Putting up with annoying people is also charity

Among the works of mercy there is one we don't usually take seriously: "bearing patiently the defects of our neighbor." That is, putting up cheerfully with the person who talks too much, the tiresome one, the one who always arrives late, the one who irritates you without meaning to. It sounds like very little, but it isn't. Living together rubs. Every family, office, or group has its difficult people, and you are that person to someone. Handling those frictions with patience, without retaliating or keeping score, is a quiet and very real way of loving. It is not swallowing everything without saying a word: when something causes harm, you can point it out gently. But most flaws in others do not ask for correction, only patience. And that patience, offered up, is worth more than it seems.