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Father Len reveals his 30 year battle with anger and explains why it’s like a cancer that can destroy you unless you learn how to respond to it.

Highlights, Ideas, and Wisdom

• Father Len responds to an email from the mother of a 15-year-old daughter who became depressed and filled with rage over the death of George Floyd.
• Father Len reveals that anger has been one of his most common sins throughout his life.
• Research has shown that nothing rots your body like anger.
• “Anger is rottenness to your bones.” – Proverbs
• “Anger disintegrates community.” – Proverbs
• “A hot tempered man stirs up dissension.” – Proverbs
• Anger destroys wisdom and the ability to make wise choices.
• “A patient man has great understanding, but a quick tempered man displays foolishness, even after he cools down.” – Proverbs
• Anger is blinding. When you’re angry, you always think you’re completely right.
• Anger distorts your view of situations, yourself, your view of the world, and your view of your family. It can make you really stupid.
• “A hot tempered man must pay a penalty. If you rescue him, you’ll just have to do it again and again and again.” – Proverbs
• Anger is very addictive. It’s like the cocaine of emotions.
• Anger feeds on itself. Anger begets anger.
• Anger often obscures truth and leads to denial.
• COVID 19 has become an excuse for anger about almost everything.
• When you’re angry, it’s very difficult to recognize that you may be the problem.
• Sometimes anger is love in motion to a threat to someone you love.
• “Be angry, but sin not.” – St. Paul
• “He that is angry without cause, sins. He who is not angry when there is cause, sins.” – St. John Chrysostom
• The best response to anger is prayer, self-examination, self-discipline, and sacrifice.
• Unreasonable impatience is the hotbed of vices.
• Anger tends to focus you on the problem and obscures the solution.
• Studies have shown that compassionate people are better at defining boundaries of unacceptable behavior.
• “Compassion is the strong man’s tool. Anger is the weak man’s tool.” – Father Len