Here's the problem

Now that we are all settled into our new house I expected to be blogging much more frequently. But here's the problem: two of my mother's employees are gone and I've been filling in to make up for their hours. One had a stroke, and is recovering nicely, but will not be returning to work. Also, my nephew, who works part-time for my mom, broke his wrist in a skiing accident and hasn't picked his hours back up yet. This has left me with very little free time. I'm hoping to work out some sort of a blogging schedule but haven't had a chance yet.

In case you were wondering...or even if you weren't ;)

Three Favorite Religious Books

Hey! A meme for bookworms finally! Colleen at Inadequate Disciple tagged me for a meme which asks you to name your three favorite religious books and then tag five other bloggers to do the same. Not counting the Bible, here are three of my favorites:

~ Practice of the Presence of God  by Brother Lawrence - I read this book at least once a year and sometimes more often than that. Great book!

~ Divine Mercy in My Soul: St. Faustina's Diary - I usually have this book out for easy access. St. Faustina is one of my favorite saints.

~ Fire of Love/Understanding Purgatory by St. Catherine of Genoa - This little book is a treasure. Reading this book made me realize that it really is all love on God's part and that Purgatory is a blessing for those who have died before attaining the perfect purity of heart so necessary before coming face-to-face with the Living God.

I tag:

Kathryn at Heart for God
Sue at Sue Elvis Writes
Mary at Hope Echoes
Esther at A Catholic Mom in Hawaii
Jennifer at Crafolic ~ Catholic Crafts and More!!

New Evidence Comes to Light in the Bizarre Case of Father Gordon MacRae

Father Gordon MacRae is an imprisoned priest (accused of sexual abuse of a minor) here in my home state of New Hampshire. I first became aware of Fr. MacRae, who claims he was falsely accused, in 2010 after reading a few articles about his case online. In the beginning, I chalked this case up to "just another prisoner refusing to accept responsibility for his mistakes and claiming innocence despite all the evidence against him".

The problem was...there WAS no evidence against him.

 Nothing.

 Zip. Zilch. Nada.

Sounds a bit unbelievable, I know, but true, nonetheless. I didn't find this out until I studied his case files (along with other documents I found online and old newspaper articles about the trial) myself and realized that there was a strong possibility that this man might very well be innocent. I wrote a series of articles about this priest who claims that he was falsely accused and continued to read everything I could find about his case.

Today I received an e-mail from Spero News columnist, Ryan A MacDonald, who has written numerous articles about this falsely accused priest, including a number of articles on his blog - A Ram in the Thicket. The e-mail related the news that new evidence has been brought to light in Fr. MacRae's case. Evidence that is strong enough to exonerate him. You can read it here:
http://www.themediareport.com/2012/02/20/new-evidence-may-exonerate-priest-gordon-j-macrae/.
After reading the article I couldn't help thinking how little evidence it took to convict him and how much evidence was needed to exonerate him.  Scary, isn't it? Especially in a country where the judicial system works on the premise "innocent until proven guilty".

Words fail me.

AHHH...Life in the Country

Well, it's sorta the country. I mean, we have a septic tank. Does that qualify as "country living"? (Which I think needs emptying because it smells kind of funny around here. Though I suppose it could be because we are "upwind" of a horse farm. Randy says it's the neighbor's tank but I think that's just wishful thinking on his part. How is anyone supposed to know anyway? Do they have gages that let you know when they are full or does one just "wing it" and hope for the best? Oh well, as long as I'm not the one emptying it. Plus, I think I'll make sure I'm gone that day. You know, so I won't get in the way and all that.) Another reason that I think it qualifies as "country" here is because there are no streetlights anywhere. Nary a one. When it gets dark, it's black as pitch. If I go out in the evening and forget to turn on the porch light, I can forget about finding my way back home, too. After living in the city all my life I was clueless as to what true darkness is. Good for sleeping though...or it would be if that darn wolf would just shut up. Randy swears up and down that there are no wolves out here but Michaela and I remain unconvinced. After all, my nephew lives in the same town and there was a bear strolling through his yard a while back. We all know that where there are bears, there are wolves, right? Coyotes too.

The REAL reason I know it's the country is that there is no trash pickup. Yep, gotta pick up your own trash  and bring it to the dump. They call them "dump runs" and it's what we do for excitement around here. As in, "Hey guys, you wanna go on a dump run?" The dump is only open on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays so you have to time things just right. Like, you wouldn't want to change the kitty litter on a Sunday or anything like that.

Compost pile you say? What's that?

I DO have to change litter boxes now. Michaela got a kitten and mom got the litter box. "After all, Mom, I'm only eight you know. Do you know any 8-year-olds that change litter boxes?" I tried to think of a few but came up blank, so I gave in gracefully and only gagged about twenty times during the first cleaning. Not bad for a newbie.  (Kittens are FOUL little beasties, let me tell ya. They put puppies to shame...even puppies with Giardia.)

I wonder if puppies can be trained to use litter boxes too? Actually, I wonder if puppies can be trained at all at this point. My carpet wonders, too.

Speaking of carpets, I caught the puppy and the kitten working in tandem the other day unravelling the carpet on my stairway. I KNOW McKookenstein was the culprit who instigated the whole thing but Skittles happily joined in. There was no paw twisting involved. I caught them redhanded and they didn't even have the decency to look ashamed of themselves. They chewed up the corner of a new area rug too... before the price tag was even off of it.

I wonder if it's okay for a kitten to eat puppy food and a puppy to eat kitten food?

Tomorrow is the Big Day

Tomorrow is moving day! We are all packed up and ready to go! I just wanted to let everyone know that I won't have an Internet connection for the next week (or a bit more) so I won't be able to respond to any e-mails or comments. Thank you all for your kind words and support this past month. I'll be back on Blogger in about two weeks and am looking forward to catching up on my blogging and reading!

My puppy already broke in the carpet at the new house. We weren't there for five minutes and he lifted his leg. Can you believe that? I only got to enjoy a squeaky clean carpet for 5 minutes! Good thing God gave him such a cute face I tell ya. He has a huge yard to "go" in but he waits until he gets into the house. Go figure. 

Be back soon!

A Much Needed Break

My original intention was to get all the posts on the seven deadly sins up before Christmas but it looks like this will be impossible due to lack of time. Michaela has been out of school all week due to a terrible stomach bug and I am packing stuff for the move. It's hectic around here.

Well, I might not be able to post about the seven deadly ones right now but I'm sure getting plenty of opportunity to conquer them! Sorry about the delay. I'll tackle the remaining sins after things settle down a bit around here.

I hope everyone is having a blessed Advent!

Sabbath Moments

Sabbath Moments is a weekly meme hosted by Colleen at Thoughts on Grace. These are the moments we let go and let God and live in the present moment.

We put in an offer on a house and it was accepted. It's a small cape with a pretty yard and if all goes well the closing will be on December 30th. We are very excited! I just wanted to share a few pictures:

The yard needs some work but the house itself was completely renovated inside and is in pristine condition. We are really looking forward to moving in!

My apologies for the link on wrath and anger in my last post. The article was excellent but after looking around the site I decided to remove the link.

I hope everyone is having a blessed Advent!

Wrath versus Anger

I prefer the term wrath rather than anger when speaking of this deadly sin. Wrath denotes a form of rage  while anger is an emotion that can, if it is just, bring about good. As in the case of acedia and sloth, wrath and anger can mean two separate things. When we think of the term wrath we imagine an  anger out of proportion to its cause. The deadly sins have been watered down a bit over the years and I believe we may have somewhat lost their true meaning as in the case of sloth/acedia. Acedia was the sin the early church wrote about but this was changed to sloth eventually. This is also the case with wrath. Though the two are used interchangeably, I think wrath conveys the true definition of this deadly sin (Latin - ira) and we could consider anger a little offshoot of the much bigger sin of wrath. It's like comparing a forest fire with the flame from a match stick - one is far easier to put out than the other. Both can burn you if you  get careless though.

Wrath:
1. strong, stern, or fierce anger; deeply resentful indignation; ire.

2. vengeance or punishment as the consequence of anger.

Anger: a strong feeling of displeasure or hostility.

I liked the comparison of words denoting the various degrees of anger I found at http://www.thefreedictionary.com/anger because this expresses the point I'm trying to make when defining the two words and their offshoots:

Synonyms: anger, rage, fury, ire, wrath, resentment, indignation


These nouns denote varying degrees of marked displeasure. Anger, the most general, is strong displeasure: vented my anger by denouncing the supporters of the idea.

Rage and fury imply intense, explosive, often destructive emotion: smashed the glass in a fit of rage; directed his fury at the murderer.

Ire is a term for anger most frequently encountered in literature: "The best way to escape His ire/Is, not to seem too happy" (Robert Browning).

Wrath applies especially to anger that seeks vengeance or punishment.

Resentment refers to indignant smoldering anger generated by a sense of grievance: deep resentment that led to a strike.

Indignation is righteous anger at something wrongful, unjust, or evil.
 
                                                         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In terms of sin, it's clear that wrath is more than simply anger. Wrath is a distortion of anger. True anger seeks justice, wrath seeks vengeance. There's a big difference there. An anger that stems from a yearning for justice motivates, wrath annihilates. Anger properly channeled can build, wrath destroys. Anger can be merciful, wrath usually abhors mercy. Anger often stems from a love that seeks to change things, wrath from  hatred. Righteous anger has boundaries, wrath very few.  Righteous anger condemns the behavior, wrath condemns the person. In a nutshell, anger has its good points at times but wrath takes anger and becomes destructive instead of constructive.

Some of the signs and symptoms of wrath (unjust anger):
~ vengeful thoughts and behavior
~ irritability
~ fear
~ manipulative behavior
~ depression (can sometimes be a symptom of repressed anger)
~ mood swings
~ impatience
~ addictions (can be outlets for suppressed anger)
~ being overly sweet or too nice (weird but true sometimes)
~ compulsive behaviors
~ destructive behaviors such as road rage
~ insomnia
~ "bad" thoughts  that pop up often (the anger has to go somewhere)
~ chronic tardiness
~ passive aggressive traits
~ difficulty forgiving
~ neck and back problems ( anger makes people stiff and more vulnerable to injuries)
~ chronic illnesses and illness in general (stress compromises the immune system)
~ heart problems
~ strokes

Anger may not be the direct cause of all health issues but it certainly aggravates them. Humans are both body and soul and stress definitely affects our health.  Whether anger is sinful or not depends on the will. If the will consents to the anger then this is when sin comes into play.

The opposing virtues to anger/wrath are meekness and patience. The more someone practices patience, the stronger this virtue gets. We all have daily opportunities to develop this virtue - during traffic jams,  in long lines at stores, dealing with cranky customers, taking care of children, etc...

If I were to recommend Scripture passages for the battle against anger, the Psalms would win hands down. We find reflected in the Psalms every emotion under the sun and I believe praying the Psalms gives us a safe place to release our own emotions without harming ourselves or others.

Empathy is another weapon against anger. When we place ourselves in someone else's shoes and understand that they are wounded just like us it takes the sting out of anger. As with envy, it's important to pray for those who have offended us in some way.

What about repressed anger? Again, the Psalms are a good way to deal with this. Along with the Psalms, I recommend the Rosary or a prayer that brings you to a place of peace. Here's what I do:
First, I invoke the Holy Spirit and ask Him to enlighten my heart and mind. I usually follow this with the Rosary though sometimes I use a word or phrase such as "Jesus, Son of God, have pity on me." I do this until my thoughts are calm and I feel God's presence. Then I simply let the Lord work. When "stuff" bubbles up, I just let it. Tears sometimes come and they are very healing tears. I know I'm done when my body starts butting in and clamoring for attention and I don't feel God's presence as much. Lastly, I hand everything over to the Lord and thank Him.

Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun set on your anger, and do not leave room for the devil.
                                                                                    Eph. 4:26-27

Suppressed, Repressed, Oppressed, Depressed - The Many Shades of Anger

Anger, also known as wrath, is the deadly sin I'm tackling this week. This capital sin is one I've
struggled with over the past ten years in the form of "repressed" anger. Outwardly, I am very mild
mannered and if someone had told me years ago that I had a problem with anger I probably would
have laughed. "Me? But I rarely lose my temper!" And that would be true...I didn't get angry very much.

You can imagine my surprise when the Lord decided to reveal that I most certainly DID have a problem with anger. As a matter of fact, I was a very angry girl (and girl, not woman, is the right term here) inside and the Lord was about to start dredging this stuff up. Underneath the sweet exterior there was a raging volcano  just waiting to explode some day. I soon became aware that the question wasn't so much "Who was I angry at?" as "Who wasn't I angry at?"  I didn't even realize I was angry at anyone. (I prefer "angry at" to "angry with" because "angry with" almost seems to imply that the other person is angry too.) So, not only was I mad at half the world, come to find out...I was even angry at myself.

Uhm...I was even mad at God for creating me. I know that sounds pretty bad but... it is what it is. I was angry at the Lord of the entire universe, the Author of Life himself. Of course, I didn't know this all at once...it was revealed gradually over a period time. First, God showed me that I had learned to completely "shut down" my anger as a child because I wasn't "allowed" to get angry. The thing is - people can't totally "shut down" their anger without harming themselves, can they? Not without God.  Even to this day I struggle with calling anger what it is. I sometimes have to ask God what this emotion is I'm feeling. If we think of the words suppressed, oppressed, repressed, and depressed  we see the word "pressed" in all of them. Anger is crushing, pressing, and heavy and that's exactly how I often felt inside. If we aim it at others we crush them and if we aim it at ourselves we crush ourselves. People can only handle a certain amount of pressure before it takes its toll.

Walking through the steps of forgiveness with the Lord, we worked in this manner:

First He helped me forgive others. This took a long time because I often didn't even know I harbored resentment toward anyone. Next, I had to forgive Him. And finally, I had to forgive myself (which we are still working on). Hiding beneath my anger was a boatload of hurt and pain and we worked (and continue to work) through this as well. It's not uncommon for those raised in dysfunctional families to suppress their emotions like this and to have to deal with the repercussions later on in life.

Some would say that when we are angry it's better to "let others have it" rather than suppress it. To "let it fly" and to heck with the consequences. The trouble with this is that the consequences of being on the receiving end of this type of anger can be tragic because everyone suffers the brunt of it. Those who "let others have it" do indeed pile their anger on others while still keeping it themselves at the same time. Anger is one of those things that grows and spreads when you share it too generously.

Anger turned outward can bring about oppression, while anger turned inward can bring on depression. Neither of these is healthy, both harm people. Anger can also bring on physical illnesses. Stress really IS a killer.

In my next post I'll list the signs and symptoms of this deadly sin and discuss ways to overcome it. 

Sabbath Moments

Sabbath Moments is a weekly meme hosted by Colleen at Thoughts on Grace. Come check out Colleen's site and read some of the other Sabbath Moments linked there!

We've had very warm weather the past few weeks- Springlike with temperatures in the sixties! I've even been able to leave the slider open for a while each day! Usually by this time of the year it's pretty cold and I'm enjoying this gorgeous weather while it lasts. We are doing some house hunting. We've looked at a few houses in a nearby town and have an appointment to look at another one tomorrow. I hope it's as pretty as it looks online. It sits on a two acre lot and is just a couple of minutes away from a lake. After living in a condo for so long we are looking forward to having land of our own. Maybe I'll finally get a chance to plant a garden of my own (and that makes me smile) soon!

I'm caught between laughter and horror while writing the series on the seven deadly sins this past month. On one hand it's humorous how blind I can be, on the other hand I'm a teeny bit horrified by the amount of work still ahead of me. No wonder the Lord impressed the words "Put your hands to the plow" upon me because I have the sinking suspicion that I was sitting beside the plow in his eyes. Being a bit dense when it comes to where I am spiritually, it has even crossed my mind that I may have been laying down next to the plow. No doubt God thinks he's being pretty funny by inspiring me to post on the seven deadlies...He knew what I'd find. To be honest, I often find the means He uses to reveal things about myself (that I'd maybe prefer to ignore?) rather humorous too. I admire his gentleness.

Speaking of humor, I loved your new book, Victor! Thank you for all the laughs!

Facing Off with Envy

Envy is sorrow when faced with the talents, gifts, material goods and blessings of others. Envy isn't looking at others and noticing their gifts and virtues. Emulating someone is not envy. Looking up to someone is not envy.  Wanting what they have AND feeling sad or wishing they did not have it is envy. Looking upon someone as a hero or model is good and can help us by motivating us to improve ourselves. Saints come to mind here and having a saint as a role model can help one progress in virtue. There's humility in looking up to someone else. Humility looks up, envy looks down. This makes perfect sense since one is from heaven while the other is from hell. The humble person may try to emulate his or her hero, an envious person has no heroes because envy distorts truth and seeks to strip the heroic qualities away from others. Humility applauds, envy belittles.

Peter Kreeft, in his book Back to Virtue, has this to say  about envy: Envy removes joy because envy is the opposite of gratitude, and gratitude is the seedbed of joy. This particular sentence stuck with me because it shows us one of the ways to combat envy ...gratitude. Cultivating a grateful heart is one of the first steps toward living a life of joy and  peace. One of the ways we can do this is by meditating on God's deep and individual love for each and every one of us. In God's eyes we are each unique and utterly irreplaceable. Every single person on this planet has a mission and purpose that is unique to that person. No other person can do this particular "job for God" because they are not equipped for it. I can't fulfill your mission and you can't fulfill mine. We live in a culture that has lost it's respect for the sanctity of human life and the end product of this "ingratitude" is a society that sees people as easily replaced. Simply being immersed in such an atmosphere can result in  feeling unlovable and disposable. God, on the other hand, sees everyone as "special". He loves us so much that He refuses to live without us and has gone so far as to have a place in heaven waiting for each one of us. He even tells us this is so! We are the ones who reject Him... He NEVER rejects us. Pure love is incapable of rejecting anyone. When we begin to really understand and trust in the immensity and purity of this love a grateful heart becomes very easy to cultivate.

While writing these posts on the seven deadly sins I have noticed a common thread that weaves through them :

Fear.

Another blogger commented on this too. The seven deadly sins seem to be fear-based for most of us. Fear of not being lovable, fear of not measuring up, fear of our own sinfulness, fear that, because there IS a hell, then maybe we could just possibly end up there. Perfect love casts out fear and this is the reason that I believe meditating on God's love is the surest path of healing for us. When we grow in the knowledge of God's tremendous love for us gratitude comes easily and a grateful heart is a loving heart.

Along with practicing the virtue of charity, envy can be opposed by meditating on Scripture passages that speak of God's great love for his people as a whole and for the individual person. I'll list a few Scripture verses that are helpful at the end of this post. Another thing that I think may be helpful to those battling against envy is understanding that other people make us holier. It's very difficult to grow in holiness alone. One of the ways we grow in virtue is through our interactions with others. Also, when we help others grow in holiness...we grow in holiness. God likes it when we ask Him to make saints out of others. I ask him to do this all the time because God loves to answer this particular prayer. One of the drawbacks of living in such a competitive world is that it can pit us against one another if we allow it to. This is not God's way but man's way. God wants us to help one another grow in holiness. Praying for those we envy is very helpful in overcoming this capital sin.

Here are some helpful Scripture passages on love and gratitude:
~ John 3:16
~ Eph 2: 4-5
~ Rom. 8: 37-39
~ Jer. 29:11
~ Psalm   86
~ 1 Jn 4: 9-11
~ Gal. 2:20
~ Psalm 136
~ Col. 2: 6-7
~ Heb. 12:28-29

The Sad Face of Envy

As a moth gnaws a garment, so doth envy consume a man.
                                            St. John Chrysostom

Envy is sorrow at another's good. No wonder very few people admit to envy... even the definition sounds terrible. It's hard to believe we actually may become sorrowful when good things happen to others, or if others have special gifts and talents, but most of us have been here at some point. As a child and young adult I remember envying others a lot. I would actually feel sad and wish that they did not have the gifts they had. Envy is one of the first things that God worked out of me and he did this by showing me his love. Once we understand the greatness of God's love for us envy tends to fall by the wayside because we understand the one true need in our life is God himself and that this gift is given to everyone without exception. Many of the seven deadly sins are fear based and envy is one of these. The problem with envy is that it is completely lacking in charity. It not only sorrows because someone else has been blessed in some way, it wishes the person had not received the gift or blessing. It  may even wish ill on others. I started this post with the quote from St. John Chrysostom because of the truth it contains... envy consumes a person from within if it is not stopped in its tracks.

Envy is a sin against charity. Love seeks good for others, envy the opposite. One common sign that envy is at play is when you hear someone praise a person and then proceed to rip them apart. For instance:
"Don't you just love Mabel?! She is so talented! Still, it's just terrible that she doesn't know how to keep those children of hers in line. As smart as she is you would think that her mothering skills would be better. And did you see that AWFUL dress she wore to the wedding? It matched that plaid sofa she's got in her living room! Bless her heart! That woman has no taste...(yap, yap, yap)." The conversation goes on and by the end it is clear that Mabel is one slothful/ugly/mean/crazy/ungrateful, but don't forget talented, woman in the eyes of the speaker. Gossip often has its roots in envy.

Spiritual envy goes one step further. It actually sorrows over another's relationship with God. I found this quote by St. John of the Cross at Portiuncula: the Little Portion and it gives an example of just how unloving envy can be:
"Certain beginners feel disappointed when they perceive the goodness of another. They suffer from profound envy and can hardly bear it when they realize that someone else is ahead of them on the spiritual path. They would rather not hear another be praised. When they find that another's virtues are being celebrated, they can't stand it and are compelled to contradict them. Because no one is saying such great things about them, their annoyance grows; they yearn for preference in all things."
                                                                                         St. John of the Cross
                                                                                
Envy is dangerous because it leads to so many other sins - detraction, calumny, lies, uncontrolled anger, and other sins against charity.

Here are some of the signs and symptoms of envy:
~ bitterness
~ fault finding
~ resentment
~ fear
~ low self-esteem
~ depression (a note: depression can have physical causes too so this takes discernment)
~ judgmental attitude toward others
~ contempt for others
~ lying
~ gossiping
~ detraction
~ slander
~ ingratitude
~ a lack of peace and joy

Similar to the distortion pride brings, those who struggle with envy have a warped view of God, themselves, and others. All the deadly sins distort truth in some way and envy does it with a vengeance. If sloth makes it seem as if one is constantly trudging through water, envy is like stumbling through the rough waters after a storm and then throwing down stones in hopes of making the way more difficult for others. I say this because sloth has no storms whereas envy is filled with them. One is more apathetic than the other. Those who are envious end up walking alone because envy (like pride) is against unity and God is all about unity. Sloth may not even notice that someone is next to them while envy is perfectly aware that someone is with them and resents it. Sloth is more apt to sin through omission, envy - commission. Both are deadly.

It probably comes as no surprise that envy's opposing virtue is charity. This in itself shows the deadliness of envy. In my next post I'll write about some practical ways to tackle envy.  Practicing the virtue of charity is helpful but what I found extremely helpful in this area is meditating on the love of God. Gratitude is another powerful weapon against envy and I'll speak more about this in my next post. I'll also get into what envy isn't because this deadly sin can be confusing at times.

Need or greed?

A few years back I wouldn't have written these posts on the seven deadly sins one right after the other. I think I probably would have become a bit discouraged at what I found and probably would have made a million excuses for my behavior. I'm good at that. As a matter of fact, I had to ask the Lord for the grace to take a good look at myself without getting upset because I really wanted the truth...but not truth without the mercy that is necessary for examining oneself. The point is to recognize where I need to
improve but to do it without anxiety, trusting that the Lord will provide the grace for an honest examination of my heart. I have learned the hard way that trying to push before it's time to push just stops all progress and sometimes causes despair. I have had to learn (and am still learning) to be gentle but firm with myself. To not be so spiritually greedy, wanting it all at once, but to slow down a bit and learn what the Lord is trying to teach me about both myself and Him.

Thinking about greed this week, I have realized that most of us live in a time and place where it's hard NOT to be greedy. We live in a society that breeds discontent. Companies promote a "must have" mentality through their advertising and sales tactics. What used to be "wants" have become "needs" and people are often judged today by what they have rather than who they are.  While there is nothing wrong with having a few extras, do we really improve the quality of our lives when we add the "latest, greatest, thing" to our households? Or are we trying to distract ourselves in some way? Are we happier today than our grandparents were in the past?

The day after Thanksgiving has been termed "Black Friday" and when I consider this name I can't help but think how fitting it is. The fact that it comes right after Thanksgiving just seems to add to the day's darkness. There's something very ugly about Black Friday and something very sad too. Over the years, many stores have started opening up earlier and earlier and, now, some even open up their doors on Thanksgiving Day itself. Where does this frantic consumerism end?

I wonder what God thinks about Black Friday? I was wondering about that today after reading a post by another blogger. Food for thought. Instead of being thankful for what we have, we want more. Sounds like a good definition of greed, doesn't it?

Here are some of the signs and symptoms of greed:
~ lack of trust in God
~ fear
~ a distrust of others
~ being dissatisfied with one's life
~ a pessimistic outlook on things
~ hoarding
~ being manipulative
~ a worldly outlook and a spiritual dullness
~ stinginess (tightfisted with money and goods)
~ boredom
~ ingratitude

Greed's opposing virtue is liberality (generosity).  The generous giving of one's time, money, or goods to those in need is the way to overcome greed. Praying for an increase in the virtue of charity is key when tackling this vice.  I find praying the Rosary and reading Scripture very helpful when it comes to greed. It helps combat the spirit of worldliness that we carry.

More is Never Enough - Greed

This week I am trying to root out greed, also known as avarice. Though it cannot be overcome in a week, simply being aware that greed may still be a part of my life is a step in the right direction. After all, acknowledgement of our failings leads to repentance and forgiveness. Sin cannot be forgiven if one does not admit that he or she needs forgiveness. Admitting our faults is a basic requirement.   I can go through my life seemingly unaware that I am affected by the seven deadly sins but this would be feigned ignorance on my part because with conversion comes the light to know oneself and this grace cannot be denied easily.  If I look away each time the Lord taps me on the shoulder asking me to look more deeply into my heart I will pay a heavy price for that turning away some day. Better to search here than in Purgatory.  It's a lot less painful to do it here on earth. Maybe not painless but certainly less painful.

Greed is the inordinate desire for money or earthly goods. We see manifestations of this capital sin everywhere we look in today's society, a good example being the avarice that gripped our large financial institutions a few years back to such an extent that they needed government bailouts to stay afloat. An article I read when this happened said the downfall of our financial institutions was "bad banking decisions" but the truth is that greed was the culprit here and many of the banks have continued basing their banking practices on greed rather than using money justly. Good old common sense tells us where this will land us once again.

A hunger for power may be one of the more dangerous manifestations of greed. We see the damage dictators have wrought in our century but ordinary people can be "little dictators" too. Some folks lord it over their families and run their household with an iron hand that brooks no disobedience. Right or wrong is not the issue here because a "little dictator" does not respect the free will of others. Greed and pride make a volatile mixture. If gluttony causes a narrowing of the spirit, the mixture of greed and pride bring about a deadly spiritual rigidity that is difficult to pierce. Pride believes it is always right and greed walks all over others to get what it wants. And after it gets what it wants... it wants more. They are very dangerous partners.

Greed is often fear based and uses the goods of the earth as a "physical" blockade of the heart. Greed does not trust God or others. Nor does it trust itself. It uses "stuff" as protection and "lording it over others" as proof that it is self-sufficient but once these things are taken away it becomes obvious that this is not the case. Greed is the refusal to entrust oneself into God's hands... which stems from fear. The problem is that we must learn to trust God totally. The more greedy we are, the more painful our separation from this earth at death will be because dying well requires an complete abandonment of ourselves into the hands of God. If we trust things more than God this poses a big problem, doesn't it?

Greed is unhappy because it confuses "having" with "being". Because it confuses these two it always seeks more because what it has is not enough to fill what can only be filled by God.

In my next post I'll write about some of the signs and symptoms of greed and about greed's opposing virtue.

Dainty Eating Habits?

I have to admit that I don't know as much about gluttony as I thought I did. Most of the information I had on this sin was from Peter Kreeft's book Back to Virtue and a book I read a while back called The Seven Deadly Sins (I forgot the author's name). I don't know why I thought it was as simple as overeating or drinking too much...I should have known there was much more to it.

The easy definition of gluttony is eating or drinking inordinately. Who hasn't been guilty of this sin at times? Very few of us I'm sure. For those who say, "Wait a minute! I never overeat or drink too much!" I have some bad news for you (well, it was bad for me at least):

According to St. Thomas Aquinas, gluttony consists of :
~eating food that is too luxurious
~eating too much food
~eating daintily (fussiness about food preparation)
~ eating at inappropriate times (for example too much snacking at night or between meals)
~eating too eagerly

Ouch.

 I have done most of these things. I've definitely shovelled food down my throat without paying much attention to what I was doing. I've eaten at inappropriate times too. Though these things may seem nitpicky, St. Thomas warns us about each of these because gluttony generates other sins. Plus, it is selfish. I guess in our day many of us consume too much of the world's goods. As if the above definition is not enough, gluttony can also carry over to areas other than eating or drinking. 

What are some of the signs and symptoms of gluttony?
~ mindless eating
~ hiding or sneaking food
~ hoarding food
~ being picky about how your food is prepared
~ snobbery when it comes to food (only the best, costliest or most exotic food will do)
~ using food to soothe emotions
~ addictions (alcohol, drug, caffeine, etc...)
~ eating disorders
~ insomnia
~ ill health
~ lethargy
~ lack of zeal for God

The list could go on but these are the most obvious ones. I didn't put being overweight on the list because thin people can have as much of a problem with gluttony as heavy people. Gluttony is more about having a "malnourished" soul. Our selfish over consumption of the things of this world lead to a narrowing of the spirit and a lack of generosity toward others. This is conquered by praying for and practicing the virtues of temperance and charity. Fasting is a great help with this deadly sin. We can also pray for a heart that's rightly ordered because a disordered heart is one that is too focused on oneself.

I won't even get started on the subject of spiritual gluttony...I'll leave that to an expert - St. John of the Cross