Perseverance above all

St. Jerome wrote, "Christians will not be asked how they began but, rather, how they finished.  St. Paul began badly, but finished well.  Judas's beginning was praiseworthy, but his end was despicable.”

St. Gregory said, "You live a good life in vain if you do not continue it until you die."  And, "The value of good work depends on perseverance." 

And, to St. Isidore it is attributed, "Our behavior is only acceptable to God if we have the strength of purpose to complete any work we have undertaken."  And, “The reward is not promised to the one who begins, but rather to the one who perseveres.”