How Easy It Is To Give In To Anger

“Accustom yourself continually to make many acts of love, for they enkindle and melt the soul.” St. Teresa of Avila's words are a reminder to act in all ways from love. Anger is not the opposite of love but a manifestation of something much darker, a manifestation of pride that distorts our senses and drives a wedge between us and everything we love. Worse, anger is the stealthiest sin, as it worms its way into our hearts and steals our God-given grace long before we realize it.

It's far too easy to give in to anger these days. I'm a political person and without getting into personal preferences or advocating for an issue or candidate, anger permeates everything in our social and political discourse today. Unlike other times the anger is at the surface and without being masked. We see it in the streets with violent protests and both major political conventions and in the media promoted by the talking heads without shame and without obfuscation. We live in distressing times.

As I write this I am preparing for Confession. I'll not share my myriad sins with you, dear reader, but I will say this much: part of the cross I carry is anger, and recently I gave into my anger in a public way. While I felt then and still feel that I responded to angry and ideologically-based questioning about my beliefs in a somewhat measured way, the anger from that conversation stewed inside like a witches brew. I could feel that anger growing well away from the conversation. I kept replaying that conversation in my head and in my heart for hours later. That is pride. My pride was wounded. My anger is not violent but is internalized.

Of course anger, like any other mortal sin, opens the door for other sins. Jesus expressly forbid us from unleashing anger on our neighbor. “You have heard that it was said to the men of old, "You shall not kill: and whoever kills shall be liable to judgment." But I say to you that every one who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment” (Matthew 5:21-22). If we are to love our neighbor as Jesus loved us then anger is the principle barrier to that love we must overcome. Anger and love are incompatible. It is the emotional oil and water.

To say that we live in dark times is not to offer profound insight. But things seem to be getting darker, with anger turning towards violence and rhetoric feeding off of prejudice and hate. In all things in these times we must remember to turn to the light of Christ, which is the only thing in this life that can cast out darkness. Yet the world grows darker and angrier, and our secular leaders feed off of anger and promote its growth when aimed at their enemies, turning man against his brother, friend against friend, and nation against nation. Worse, it silently drives a wedge between man and God, causing our sins to grow and that most critical of relationships to wither and splinter.

So I am on my way to Confession. If you are anything like I am and can feel anger in your flesh then you should consider doing the same thing. In my experience anger is the most insidious of sins as it sneaks up and sinks into the flesh. It corrupts the mind and drives us away from God without our realizing it. So thank God for the sacrament of reconciliation and thank God for the love of Christ which conquers all things.