We should try to keep from getting angry, says St. Ambrose. But if anger sneaks up on us, we should try to calm ourselves. And if we can’t do that, we should at least keep ourselves from saying something we’ll regret. Guard against anger. But if it cannot be averted, let it be kept within bounds. For indignation is a terrible incentive to sin. It disorders the mind to such an extent as to leave no room for reason. The... Read more
Show Notes The well-known author Dr. Peter Kreeft joins me on Off the Shelf. We take a look at his book Forty Reasons I Am a Catholic. Dr. Kreeft tells us why If you leave the Church, you are making a mistake. His reasons for staying include the power of the real presence, the hierarchy of the Church, and the ability to have his sins forgiven. Dr. Kreeft also believes that the Church has the ability to save us from our... Read more
God gave you your emotions for good reasons, says St. John Cassian. The key is to keep them under control, rather than letting them lead you into sin. For these carnal impulses, of which we spoke above, were implanted in our bodies with a useful purpose by the providence of the Creator: for perpetuating the race, and raising up children for posterity—and not for committing adulteries and debaucheries, which the authority of the law also condemns. The pains of anger... Read more
St. Gregory of Nyssa gives us a complete course in soul management. All the feelings and passions that lead us into sin were really made to serve righteousness. I advise that love’s passion be placed in the soul’s purest shrine, chosen as the first fruits of all our gifts, and devoted completely to God. And once this is done, I should be kept untouched and unstained by any secular impurity. Then indignation and anger and hatred must be like watchdogs,... Read more
Reason should dictate everything we do, says St. Ambrose. If reason loses control of our passions, then the passions, like runaway horses, drag the mind away to disaster. We ought to be careful never to do anything rashly or carelessly, or anything at all for which we cannot give a reasonable ground. For though a reason for our action is not given to everyone, yet everybody looks into it. Nor, indeed, have we anything to excuse ourselves with. For though... Read more
The devil loves it when we get all emotional, says St. Ambrose. That means we’re not thinking clearly. Then he can set his little traps for us, and we jump right in. When he sees passions stirred up in us, that’s when the Enemy especially lays his plans. Then he brings tinder; then he sets traps. The Enemy’s trap is our speech—but that itself is also just as much our enemy. Too often we say something that our opponent takes... Read more
Brad Hahn is a deeply committed Catholic who helped found Solidarity Healthshare with Chris Faddis. He now serves as the ministry’s CEO and secretary. He’s a member of the Arizona Bar, the Canon Law Society of America, the Catholic Medical Association and is an Allied Attorney for the Alliance Defending Freedom. Visit solidarityhealthshare.org. On this episode Brad Hahn returns discuss Solidarity HealthShare’s ethical and morally acceptable alternative to traditional healthcare. We talk about what healthshare plans are, how they work and... Read more
Fasting is good, as St. Gregory the Great told a congregation getting ready for Lent. But we abstain from good things for the sake of better things. We must not insult the Creator by supposing, like the Manichean heretics, that the food he created is evil in itself. Let us beware of the Adversary’s wiles, not only in the enticements of the palate, but also when we decide to abstain. For he who knew how to bring death on mankind... Read more
Some people swear off wine altogether—for reasons of pride, says Palladius of Galatia. That’s far worse than drinking wine moderately. If you make reason rather than pride your rule, you will never fall into sin. Palladius, by the way, had spent years with the desert fathers surviving on water and a few ounces of bread a day, so he earned the right to talk about moderation. Play the man then, I implore you, and do not increase your wealth. You... Read more
Your soul needs to take control of your body, says St. Leo the Great. By suppressing your bodily desires, you give yourself more time for meditation and prayer. Everyday experience, dear friends, proves that overindulgence of the flesh blunts the edge of the mind. Too much food dulls the strength of the heart. So the delights of eating work against even bodily health, unless we resist the temptation with reasonable moderation, and unless thinking about future discomfort keeps us from... Read more
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