Are you angry? What does your anger feel like? Are you in
control of it, or do you allow it to control you?
Since
our childhood we have been confronted with one of the 7 deadly sins that
is ANGER. Over the years it has been increasing
and constantly we are struggling with it. We have confessed to the
priests many times, we have tried to battle with it but we have not learned
from the past lessons.
What is anger? Anger in itself is a feeling of
“displeasure” and it is a desire for revenge. Anger also includes insult, gossip, plotting
to harm someone emotionally, tarnish someone’s reputation, aggressive behavior
and using hurtful words towards persons. We get angry suddenly if someone cuts
you off in traffic, you curse the person for no reason. Or you yell at your
spouse or children when something goes wrong. You may scream or attack people
on social media for not reporting the injustices.
During this Lenten season, again we confront our
deepest anger that has become a hindrance for us to go deeper into experiencing Christ. Therefore, we must learn to abandon this sin,
which is sometimes a by-product of our Pride. Anger comes about from the state
of the world, injustices, past hurts, bad childhood experiences, chronic pain
or illness, hormone issues, habit and many other reasons. If you don't overcome
anger then we shall be walking with it for the rest of our lives.
We battle with our anger whether
it be within the family, workplace, church community, or other areas of life. As we walk in this Lenten journey, let us help
ourselves by humbly receiving fraternal correction even though it is
difficult to confront this ugliness within ourselves. This pain, humiliation,
and struggle are necessary, for one day, we shall be able to handle and conquer
this negative emotion ourselves.
A
regular Confession is essential because it gives us the grace to overcome it. We
should have a right mind and control of our emotions. We have to think wisely
before we act in a situation that makes us angry. We need to walk away when a
situation aggravates us. We need a
fervent prayer to overcome anger because God’s grace can truly transform us. We should forgive past hurts and move forward.
We cannot blame anyone because we are
responsible for how we respond.
It’s
time to let the bad stuff go and focus on a new habit this Lenten journey. Remember that forming a new habit is the only
way to get rid of an old one. We are made for happiness and we cannot be happy
if we are enslaved by anger. Let us search for the peace that outshines all
understanding. Let us search out the mind of Christ, who is our Way, our Truth
and our Life!
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