God asked Jonah to go to Nineveh and preach repentance to a sinful nation. Jonah then ran away from this responsibility, but eventually returned, and Jonah was instrumental in getting the Ninevites to repent. Instead of finding satisfaction in his accomplishment, he was angry that God did not punish the Ninevites for the life they used to live.
God asked Jonah if he had reason to be angry.
What about us? When we experience anger do we have a reason to be angry or does it come from a place in us that is still dark?
We celebrate a saint today, Saint Bruno who became angry at a certain point in his life. Did he have reason to be angry? He thought he did.
He was a priest, became a professor and later second in command of a huge diocese. He was fed up with the clergy in his diocese. They were corrupt and he was angry. What did he do with his anger?
He did something few of us could do or even think of doing. He became a hermit. He cut himself off from the rest of the world and devoted his life to solitude and prayer. He founded an order of men who still do this.
Some of us sit with our anger when provoked. We act and feel like Jonah did. The Our Father Prayer that Jesus taught us today is one of the simplest remedies we have to deal with anger.
When anger surfaces within us and often does for no good reason try praying the Our Father prayer. Why?
Because it begins by invoking an acknowledgement of God, asking for his help at that very moment.
When you begin to pray the Our Father you are acknowledging that we want to do His will and not our will. Our will is often the origin of our anger.
The prayer proceeds to acknowledge that we have needs, daily needs that he alone can provide to us, needs that will serve to nurture us.
Finally, we acknowledge that we are angry sometimes for reasons we don’t always understand but we ask God’s forgiveness so that we can receive his mercy and love that serve to sooth the anger we are experiencing.
The Our Father Prayer is the antidote for anger.
Father Leo's inspirational homily was recorded live this morning during Mass at the Father Peyton Center. Please view the video on our Facebook page. (You don't need a Facebook account to view.)
Father Leo Polselli, C.S.C. is Chaplain at the Father Peyton Center in Easton, MA. Before coming to Holy Cross Family Ministries he served as a teacher and a parish priest. He also served for six years as a General Assistant of the Congregation in Rome, Italy. Originally from Fall River, MA, Father Leo grew up with eight siblings. Gifted with several languages, he is able to serve the Brazilian, Cape Verdean, Portuguese, Spanish and Haitian communities. When he's not greeting everyone who comes to the Father Peyton Center, you can find him regularly reading newspapers!
