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February 12

e must persevere patiently in the course we have begun, without growing faint or discouraged. Let us run the race that lies ahead of us, the apostle urges. Then, as the highest encouragement, the supreme exhortation, the first and last of all the examples he proposes to us, he goes on to say: We must keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, who leads us in our faith and brings it to perfection. Our Lord himself continually taught his disciples the same lesson. For this reason the apostle tells us to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus. Keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus means that we must observe the example Christ gave us if we are to learn to run our race. In all arts and athletics the skill of our instructors is impressed upon our minds as we watch them, and we ourselves become proficient by observing these masters in action. So also, in the race of life, if we want to run well and learn to keep a straight course, we must fix our eyes on Jesus, who leads us in our faith and brings it to perfection.

What does this imply? Surely it means that Christ has given us our faith, and we owe its very first movement within us to his inspiration. As he said to his disciples: You did not choose me, it was I who chose you.

From John E. Rotelle, O.S.A., Tradition Day by Day: Readings from Church Writers. Augustinian Press. Villanova, PA, 1994.

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