When angry is the weather pattern

Calm your anger and forget your rage - Psalm 37

I had this amazing conversation with my confessor about my anger. He asked me why I was so angry and what was going on that's got me wound up? I must have had this complete lost and total look of helplessness when I answered, "I have no idea. It's like I wake up and just like the weather is cold outside, I'm angry. It's just a fact of nature. Likening a weather pattern to an emotion, is the only way I know how to explain it." Aside from the grace that flows from sacramental confession which I don't mean to downplay,..... how to deal with anger?

If it's cold outside, bundle up and protect against the elements. If it's angry inside, bundle up and protect against the elements. Here's how I bundle up: I pray. I ignore it, in the sense that I offer my anger to God. (just because I'm angry doesn't give me a free pass to act on it.) I admit/acknowledge/recognize that I'm angry - that one's important. Name it, because then you can place it. Feed on scripture and load up on grace. That's what I'm trying to do and if that helps you then praise God.

St Paul's letter to the Corinthians... highly irreverent!

There have been reports saying that Catholics are using the web but not for faith or spirituality. Matt Warner's got a piece in the Register discussing the whole topic. The gist is that the new media should be entertaining to capture an audience's attention. When I think about it, Jesus went to where people were. He was the worst sales and marketing person EVER! Instead of setting up huge mega-churches with dynamic preaching which is really far more efficient, he did a person to person ministry... very time consuming and that's draining, but if we are going to continue his ministry it can be no different. A lot of what he said, people didn't want to hear. A preacher isn't effective because he's dynamic (Anyone been to a Catholic mass? Dynamic preaching is not exactly what's taught in seminaries.) Preaching is effective because the priest speaks the truth, not watered down, gospel truth that cuts between joint and marrow more effective than any two edged sword and he does it by virtue of his ordination because he is acting not on his own but in Persona Christi. To Jesus, every person matters. Every single one He loves deeply. Deep enough that it's worth it to him to go person to person. He is more inefficient than the US postal service, but he's infinitely more effective! It's about a relationship and those can take time to forge. 

Because we are auditory and visually stimulated we will be drawn to entertaining media, but when the entertainment factor wears off (because it does, even with pornography or perhaps especially with pornography), we will hunger for something that will satisfy us. That is where Christ fits in and then things like blogs, faith news sites, vatican twitter accounts, catechism, and apologetic web pages. These have their impact in relational ministry and in low numbers.

Until then here's this for your Auditory Visual stimulatory enjoyment (Warning : Highly irreverent and highly hilarious!)