Advent is a four week season, as symbolized by the 4 candles on the Advent Wreath, where the faithful awaits the Savior's birth. This instant world makes us forget to be patient at times. Our current lifestyle allows for instant access to food (microwave), people (cell phone), and information (Google). This instant lifestyle makes having patience, hard.

In the Old Testament, Samuel the priest told King Saul to wait until he got there before going to battle so that Samuel can offer a sacrifice. King Saul grew tired of waiting for Samuel to come and instead offered a sacrifice himself, an act that he was forbidden to do because Saul was not a priest. This displeased God and ultimately resulted in God choosing David as the new king.

What are some ways that we can grow more patient? Here are a few suggestions:

1. After you say grace over your meals, wait 1 minute before consuming the food.

2. Read a short sentence from the Gospel, preferably one that Jesus uttered, and then pray "speak LORD for your servant is listening"1 Samuel 3:9 and "speak Lord for your adopted son is listening." Then just stop and listen. You can read more about this simple prayer here.

3. Do not look at your phone as soon as you wake up in the morning. Give it at least 10 minutes.

Obviously this is just meant to be a short list of things that you can do to grow more patient. Here is a good article about Catholic Solution For Gaining Patience.