Not to Give Way to Anger
St. Benedict of Nursia teaches us to cultivate self-control, truthfulness, and love in our lives, and to put our hope in God.
St. Benedict of Nursia preaches a sermon on living a virtuous and God-centered life, emphasizing the importance of controlling one's emotions, thoughts, and actions. He highlights the need to avoid anger, grudges, deceit, false peace, and retaliation, while promoting love, truthfulness, patience, and humility. St. Benedict encourages his listeners to love their enemies, bless those who curse them, endure persecution for righteousness, and put their hope in God. He also warns against pride, addiction, gluttony, laziness, grumbling, and gossip, urging self-reflection and accountability for one's actions.
Text
22. Not to give way to anger. 23. Not to nurse a grudge. 24. Not to entertain deceit in one's heart. 25. Not to give a false peace. 26. Not to forsake charity. 27. Not to swear, for fear of perjuring oneself. 28. To utter truth from heart and mouth. 29. Not to return evil for evil. 30. To do no wrong to anyone, and to bear patiently wrongs done to oneself. 31. To love one's enemies. 32. Not to curse those who curse us, but rather to bless them. 33. To bear persecution for justice's sake. 34. Not to be proud. 35. Not addicted to wine. 36. Not a great eater. 37. Not drowsy. 38. Not lazy. 39. Not a grumbler. 40. Not a detractor. 41. To put one's hope in God. 42.
To attribute to God, and not to self, whatever good one sees in oneself. 43.
But to recognize always that the evil is one's own doing, and to impute it to oneself.
Sermon Outline
- The Importance of Self-Control
- The Virtue of Truthfulness
- The Call to Love and Forgiveness
- The Need for Humility
- Not being proud and recognizing one's own evil
- Attributing good to God and bad to oneself
Key Quotes
“Not to give way to anger.” — St. Benedict of Nursia
“To utter truth from heart and mouth.” — St. Benedict of Nursia
“To love one's enemies.” — St. Benedict of Nursia
Application Points
- Practice self-control by controlling your emotions and not letting anger consume you.
- Seek to be truthful in all your interactions, and avoid deceit in your heart.
- Make a conscious effort to love and forgive those who may have wronged you.