Patience is one of those virtues seldom talked about in today’s hyper-connected, easily mobilized world but it is perhaps the one that is most in need of conversation, thought and prayer.
Nothing illustrates this point better than the book Christian Patience: The Strength and Discipline of the Soul by William Bernard Ullathorne. Though patience seems lost today, William Ullathorne posthumously comes to our rescue with this classic work.
Born in 1806, William Bernard Ullathorne was an English clergyman and Bendectine monk in the Catholic Church having held the office of Bishop of Birmingham at one point. He wrote several great books up until his death in 1889, but Christian Patience (1886) is probably his best known and received work.
This is currently the book that I am studying and so far have found it to be an excellent and elucidating companion to my spiritual/theological studies. Patience is one of those virtues that I sometimes find myself slipping with and so it is great for me to give my soul such a great antidote. I definitely recommend that everyone give it a listen not only because the style in which the Ullathorne writes is both eloquent and simple, but also because his insight into the virtue of patience is profound .
You an also find this recording (and others by William Bernard Ullathorne) on Project Gutenberg.
Special thanks to the narrator (whose name escapes me) for creating the work for LibraVox.