted, and some wavered in their hope. Community tensions intensified, and murmurs and complaints multiplied. It is in this climate that the call to patience.

The liturgical text presents us with a clear structure in four movements. James begins with the imperative of patience awaiting the coming of the Lord, illustrated by the image of the farmer patiently awaiting the harvest. This agricultural metaphor speaks to the heart of a Mediterranean culture where the alternation of seasons rhythms existence, where everyone knows that the growth of seeds cannot be rushed. The early harvest refers to the first autumn rains that allow sowing, while the late harvest evokes the spring rains that prepare for the summer harvest. Between these two moments lie several months of waiting, labor, and trust in providence divine and to natural cycles.

The second movement repeats the exhortation to stand firm, emphasizing the imminence of the Lord's coming. This temporal proximity creates a fruitful spiritual tension: the Lord is coming soon, which justifies perseverance and forbids slackening. The third movement introduces a community dimension Crucial: do not complain about one another. Waiting risks creating tension, mutual accusations, and hasty judgments. Jacques reminds us that the true Judge stands at the door, which should inspire humility And fraternal charity. Finally, the fourth movement offers a concrete model: the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord, figures of endurance and patience despite persecution and misunderstanding.

This passage is part of the liturgy of Advent, a time of waiting par excellence in the Christian calendar. It resonates particularly on the third Sunday of Advent, called Gaudete Sunday, where joy begins to pierce the prison austerity. Patience What is taught here is not gloomy resignation but active hope, inner preparation, purification of relationships and of expectation itself. It aligns with the spirituality of Advent as a time of joyful vigilance and communal conversion.

Biblical patience: much more than a moral virtue

At the heart of our text unfolds a revolutionary vision of patience. The Greek term makrothymia, translated as patience or long-suffering, literally refers to the capacity to prolong one's inner breath, to endure without becoming discouraged. This patience is neither detached stoicism nor resigned fatalism. It is rooted in a theological confidence that radically transforms our relationship to time, to history, and to God himself.

The image of the farmer is fundamental. It reveals that patience Christian faith is situated within a cosmic and providential order where humanity collaborates with divine rhythms without being able to force them. The farmer cannot hasten the growth of wheat. He sows, waters, and tends, but germination and ripening remain beyond his control. He accepts this dependence not as a frustration but as wisdom. Similarly, the Christian, awaiting the Kingdom, recognizes that the times and moments belong to the Father. His patience then becomes active participation in the divine plan, which unfolds according to rhythms that transcend him.

This dynamic is in direct opposition to our contemporary culture of immediacy. We want everything, right now, without delay or prolonged effort. We channel surf, we consume, we demand instant results. The economy digital has accentuated this structural impatience. But Jacques reminds us of a fundamental law of spiritual existence: essential realities require time. True love cannot be improvised, the holiness Christian maturity is built slowly; it requires years of trials and growth. Trying to skip steps leads to illusion and superficiality.

Patience It also reveals a profound anthropology. Human beings are not absolute masters of their destiny. They cannot program or control everything. Accepting this finitude constitutes an act of’humility liberator. Patience It then becomes a school of trust in God, who guides history according to his wisdom. It liberates one from anxiety and feverish haste. The farmer sleeps peacefully while the seed germinates in the earth. He does not spend his nights compulsively watching over his fields. He does what is required of him and then surrenders to providence. This alternation of labor and trust outlines the rhythm of a balanced spiritual life.

The eschatological urgency present in our text does not contradict this patience; it grounds it differently. The Lord is coming soon, the Judge is at the door. These affirmations create a creative tension between the already and the not yet, between the hidden presence of the risen Christ and his glorious manifestation to come. This tension prevents patience to avoid sinking into torpor or indifference. It keeps spiritual vigilance awake. True Christian patience is ardent patience, tense expectation, burning desire tempered by the serene confidence that God will fulfill his promise in his time.

James thus establishes a fruitful paradox: to stand firm because the coming is near. The imminence of Christ's return does not justify feverish agitation but sustains quiet perseverance. Those who know that their Lord can come at any moment live in constant preparation, but this preparation is not nervous agitation. It is openness of heart, daily faithfulness, loving vigilance. The eschatological perspective transforms lived time, imbues it with meaning, and purifies it of vanity. Each day becomes precious not because everything must be accomplished immediately, but because it is part of the great movement of salvation history, which progresses toward its fulfillment.

Agricultural pedagogy: when the land teaches hope

The image of the farmer awaiting the precious fruits of the earth deserves further exploration, as it reveals a divine pedagogy inscribed in creation itself. James did not choose this metaphor at random. He is part of a long biblical tradition where agriculture becomes theological language, where natural cycles reveal the mysteries of grace. The psalms already sang of him who sows in tears and reaps in joy. THE parables The Kingdom multiplies agricultural images: the sower going out to sow, the mustard seed, the good grain and the tares, the grain of wheat that dies to bear fruit.

This agricultural pedagogy first teaches the inescapable reality of the spiritual seasons. Just as the earth experiences the autumn of sowing and the summer of harvest, the soul goes through periods of sowing and times of reaping. The sowing seasons are often austere, demanding, marked by stripping away. The farmer entrusts his precious seed to the dark earth, accepting to part with what he could consume immediately in order to invest in a future harvest. This logic of the initial gift, of fruitful renunciation, structures all authentic spiritual life. We reap only what we have sown, and sowing always implies an initial act of faith.

The months of waiting between sowing and harvest then teach us the paradoxical collaboration between human action and divine work. The farmer must prepare the soil, choose the right seeds, and ensure irrigation. His work is real and necessary. But the actual germination is entirely beyond his control. He cannot force growth; he can only create the favorable conditions. to wait for. This alternation of intense activity and trusting expectation shapes the movement of all prayer, of all apostolic commitment. We are called to work as if everything depended on us, and then to surrender ourselves as if everything depended on God. Without this twofold movement, we fall either into sterile voluntarism or into resigned passivity.

The mention of the two harvests, early and late, also reveals patience which unfolds over several stages. The spiritual life does not progress linearly but in successive stages. There are early consolations, initial spiritual joys that confirm the validity of the path undertaken. These initial sweetnesses sustain hope and encourage perseverance. Then come drier periods when one must persevere without these tangible confirmations, in pure faith. Finally, in its time, comes the late harvest, the ripe fruit of long years of faithfulness. Those who understand these rhythms do not become discouraged during the dry periods. They know that spiritual winter precedes the spring of grace, that the darkness of night prepares the bright dawn.

Agriculture also teaches us to accept rhythms that are beyond our control. The farmer doesn't decide when the rains come. He doesn't command the sun. He works with the elements, adapting to their whims. climate, trusts in the cosmic regularities established by the Creator. This humble dependence on natural forces becomes, transposed to the spiritual plane, a humble dependence on grace Divine. God gives when he wants, as he wants. His generosity infinitely surpasses our merits, but his gifts follow a wisdom that eludes our calculations. Learning to receive without demanding, to to wait for without imposing our deadlines, trusting in God's timing rather than our own urgencies, that is the great lesson of the spiritual cultivator.

This metaphor finally speaks of the preciousness of the expected fruits. James specifies that the farmer awaits the precious fruits of the earth. The Greek term timios evokes that which has great value, that which is honorable and worthy. The fruits of patience These are not mere trifles. They are not superficial consolations or illusory successes. They are the authentic fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience itself, kindness, benevolence, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. These spiritual realities are not acquired through willpower. They ripen slowly in the soul that accepts them. the work interior of grace, who consents to the necessary purifications, who perseveres in prayer and obedience. Their preciousness amply justifies the long wait they require.

Standing firm: fraternity tested by waiting

James' exhortation is not limited to individual patience. It directly addresses the community dimension of Christian expectation. The central verse is unequivocal: do not groan against one another, so that you may not be judged. This warning reveals a crucial psychological and spiritual dynamic. Prolonged waiting tests not only faith personal but also fraternal bonds. When hope is slow to materialize, when trials accumulate without visible resolution, the temptation arises to look for scapegoats, to accuse brothers, to transform frustration into communal aggression.

The term "groaning" here refers to a bitter complaint, an accusatory murmur that poisons relationships. It recalls the murmurings of the Hebrew people in the desert, their incessant recriminations against Moses and God that revealed a hardened heart and wavering faith. In early Christian communities, such groaning could take various forms. The wealthy might accuse the poor to be a burden, the poor They accused the wealthy of selfishness, some criticized community leaders, and others denounced less devout members. These tensions are universal and timeless. They are present in every era of the Church and in every human community.

James contrasts this dynamic of division with the urgency of imminent judgment. The Judge is at the door. This statement creates a radical shift in perspective. We are tempted to judge our brothers and sisters, to evaluate them, to condemn them. But here is the only true Judge, Christ himself, standing very close, ready to judge our hearts and our actions. This proximity of judgment should inspire a humility profound and renewed mercy. He who knows he himself will be judged hesitates to judge others. He who recognizes his own weaknesses becomes more forgiving of the weaknesses of others.

The Christian community is thus called to experience waiting as a time of purification of relationships, of growth in the fraternal charity. Patience Toward God, who is slow to manifest his Kingdom, must translate into patience with our brothers and sisters who sometimes exasperate us. This communal patience does not mean lax tolerance of sin or indifference to injustice. Rather, it implies a renewed perspective on others, an ability to see beyond immediate appearances, and a trust in the work of grace which operates secretly in every heart.

Fraternal life becomes a school of patience when we accept that each person progresses at their own pace, that conversion is gradual, and that the faults of others do not disappear instantly. The brother who annoys us today may tomorrow be a shining example of grace. The sister whose spiritual slowness frustrates us may well possess hidden riches that only God can discern. Learn to to wait for patiently allowing the other to mature, while continuing to accompany them with kindness and loving demands, this is an essential dimension of patience community.

This fraternal dynamic also sheds light on our relationship with ecclesiastical institutions. The visible Church often disappoints us with its slowness, its inertia, its scandals, and its compromises. The temptation then arises to lament against it, to condemn it wholesale, to set ourselves up as merciless judges of its failings. Certainly, critical lucidity is necessary, and prophetic demands have their place. But James reminds us that judgment belongs to the Lord. Our role is to stand firm in loyalty, to work patiently for reform and renewal, without giving in to discouragement or bitterness. The Church is like that field which the farmer plows with perseverance, year after year, despite the stones and thorns, confident that the harvest will come.

The exhortation not to grumble against one another finally connects with a profound wisdom about the power of words. Murmurs and complaints create a climate harmful, undermining community hope. Incessant criticism, even when justified, ultimately discourages and divides. Conversely, words of encouragement, recognition of even modest progress, and appreciation of individual efforts foster a climate favorable to collective perseverance. The community that learns to bless rather than to curse, to thank rather than to complain, to hope rather than to despair, creates the spiritual conditions that promote the maturation of all its members.

Prophets as role models: endurance in the face of misunderstanding

The fourth movement of our text introduces a decisive historical and testimonial dimension. James invites his readers to take as their models the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. This recourse to the great prophetic figures of the Old Testament is not rhetorical. It situates Christian expectation within the long patience of God throughout the history of Israel. The prophets embody heroic patience in the face of incomprehension, hostility, and sometimes martyrdom. Their witness illuminates and strengthens patience disciples of Christ.

Consider Jeremiah, the prophet of tears, forced to proclaim for forty years a message of judgment that no one wanted to hear. He endured the prison, The mockery, the loneliness, the temptation of discouragement. His book preserves his heartbreaking laments, where he curses the day he was born and sometimes wishes to give up everything. Yet, he persevered, faithful to his calling despite the apparent lack of results. This perseverance in the face of hardship, this fidelity despite visible failure, reveals the greatness of patience Prophetic. Jeremiah did not see the fruit of his ministry during his lifetime. It was only after the exile, decades later, that his words were recognized as true and beneficial.

Isaiah had a similar experience. At his initial calling, God warned him that his message would harden the people rather than convert them. What a strange mission it was to proclaim a word destined to be rejected. Yet Isaiah persevered, sowing oracles of judgment and hope, without knowing when or how they would bear fruit. His patience was rooted in the certainty that God would fulfill his word, even if the timing and methods were beyond the prophet's control. This absolute trust in loyalty divine, despite all appearances to the contrary, defines patience prophetic.

The prophets also endured physical and moral violence. Amos, a simple shepherd called to prophesy against the northern kingdom, faced the hostility of the religious authorities who expelled him. Elijah had to flee the wrath of Jezebel and found himself alone in the desert, so desperate that he wished for death. Zechariah, according to tradition, was stoned to death in the Temple courtyard. John the Baptist, the last of the prophets before Christ, was beheaded for denouncing Herod's adultery. These stories reveal that patience Prophetic is not cozy comfort but endurance in persecution.

This reference to the prophets directly relates to the situation of the communities to which James is addressing himself. They too are experiencing trials, they too are tempted by discouragement, they too wonder if their witness has any meaning. The example of the prophets reminds them that spiritual fruitfulness is not measured in the short term. The prophets sowed in hostile soil, their words were rejected during their lifetimes, but they became Holy Scripture and nourished the faith. faith of countless generations. This historical patience of God, which slowly ripens the fruits of the prophetic word, encourages patience disciples.

The prophetic reference also sheds light on the nature of Christian expectation. Just as the prophets awaited the promised Messiah, the disciples await the glorious return of this Messiah who has already come. This expectation is not passive but prophetic. Christians They are called to proclaim the Gospel in a world that is often hostile, to bear witness to countercultural values, to proclaim a hope that contradicts immediate appearances. This prophetic dimension of Christian life requires the same patience as that of the prophets of Israel. It involves accepting incomprehension, enduring opposition, and persevering despite apparent failures, trusting that God will, in His time, make fruitful the witness given today.

The prophets finally reveal that patience Authenticity is rooted in intimacy with God. Their endurance did not stem from natural stoicism but from a living relationship with the One who had sent them. They prayed, they listened, they conversed with God, sometimes in dispute and complaint, but always in faith. This intense inner life nourished their ability to persevere despite everything. Similarly, patience Christian life cannot be sustained without a life of assiduous prayer, without that intimacy with Christ which transforms waiting into loving dialogue, which changes trial into a purifying encounter.

Following in the footsteps of the Fathers: patience as a theological virtue

Christian tradition has deeply pondered this patience of which James speaks. The Church Fathers, theologians of the desert, and medieval doctors all recognized in patience a cardinal virtue of the spiritual life. Augustine of Hippo devoted a treatise to patience, showing that it constitutes one of God's most precious gifts. For him, true patience does not come from human nature, which is too weak and impatient, but from grace divine, which strengthens the soul. Christ himself becomes the supreme model of patience, he who endured the cross in order to joy which was offered to him.

Monastic spirituality has made patience one of the twelve steps of the’humility described by Benedict of Nursia in his Rule. The monks learn patience through prolonged obedience, acceptance of humiliations, and perseverance in community life despite inevitable friction. This school of monastic patience directly echoes the teachings of James. The monk, like the farmer, sows daily in the darkness of faith, without immediately seeing the fruits of his spiritual labor. He accepts this slow maturation, trusting that God is working secretly in the depths of the soul.

Catherine of Siena, in her Dialogue, has the Heavenly Father say that patience is the core of charity. Without patience, love remains superficial and fragile. True love endures all things, bears all things, hopes all things, as Paul teaches the Corinthians. This theological vision inextricably links patience and charity. We cannot love authentically without patience, because to love is to accept the other in their difference, their slowness, their fragility. It is to wait for that he become what he is meant to be, without forcing him or abandoning him.

Christian liturgy inscribes this patience within its temporal rhythms. The time of Advent Christmas is prepared by four weeks of waiting. Lent leads to Easter through forty days of penance. These liturgical seasons gradually educate the Christian people to patience. They create spaces where one learns to defer gratification, to prepare one's heart, to purify one's desire. Liturgical wisdom knows that great feasts are best received after patient preparation that deepens desire and refines hope.

The mystical tradition, of John of the Cross has Teresa of Avila, explored passive purifications where the soul learns patience The supreme act of letting God work within her without intervening. The spiritual nights described by John of the Cross are experiences of pure waiting where all sensory consolations vanish. The soul traverses arid deserts without any immediate reassurance. It must continue walking in faith Naked, waiting in the darkness, confident that this ordeal is leading her to a deeper union with God. This mystical patience joins patience of the farmer who does not see what is happening underground but believes in secret germination.

Paths to embody this patience

Patience The teachings of Jacques are not merely theoretical. They call for concrete applications in our daily lives. First, cultivate a time of contemplative silence each day. Dedicate ten minutes to silent prayer, without to wait for of immediate results, simply being there before God, constitutes a fundamental exercise in patience. This regular practice gradually educates our capacity to to wait for, to endure the apparent sterility of arid moments, to trust in the invisible work of grace.

Next, identify the areas in our lives where impatience dominates and consciously choose a slower pace. This might involve how we eat, taking the time to savor rather than gulping down food. It could involve how we work, accepting that some projects take time to mature rather than demanding rushed results. It could involve our relationships, allowing friendships time to develop naturally rather than forcing connections. Every area where we slow down becomes a lesson in patience.

Third, in our community and church relationships, we must systematically practice positive speech before criticism. Before expressing a reproach or complaint, we should look for three positive aspects to highlight in the person or situation. This simple exercise transforms our perspective and gradually frees us from the complaining that James denounces. It cultivates a benevolent patience that sees progress before faults, that hopes before judging.

Fourth, meditate regularly on the prophetic figures and saints who embodied patience heroic. Choosing a prophet or saint as a spiritual companion for a given period, reading their life, drawing inspiration from their example, invoking their intercession. This familiarity with the witnesses of patience It strengthens our own capacity for endurance. We discover that we are not alone in our waiting, that a cloud of witnesses precedes us and encourages us.

Fifth, keep a spiritual journal where you record not external events but the inner movements of patience and impatience. Periodically rereading these notes allows you to discern the progress made, identify areas for necessary growth, and give thanks for the journey so far. This retrospective look often reveals that we have progressed further than we thought, that grace He worked even when we didn't notice it.

Sixth, in our apostolic and charitable commitments, we must accept sowing without necessarily reaping. We must invest ourselves in actions whose ultimate fruits we may never see. We must accompany people who progress very slowly. We must support long-term projects. This acceptance of not being able to control or measure everything immediately frees us from the frenzy of efficiency and opens us to the divine logic of patient generosity.

Seventh, cultivate in our prayer a dimension of persistent intercession. Choose a few people or situations for which we pray regularly, even without seeing any apparent change. This faithful and patient intercession unites us with Christ, who intercedes eternally for us. It teaches us that prayer is not about manipulating God but about persistent trust in his goodness and wisdom.

The call for an internal and social revolution

Patience The example set by Jacques is not passive resignation in the face of injustice, nor indifference to evil. On the contrary, it constitutes a revolutionary force that radically transforms our relationship to time, to others, and to God. In a world dominated by urgency and instant gratification, choosing patience becomes an act of cultural resistance. Refusing the generalized frenzy, accepting the slow rhythms of human and spiritual maturation, is a prophetic protest against the dictatorship of the moment.

This revolutionary patience also liberates us from the tyrannies of performance and immediate results. It allows us to engage in necessary struggles without demanding instant victory. The great causes of social justice, Peace, the safeguarding of creation, require decades of patient effort. He who cultivates patience Biblical one can invest in these struggles without being discouraged by apparent setbacks, confident that God will make fruitful in his time the seeds of righteousness sown today.

At the community level, patience transforms our churches and communities. A Christian assembly that learns patience It ceases to groan against its members and becomes a space for mutual growth. Diversities are no longer experienced as threats but as riches to be patiently embraced. Inevitable conflicts become opportunities for purification rather than causes of division. This communal patience radiates beyond the church's boundaries and offers the world a precious testimony of peaceful human relations.

The approaching coming of the Lord remains the ultimate horizon of this patience. It is not an escape from the present but an intensified engagement in God's present moment. Knowing that the Judge is at the door keeps us vigilant and responsible. This imbues each moment with a joyful gravity, a serene urgency. We are called to live the present moment fully, without anxiety about tomorrow, but also without irresponsible frivolity. Patience eschatological paradoxically unites the intensity of present commitment and the serenity of trusting surrender.

James' final invitation resonates as a life program for every disciple. To stand firm means to remain rooted in faith Despite the storms, stay the course despite the contrary winds, persevere in hope against all despair. This firmness is not rigidity but inner stability, fidelity to the vocation received, constancy in love. It is expressed over time, tested in trials, and strengthened in prayer.

May this saying of James resonate in our hearts as an urgent call to convert our relationship with time. May we accept to enter into patience From the farmer, trusting that God is secretly causing his life to sprout within us. May we become artisans of communal peace by renouncing sterile lamentations. May we draw inspiration from the prophets who stood firm despite incomprehension. Then our waiting will become fruitful, our patience will bear precious fruit, and we will be ready to welcome the Lord when he comes.

Practices for cultivating evangelical patience

• Allow yourself ten minutes of contemplative silence each morning, without to wait for of sensitive consolations, to educate your capacity to to wait for God over time.
• Identify three areas of your life where impatience dominates and deliberately choose to slow down the pace there, accepting that some realities mature slowly.
• Before any community criticism, formulate three positive elements to value in the person concerned, thus transforming your perspective and freeing up constructive speech.
• Regularly meditate on the life of a prophet or saint known for their heroic patience, allowing their example to inspire and strengthen your own spiritual endurance.
• Keep a journal of your inner movements of patience and impatience, rereading it periodically to discern progress and give thanks for the invisibly traveled path.
• Engage in a long-term apostolic action whose full fruits you may never see, accepting this logic of patient gratuity proper to the Kingdom.
• Pray daily for a few people or situations without seeing immediate changes, thus cultivating the persevering intercession that unites us to Christ, the eternal intercessor.

References

Letter of James, chapter five, verses seven to ten, the source text for our meditation, proposing patience of the farmer and the model of the prophets as foundations of Christian expectation.

Matthew chapter thirteen, parables of the Kingdom using agricultural imagery to illustrate the mysterious and progressive growth of the Word of God sown in hearts.

Galatians chapter five verses twenty-two to twenty-three, enumeration of the fruits of the Spirit among which is patience, a spiritual reality that matures gradually under divine action.

First Epistle to the Corinthians, chapter thirteen, verse four, hymn to charity affirming that love is patient, establishing the intrinsic link between patience and charity true.

Augustine of Hippo, treatise De Patientia, patristic reflection on patience as a divine gift and not simply a natural virtue, Christ being the supreme model of patience.

Benedict of Nursia, Monastic Rule, Chapter Seven, Ladder of the’humility including patience among the twelve degrees of spiritual growth offered to monks.

Catherine of Siena, The Dialogue, a mystical teaching presenting patience like the marrow of charity and the foundation of all authentic relationships with God and neighbor.

John of the Cross, The Dark Night of the Soul, a description of passive purifications where the soul learns patience The supreme thing is to let God work without resistance or intervention.