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Dear Parish Faithful,
Anger is the result of people’s failure to do or say what we wish, or of things that do not go the way we prefer. Rather than adapt to circumstances by way of the practice of patience, we often succumb to the sin of anger. Paramount in the equation of anger is the “remembrance of wrongs.” …
...The pervasiveness of this sin warrants special mention. We live in an age where, though we have less and less direct contact with others, we seem so easily tempted by thoughts, feelings, fantasies, and injuries believed caused by our neighbor.
Whenever we become obsessed by some past event in which we perceive that we have been wronged, we give the devil ample opportunity to lead us toward greater temptation. We forget that our warfare is not with each other! We are to engage in spiritual warfare against the Enemy of our salvation and his willing hosts, the demons. When we remember wrongs, we fall prey to the Father of Lies and engage in combat against our fellow brothers and sisters.
—Fr Joseph David Huneycutt, Defeating Sin
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As far back as the fourth c. Evagrius of Pontus (+399), the great "desert psychologist," came up with a list of the "passionate thoughts" (logismoi) that can tempt and trouble the human mind and heart. One of those "thoughts" was anger. Later, St. Gregory the Great (+604) devised the more familiar list of the "seven deadly sins," and his list also included anger. To this day, we continue to analyze the effects of anger on the human mind. Fr. Joseph above offers some good insights into this "passionate thought," that are worthy of our reflection.
