In his encyclical ‘Spes Salvi’ (Saved in Hope), Benedict XVI distinguished two words from our first reading today. These are “endurance” and “drawing back,” as our lectionary translation puts it.
Endurance is perseverance, patiently enduring trials as to receive what God has promised. The Greek word used by the Letter to Hebrews corresponds to the expectation of God based on the certainty of the covenant He made with the Israelites. This made ‘endurance’ a lived hope, which gained a new certainty with Jesus Christ, a hope that leads us to our eternal life. On the other hand, “drawing back,” as in the Greek word used, is a shrinking away from trials or to be lacking the courage to speak (and live) the truth openly because of the trials it may cause. (Spe Salvi, 9)
Perish
We do not want to ‘draw back’ for as the Letter to the Hebrews tells us, this will make us perish. This is the reason the letter encourages the early Christians to hold on to their hope in God, to maintain their faithful, joyful, and patient disposition in their times of trials, of the ‘great contest of suffering’: humiliations, false imprisonment, confiscation of properties. Christians of all ages are reminded that God is all-powerful, no one can defeat him. He is all-good and wills only our good. When He promised us eternal life, He would really give us eternal life; He will never cheat on us, He will never go back on his word—He always fulfils it! The evil that persecutes the good does not have the final word: God is always victorious! That is why “[we] need endurance to do the will of God and receive what he has promised.”
St. John Bosco
An example of this perseverance is St. John Bosco. His work with young people was not without challenges. In his priestly life, there were oppositions, hostilities, internal conflicts, and lack of resources. Yet, he never drew back. His hope in God’s providence and genuine love for the youth and the poor drove him to persevere, regardless of these difficulties. This endurance led him to do great things for God, as when he received the inspiration to build a Basilica for Mary, Help of Christians. He only had a few cents to pay for the foundation, but he readily surrendered to the Divine Providence, who, of course, did not fail this holy priest of Turin. The construction of that beautiful and magnificent Basilica lasted for more three years, and the contractor testified that he was fully paid.
Did Don Bosco receive what was promised? Undoubtedly, yes. He is now a saint in heaven, enjoying eternal glory, together with numerous souls who have known God through Don Bosco. His life is an example of perseverance, living a life of hope founded on faith and nurtured by charity, which enables us to press forward in life (Spes non confundit, 2).
May Mary, Help of Christians, pray for us always, that we may never lose sight of heaven so that we may always be desirous to be there and enjoy God’s presence forever.
