Hey friends! Welcome back to the Just One Small Thing Podcast and our series on the virtues of the rosary. I hope you have been enjoying this series and that it has given you plenty to think about and contemplate as you pray your daily rosary. Today we are moving onto the 4th Sorrowful Mystery, Jesus Carries His Cross. The virtue assigned to this mystery is perseverance. As just a quick reminder, I did not dream up the idea of assigning a virtue to each mystery of the rosary--I'm just promoting something taught by many great saints included St. Padre Pio, St. John Paul II and St. Mother Teresa.  It my hope that this series gives you lots to think about as you pray your daily rosary. I love mediating on the virtues as I pray--and if you would like a tool to help you reflect a bit more, I encourage you to download and use a set of FREE coloring pages, one for each mystery of the rosary. They are full of powerful quotes from the saints on each of the virtues. Find them here: https://www.dosmallthingswithlove.com/virtue. Perseverance is an interesting virtue to talk about because instead of an "end result virtue" it is more of a virtue that allows us to pursue all of the other virtues. In fact, there isn't a lot of literature about the virtue of perseverance out there. Instead I found it most helpful to turn to the letters of St. Paul. This verse from Romans was very helpful in the study of perseverance: "Rejoice in hope, endure in affliction, persevere in prayer." 12:12. This verse gives us three main points to discuss perseverance. We need to rejoice in hope, even when it feels like we are walking in the dark and our hope is foolishness. We need to endure affliction like St. Bernadette did in Lourdes and Lucia did in Fatima. And, we need to be dedicated to prayer, even when it feels fruitless and hard. I mentioned a few links in this episode, and here they are: All of these virtues, along with beautiful paintings, reflections and prayers can be found in my Rosary Book. If you are looking for a beautiful academic planner, check out my Marian Themed Planner. It is on sale now. Make sure to download the free coloring pagesthat will help you remember and engage with the virtues of the Rosary. Thanks, as always, for being here! Your sister in the small things, Nancy