Purposeful Living with Grit: Family Reflection Video

What keeps you going when the going gets tough? When you experience the pain of rejection or betrayal? When you have been misunderstood by your friends, family, or community? What keeps you pursuing God for His direction for a purposeful and successful life?

I would like to draw your attention to making our lives purposeful and successful by incorporating a little grit into your efforts to meet various challenges.

Grit is a passionate pursuit with perseverance for a worthy cause. (Angela Duckworth). Grit tells us that it is not important to be born with special gifts, but rather to take the gifts you have and develop them to the fullest.

Success is not meant for a chosen few. Through grit you can achieve the most important goal of your life.

We can find examples of people with grit in the Scriptures in the life of Jesus, the Apostles, and the Saints. Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, King David, and others had enough grit to assume responsibility for leadership when God asked them to.

Jesus never gave up when rejected. He had the grit to set His face toward Jerusalem and went all the way to the cross without looking back. St. Paul and other apostles relied on God for grit to endure persecution while bringing the Gospel to others.

St. John of God whose memorial we celebrate today, was wracked by guilt and lack of purpose at the age of forty but found new grit after he sought counsel from St. John of Avila and started the Order of Brothers Hospitallers.

Whatever gifts and talents you are born with, grit will help you develop them to the fullest. How do you do that? You do that by passionately pursuing your goal with perseverance. This means you never give up even in the face of opposition, pain, suffering, and other challenges, as you journey to a life of true holiness. Grit means we never give up on God, our family, and ourselves.

May God bless us with grit during this Lent to do His will.

• Father Pinto's inspirational homily was recorded live this morning during Mass at the Father Peyton Center. Please view the video on our Facebook page. (You don't need a Facebook account to view.) 

• To view Rosary prayer and Mass streaming live, please visit our Facebook page at 11:30 am EST, Monday – Friday. Please invite your loved ones to join us too! (You don't need a Facebook account to view.)