This week’s homily by the Rev. Thomas M. Boles, Ph.D.

A little girl was once in a very bad mood. She took her frustration out on her younger brother, at first just teasing him, but eventually, punching him, pulling his hair, and kicking him in the shins.

The boy could take it all, and even dish back a few blows, until the
kicking began. That hurt! And he went crying to his mother,
complaining about what his sister had done.

The mother came to the little girl and said, “Mary, why have
you let Satan put it into your heart to pull your brother’s hair and
kick his shins?”

The little girl thought it over for a moment and then answered,
“Well, Mother, maybe Satan did put it into my hart to pull Tommy’s
hair, but kicking his shins was my own idea.”

All the evil in the world doesn’t come from direct satanic
involvement. Much of it comes from the heart of man. What we do with our anger, feelings of hatred, and frustrations is subject to our will.
We can choose how we will respond to stress, or to the behavior of
others. Our challenge is to govern our emotions; otherwise, they will
rule in tyranny over us.

A man is never in worse company than
when he flies into a rage and is beside himself

He that is soon angry dealeth foolishly

Proverbs 14:17

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