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Dear Parish Faithful,
GREAT LENT - Day Five
"It is good not to get angry, but if this should happen, St. Paul does not allow you a whole day for this passion, for he says: 'Do not let the sun go down on your anger.' (Eph. 4:26) Will you wait til all your time is ended? Why hate the one who has grieved you? It is not this person who has done the wrong, but the evil one."
Amma Syncletica (+460)
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Anger, according the saints, is a "passion." Meaning we lose control of this impulse, but are rather controlled by it. It is hard to think straight or to pray when you are angry. I would imagine that this is a common experience. The Apostle Paul is exhorting us to limit the extent to which this passion rules our life. Be done with it at the end of the day. Be forgiving as our heavenly Father is forgiving, seems to be what the apostle is teaching. As to the last sentence from Amma Syncletica, I highly doubt that she is saying "blame the devil" for your reckless impulses. As I highly doubt she is relieving us of our personal responsibility when we unleash our anger on someone - including our loved ones.
My sense is that she is alerting us to the ever present reality of temptation, the source of which is ultimately the "evil one." The Apostle Peter teaches us: "Be sober, be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring line, seeking some one to devour." ((I Pet. 5:8) I rather think that it is easier to control of food and drink intake - fasting - than it is to control our anger. Great Lent is a season of reconciliation.
