Traffic jams: A wonderful opportunity to become holy

For many people, our daily commute feels like a necessary evil, especially when it involves a lot of traffic. It often strains our patience and puts us on edge. These feelings of frustration can lead to dangerous driving. In fact, according to polls, about half of Americans report driving more dangerously since the COVID-19 pandemic, for a variety of reasons.

Well, here's some good news for you: there’s a way to lower our road rage and grow closer to God at the same time! Traveling by car is a precious opportunity to pray. Yes, traffic jams can be a wonderful opportunity to grow in holiness!

Start your journey by taking the time to bless your trip, so that God may be your traveling companion at all times. A short prayer to St. Christopher, who according to legend carried Christ on his shoulders and is the patron saint of travelers, is a good idea. St. Joseph is another saint we can turn to before hitting the road. Another good option is to entrust ourselves to our guardian angel. It’s a way of placing all travelers—not just ourselves—under God's protection.

Lastly, don’t forget St. Monica, the patron saint of patience! We can invoke her intercession before driving if we foresee a stressful commute—or of course at any time during the day.

If you’re alone in the car, don’t feel like you have to fill all the drive with music, podcasts, or audio books (although these can also be good ways to make your commute more enjoyable). Why not take a few minutes to enjoy the silence as well? There are too few opportunities in daily life to be quiet and listen to what God wants to tell you. Have a spontaneous conversation with the Lord in your heart and pay attention to his movements in your soul.

Whether you’re alone or accompanied, the Rosary is also an ideal prayer while driving. A long drive gives us an opportunity to recite it without haste and to meditate on each mystery. Among our many intentions, we can pray for our own safety and for that of everyone else on the road. 

And let’s not forget that we can offer up boredom, irritation, and frustration to the Lord in reparation for our own sins and the sins of others. Jesus himself faced feelings like these in his life and ministry; we can join our feelings of bother to his as a sacrifice to the Father.

Another way to sanctify ourselves in the car is to show charity towards other drivers, despite the irritation that may arise. Practice patience and Christian charity by blessing the other person — yes, the very one who just cut you off or ran a red light, nearly hitting you!

We all want the same thing: to get to our destination safely and swiftly. If we think of other people as fellow travelers — on the road, and on the way to eternity — and not as competition, it will change the way we drive and the way we react.