Too Little, Too Late

This evening's gospel was the parable of the servant who owed 10,000 talents. In his homily, Father Valentine remarked that the souls in hell can never repay the debt they owe our heavenly Father, at which point an enraged young man stormed out of Mass, tearing up his worship aid and bulletin as he went.

Was he outraged at the suggestion that our actions in this life have eternal consequences? Was he offended at the suggestion that he himself had to forgive or face the consequences? I wanted to ask him, and hear what he had to say, and reason with him, but I was too slow. It took me a few minutes to get myself out of the pew and after him, and by then he was long gone.

a great supply of meekness

“Since it is impossible for us to go through life without causing annoyance to one another, it is necessary to have a great supply of meekness from which to draw to check sudden bursts of anger and preserve peace of soul.”
-Saint Francis de Sales

(found here)

Prayers for a "Theology of Liberation"

I just ran across this progressive reworking of part of the Lord's prayer, by Canaan Sodindo Banana, a liberation theologian and former president of Zimbabwe:

...Teach us to demand our share of the gold,
And forgive us our docility...

(He also reworked the Creed).

A Sneer

A sneer is an outward distortion of the face that reflects an inward distortion of the soul.

Harbouring Rancour

Resentment is linked with rancour. When the intellect forms the image of a brother's face with a feeling of resentment, it is clear that it harbours rancour against him. 'The way of the rancorous leads to death' (Prov. 12:28. LXX), because 'whoever harbours rancour is a transgressor' (Prov. 21:24. LXX).

If you harbour rancour against anybody, pray for him and you will prevent the passion from being aroused; for by means of prayer you will separate your resentment from the thought of the wrong he has done you. When you have become loving and compassionate towards him, you will wipe the passion completely from your soul. If somebody regards you with rancour, be pleasant to him, be humble and agreeable in his company, and you will deliver him from his passion.

St. Maximos the Confessor
Third Century on Love (from the Philokalia)

(Septuagint links here)

Called to Freedom

For you were called to freedom, brethren;
only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh,
but through love be servants of one another.
For the whole law is fulfilled in one word,
"You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
But if you bite and devour one another,
take heed that you are not consumed by one another.
But I say, walk by the Spirit,
and do not gratify the desires of the flesh.
For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit,
and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh;
for these are opposed to each other,
to prevent you from doing what you would.
But if you are led by the Spirit you are not under the law.
Now the works of the flesh are plain:
fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery,
enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension, party spirit,
envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like.
I warn you, as I warned you before,
that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control;
against such there is no law.
And those who belong to Christ Jesus
have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.
Let us have no self-conceit,
no provoking of one another,
no envy of one another.

Galatians 5:13-26

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If you totally fulfil the command to love your neighbour, you will feel no bitterness or resentment against him whatever he does. If this is not the case, then the reason why you fight against your brother is clearly because you seek after transitory things and prefer them to the commandment of love.

St. Maximos the Confessor

Fasting from Anger

Being a lover of meekness no less than of wisdom, I determined within myself to spend some days without yielding to anger; just as I might have bound myself to abstain from drunkenness and wine, as is the custom in certain feasts, where the use of this drink is forbidden. I next continued to exert special efforts for one or two months, and made short trials of my strength. Thus, in course of time, I came to bear with greater troubles and annoyances, being able to maintain my mastery over myself, so as to remain calm, gentle, and devoid of all anger. By these means I kept myself unstained by evil words, debasing actions, and the shameless lusts which, for a passing gratification, leave the soul pierced through and through with deep remorse and poignant regrets.

- Plutarch (as quoted by Fr. John Baptist Scaramelli, S.J.)

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In my own eccentric and wavering path towards perfection, I hope to use Plutarch's example as a model; anger is my predominant fault and sin. When the anger of my heart is tamed, I hope next to cultivate a greater gratitude towards the Lord for the good things He has given me.

I went to confession today. I never mentioned ingratitude as a problem, but the priest taught me a little prayer for patience that included thanksgiving. I was pleased to see my current goal and next goal thus tied together, and the gift of that prayer in itself helped me a little towards gratitude.

Being not necessarily the sharpest tack in the box, I immediately forgot the prayer, but I remember the general idea.

Thank you God; I'm sorry for my sins. Please help me more.

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I hope the Holy Ghost guides you gently but irresistibly towards becoming the saint that you are meant to be, good reader.