Meekness/Patience Conquers Anger
Meekness/Patience Conquers Anger
“You have heard it said, ‘You shall not kill and whoever kills shall be liable to judgment. But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment.” Matthew 5:21-22
“Be angry but do not sin. Do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.” Ephesians 4:26-27
Anger: “A disorderly outburst of emotion connected with the inordinate desire for revenge.” CCC 2302
Not without passion
The Cleansing of the Temple: Matthew 21:12
Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all those engaged in selling and buying there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves. And said to them, “It is written: ‘My house shall be a house of prayer,” but you are making it a den of thieves.”
The Cleansing of the Temple: John 2:14-7
He found in the temple area those who sold oxen, sheep, and doves, as well as the money changers seated there. He made a whip out of cords and drove them all out of the temple area, with the sheep and oxen, and spilled the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables, and to those who sold doves he said, “Take these out of here, and stop making my Father’s house a marketplace. His disciples recalled the words of scripture, zeal for your house will consume me.”
Scripture that Saves: Mediating on the Word of God
“All bitterness, fury, anger, shouting, and reviling must be removed from you, along with all malice. [And] be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another as God has forgiven you in Christ.” Ephesians 4:31-32
“The ill-tempered stir up strife, but the patient settle disputes.” - Proverbs 15:18
“the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” Galatians 5:22-23
“Know this, my dear brothers: everyone should be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath, for the wrath of a man does not accomplish the righteousness of God.” - James 1:19-20
“Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, [love] is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.” 1 Corinthians 13:4-8
”Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth” - Matthew 5:5
“The patient are better than warriors, and those who rule their temper, better than the conqueror of a city” - Proverbs 16:32
Voice of Reason:
“Anger, when it has a cause, is not anger but judgment. For anger properly speaking denotes a movement of passion” - St John Chrysostom And when a man is angry with reason, his anger is no longer from passion: wherefore he is said to judge, not to be angry.
Anger: “passion for revenge that goes beyond the control of reason” - St Thomas Aquinas
Lack of anger is a sign that the judgement of reason is lacking - St Thomas Aquinas
“Anger: a Vice in Which One Does Not Moderate the Passion of Anger; an Inordinate Desire for Vindication Arising from Unmoderated Sorrow at Some Offense” - Fr Ripperger
“Unreasonable Patience” -- St Thomas Aquinas
Antidote to anger, according to Bishop Robert Barron is forgiveness. - Take a concrete step toward healing a broken relationship - Someone you hold a grudge against, do something to heal that relationship (note, phone call, email, direct visit)
Skill, Scripture, Support
Resources:
https://nolacatholic.org/struggling
https://aleteia.org/2017/03/22/do-you-know-what-meek-of-meek-and-humble-of-heart-really-means