Quote from: Guest

Virtually every family member of mine is now my enemy. I've probably been too blunt in making known my views of them as complete worldlings. They know very clearly what I think of them, as being totally sold out to this world. They know of my complete contempt for their nightly television lineup, their People magazines, their stinking rock music, their mindless movies and books, their tastes that shift with every fashion, and all the rest of it.

I'm not very good at the art of worldly wisdom.

Read Saint Bonaventure's life of the Seraphic Patriarch, Saint Francis of Assisi, to overcome and combat against the vices of indiscreet zeal and bitterness.

Virtually every family member of mine is now my enemy. I've probably been too blunt in making known my views of them as complete worldlings. They know very clearly what I think of them, as being totally sold out to this world. They know of my complete contempt for their nightly television lineup, their People magazines, their stinking rock music, their mindless movies and books, their tastes that shift with every fashion, and all the rest of it.

I'm not very good at the art of worldly wisdom.

Doth a fountain send forth, out of the same hole, sweet and bitter water? [12] Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear grapes; or the vine, figs? So neither can the salt water yield sweet. [13] Who is a wise man, and endued with knowledge among you? Let him shew, by a good conversation, his work in the meekness of wisdom. [14] But if you have bitter zeal, and there be contentions in your hearts; glory not, and be not liars against the truth. [15] For this is not wisdom, descending from above: but earthly, sensual, devilish.

[16] For where envying and contention is, there is inconstancy, and every evil work. [17] But the wisdom, that is from above, first indeed is chaste, then peaceable, modest, easy to be persuaded, consenting to the good, full of mercy and good fruits, without judging, without dissimulation. [18] And the fruit of justice is sown in peace, to them that make peace.

Regard yourself as more vile and miserable in the sight of God because of your faults than any sinner whatsoever, no matter what his sins.

It is true, indeed, my friend Theotimus, that Moses, Phinees, Elias, Mathathias and many great servants of God made use of anger in the exercise of their zeal, on many remarkable occasions, yet note also, I pray you, that those were great souls, who could well handle their passions and regulate their anger; like that brave captain of the Gospel who said to his soldiers: go, and they went, come, and they came: but we, who are, all of us, but common little people, have no such power over our movements; our horse is not so well broken in, that we can make him gallop or stop at our pleasure. Wise and well trained hounds run afield or come back according to the huntsman's call, but untrained young hounds break away and are disobedient. Great saints who have made their passions tractable, mortifying them by the exercise of virtue, can also turn about their anger as they like, send it out and draw it back as seems good to them; but we, who have unbridled passions, quite young, or at least mistaught, cannot let our anger go save at peril of great disorder, for being once loose we can no longer restrain or regulate it.

...

S. Thomas Aquinas, that great star of theology, being sick of the disease of which he died, at the Monastery of Fossanuova, of the order of Citeaux, the religious besought him to make them a short exposition of the Canticle of Canticles in imitation of S. Bernard, and he answered them: "My dear fathers, give me S. Bernard's spirit and I will interpret this divine Canticle like S. Bernard." So verily, if it were said to one of us petty, miserable, imperfect and wretched Christians: use anger and indignation in your zeal, as did Phinees, Elias, Mathathias, S. Peter and S. Paul: we ought to reply: give us the spirit of perfection and pure zeal, with the interior light which those great saints had, and we will arm ourselves with anger as they did. It is not the fortune of every one to know how to be angry when and as he ought.


Those great saints were immediately inspired by God, and therefore might boldly employ their anger without peril; for the same Spirit which animated them to these great acts also held the reins of their just wrath lest they might transgress the prescribed bounds. Anger which is inspired or excited by the Holy Ghost is no longer the anger of man, and it is man's wrath that we are to beware of, because, as S. James says: The anger of man worketh not the justice of God. And indeed, when those great servants of God made use of anger, it was on occurrences so solemn and for crimes so excessive, that there was no danger that the punishment would exceed the fault.

...

Zeal may be practised in three ways. First in performing great actions of justice to repel evil; and this belongs only to those who have the public offices of correcting, censuring, and reprehending in quality of superiors, such as princes, prelates, magistrates, preachers: but since this office is honourable, every one undertakes it, every one will have to do with it. Secondly, one may use zeal by doing actions of great virtue in order to give good example, by suggesting remedies for evils, and exhorting men to apply them, by effecting the good that is opposite to the evil which we desire to banish. This belongs to every one, and yet few will to do it. Finally, the most excellent use of zeal lies in suffering and enduring much to hinder or divert evil, and scarce any will have this sort of zeal. A specious zeal is all our ambition; upon that, each one willingly spends his talent, never attending to the fact that it is not zeal indeed which is thereby sought but glory, the satisfaction of our pride, anger, annoyance and other passions.

...

"O how happy is he," says S. Ambrose, who knows how to discipline zeal!" "The devil will easily," says S. Bernard, "delude thy zeal, if thou neglect knowledge; therefore let thy zeal be inflamed with charity, adorned with knowledge, established in constancy." True zeal is the child of charity as being its ardour; wherefore, like to charity, it is patient, is kind, envieth not, dealeth not perversely, seeketh not her own, is not provoked to anger, rejoiceth in the truth. The ardour of true zeal resembles that of the huntsman, being diligent, careful, active, industrious, eager in pursuit, but without passion, anger or disquiet, for if the huntsman's work were done in anger, bad temper and vexation, it would not be so much loved and desired. Zeal in like manner has ardours which are extreme, but constant, solid, sweet, industrious, equally agreeable and untiring; whereas on the contrary, false zeal is turbulent, troubled, insolent, arrogant, choleric, transient, equally impetuous and inconstant.

Virtually every family member of mine is now my enemy. I've probably been too blunt in making known my views of them as complete worldlings. They know very clearly what I think of them, as being totally sold out to this world. They know of my complete contempt for their nightly television lineup, their People magazines, their stinking rock music, their mindless movies and books, their tastes that shift with every fashion, and all the rest of it.

I'm not very good at the art of worldly wisdom.

Quote from: Guest

Virtually every family member of mine is now my enemy. I've probably been too blunt in making known my views of them as complete worldlings. They know very clearly what I think of them, as being totally sold out to this world. They know of my complete contempt for their nightly television lineup, their People magazines, their stinking rock music, their mindless movies and books, their tastes that shift with every fashion, and all the rest of it.

I'm not very good at the art of worldly wisdom.

Well, did you always point out their sinful ways. I didn't point out that often, yet in the minds of my family, I was bombarding them with it. So I can imagine how your family would turn against you. Even if you don't say anything but just refuse to do what they do and tell them why you can't do that, they will see that as preaching to them.

What I don't understand is how can someone who is living the life of grace be a worse sinner than someone who is in mortal sin and living a worldly life? I mean reality is reality. The latter is a greater sinner than the former. I am not talking about the fact that even a person in grace has the potential to sin (save for the grace of God). How did the saints actually see themselves as worse sinners. Sorry but that is against truth.