(Righteous) Anger is a Virtue

I just got home from the gym (1:00AM, Dec. 31) and my rage is just now subsiding. Tonight I was hoping to hit 300lbs on the bench press. The last PR I hit way earlier in the year was 295lbs. I worked myself up going from the bar, to 135, 185, 225, and 275. For whatever reason, I then went to 295 instead of to 300. My goal was to reach 300, not to necessarily beat my last PR (I know they are pretty much the same thing but mentally you've got to have a specific goal in mind. Mine was hit 300, not beat my last PR.).Annoyingly I missed 295. I was so angry I unloaded the bar, re-racked it, took a good long break, and attempted 295 again. I hit it.

After hitting it I knew I was drained. Not only did I miss the first attempt, but I went back and I think the only thing that actually got the weight up was the sheer anger that was boiling inside from not being able to at least hit my last PR. So understandably, after an even longer break, I missed 300lbs. I was so angry, as punishment (or just realizing my weakness and wanting to start strengthening it...failing at the bottom) I chose to attempt 10 sets of single pause reps with 275lbs. I got to 7 sets (failed on 8th set). After that I hit 4 sets of 5 reps of dumb bell shoulder presses with 80lbs. I finished this off with a tricep medley I learned from Tiny Meeker at Monster Gym.

Overall I was angry at 3 things: 1. Missing my first attempt at 295lbs 2. Missing 300lbs 3. Over the last month I chose to strengthen my incline bench press in hopes it would help my regular bench press, although what I should have been working on was strengthening the lift at the bottom because that's where I always fail. Even when I hit 295 I had to grind forever at the bottom off my chest but once I got mid way up it went pretty quick. Don't get me wrong. The training on incline (and some more focus on my over head press) was productive and I set multiple PRs, but it was not the optimal choice from progress. I should have been focusing on paused reps, floor presses, benching with bands, to name a few.

In the end, it really was that anger, that rage that got me through what ended up being a great training session. In the same way anger, righteous anger to be exact, can intensify our spiritual journey. It's important to specify righteous anger over regular anger. Anger, especially wrath, can be destructive and lead to serious, painful, and even deadly actions. I think part of our spiritual growth calls for us to evolve in what we allow to anger us and then to let our will control how we act on that anger. This makes since to me since St. John of the Cross talks about the problem of being joyful for the wrong reasons. If there is a right and wrong way for being joyful, there must be a right and wrong way of being mad. It comes down to being joyful for things that bring joy to God and being angry for things that anger God, and then the appropriate follow through.

On our personal spiritual journey, I'd say that the most appropriate righteous anger is when we fall short, when we miss the mark, when we sin. Just the action of getting angry over our shortcomings is a positive response because it is evidence of our wanting to hit the  mark, of our desire to live a righteous life. To not get angry when we sin and even further on, to choose to sin, shows our bluntedness, our lukewarmness, our disdain and acceptance of the world around us as it is, self fulfilling, selfish, blind. We succumb to the secular lifestyle of gathering up treasures here on earth. We end up responding to threats of our temporal treasures of money, pride, status, with anger to attack and build these back up.

So what is our appropriate response when filled with righteous anger towards our short comings? Repentance, penance, and turning away from our old ways. We must strive to grow in virtue. In the same was that in the gym we strengthen a lift by using accessory exercises, in the spiritual realm we turn to building up virtue to strengthen our will. Stay close to the sacraments, especially Reconciliation and the Eucharist, read scripture, and  as St. Pio says, "Pray, hope, and don't worry".

And all the more eagerly must we strive on this account, that while there is time, the collected vices of evil custom may be cut off. And this you shall not be able to do otherwise, than by being angry with yourselves on account of your profitless and base doings. For this is righteous and necessary anger, by which every one is indignant with himself, and accuses himself for those things in which he has erred and done amiss; and by this indignation a certain fire is kindled in us, which, applied as it were to a barren field, consumes and burns up the roots of vile pleasure, and renders the soil of the heart more fertile for the good seed of the word of God. And I think that you have sufficiently worthy causes of anger, from which that most righteous fire may be kindled, if you consider into what errors the evil of ignorance has drawn you, and how it has caused you to fall and rush headlong into sin, from what good things it was withdrawn you, and into what evils it has driven you, and, what is of more importance than all the rest, how it has made you liable to eternal punishments in the world to come. Is not the fire of most righteous indignation kindled within you for all these things, now that the light of truth has shone upon you; and does not the flame of that anger which is pleasing to God rise within you, that every sprout may be burnt up and destroyed from the root, if haply any shoot of evil concupiscence has budded within you? - Recognitions, Book VI, Chapter 3: Righteous Anger, St. Clement of Rome

I think this video by Bishop Robert Barron does a great job of talking about anger: September 11, Anger and Forgiveness:

Wild Geese at Middle School Night

I began writing this on Wednesday night after Edge.

About an hour ago, after I got home from Edge Night (middle school night), I posted this on Facebook:

My favorite quotes from middle schoolers at Edge tonight:

1. "I'm sorry me and my brother haven't been coming. We have karate on the same night at the same time and my mom wants us to be going more. I FINALLY convinced her to let us come to Edge tonight."

-WIN! That made me feel really good.

2. "Wait, Jesus is God?"

-Got some work to do.

I posted it because they were kind of comical, especially coupled together. But then I realized what a blessing those insights are. I think in middle school ministry it is very easy to miss some trans formative moments or just moments that show the power of how God is working.

A couple weeks ago a Core Member told me that one of her 6^th graders led their closing prayer. Within the prayer he added giving thanks for me and for what I do. Wow, what a moment. And couple that with tonight, where a 6^th grader had to convince his mom to let he and his brother come, wow! I have no idea why he likes coming. Maybe he just thinks it’s fun, and that’s ok. But maybe it’s more.

But, what a blessing to have these reminders that we can never miss a moment to speak Jesus into people’s lives. I think so many times we assume that people at church know Jesus, know who he is, KNOW THAT HE LOVES THEM. But experience will show that that is not true. In ministry we get to see that even though some kids go through some sort of formation their whole life, if it isn’t being lived at home, it’s all just words, it’s all mist, it all just goes in one ear (if it makes it in at all) and out the other. What needs to happen is a real encounter with God. They need to realize that God truly loves them, not just “Jesus loves me this I know, for the bible, or my parents, or my catechist, or my priest, or my grandparents tells me so”.

If you love someone, you talk about them all the time. If you love someone, you let your beloved know. If we know God is love and we love him, we must talk about him, especially by name.

“We love because he first loved us.” – 1 John 4:19

Check out Fr. Dave Pivonka’s The Wild Goose series’ episode one, God’s Love Poured Out, and don’t forget, God loves you.

Mockingjay Part 2 and Where to Put Our Swords

On Monday my parents took our two daughters to see Iceland, ice sculptures with Spongebob Square Pants. So Erika and I decided to take advantage of that and we made a day of it. We started off with an awesome breakfast at Buffalo Grille in Houston. I got an omelet and a short stack. I figured I’d get back to clean eating (we are normally paleo, yet today I went to a new pizza place, Fuzzy's, and how can you go to a new pizza place and NOT get pizza, especially when George Bush Sr. and Cardinal Dinardo eat there).

After breakfast we stopped at a comic book shop, Bedrock City Comic Company, just to check it out plus I was looking for the All New Wolverine. Thankfully the one by my house was getting a new shipment in.

Finally, we went and saw a movie. I love movies, but with a couple little ladies we don’t get out to see many. I’m sure we could though. Instead of escaping and going to World of Beer we could go see a movie. Anyways, we went to see Mockingjay Part 2. Man, such a good movie. You won’t get any spoilers from me so you need to go see it.

                 

One of the parts of the movie that resonated with me came very early on. Katniss is trying to convince some workers to join her side and one is faking being hurt. When she goes to help him he pulls a gun on her. He asks her to give him a reason not to kill her. She answers by saying she can’t. She then proceeds to describe President Snow and how he operates. This isn’t the quote I’m speaking of but this quote comes after what I’m referring to and pretty much sums it up:

"We all have one enemy and that's President Snow! He corrupts everyone and everything! He turns the best of us against each other...Stop killing for him! Tonight, turn your weapons to the Capitol! Turn your weapons to Snow!"

In speaking with the man she mentions how they have become Snow's slaves. They fight in the Hunger Games, and now they are fighting amongst themselves. he is in control. He is the one corrupting and pulling the wool over everyone's eyes. She's striving to have people take a step back, look at what has happened, and reflect on what is really going on. And in the end, Snow must die.

This made me think of C.S. Lewis' Perelandra, the second book of his sci-fi trilogy. In this story, the body of a man the protagonist is familiar with has been taken over by the devil. It is basically an empty shell or puppet. nearing the end of the book Ransom, the protagonist, realizes the struggle between he and the unman will only end through a physical struggle. He eventually comes to the realization, due to the help of God speaking to him, that he will have to KILL the Unman. He is shocked, and tries to figure out a way around this. How could God ask him to kill? yet, these two characters, President Snow and the Unman, are not just mere fictional characters, they resemble the devil, evil, sin, and for those we should show no mercy.

"Be sober and vigilant. Your opponent the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." 1 Peter 5:8

People in places like Africa that have wild predators, in this and their case lions, understand this very literally. it is almost commonplace that at some point someone will be eaten by a lion. And they know exactly what to do with the lion, kill it. This should be our response to sin. There's no room for it. It does not bring us closer to Christ, it pulls us further away and makes slaves of us. I've had teens ask me if the devil could ever turn back to God and repent. The answer is no, he was with god, he saw God and yet chose himself. And now he prowls around seeking to have us do the same. He is not to be shown mercy nor given shelter in our lives.

One of my favorite scripture passages about how we are to deal with sin is found in the book of Judges. The story is about Ehud. Israel, once again, is disobeying God and they are put under the rule of the tyrant King Eglon. They cry out for God's help and he picks Ehud as their champion. Ehud hides a knife on himself and makes his way into Eglon's quarters. As he enters he delivers his message to Eglon.

" I have a message for thee from the Lord, said Ehud, and, as Eglon rose from his seat, the dagger hidden at Ehud's right side was plunged into his belly. Such was the force of the blow, that hilt followed blade into the wound, stuck deep in the fat; and thereupon the bowels discharged their load." - Judges 3: 20-22

He pooped himself!

This is how we are to treat sin! There is no mercy! We are to thrust our sword deep into its fat disgusting belly to where it loses all control. It must die. The prowling lion must die.

"Turn your weapons to Snow!"