HR 21 – How to Overcome Anger – The Holy Rule of St. Benedict with Fr. Mauritius Wilde O.S.B

How to Overcome Anger – The Holy Rule of St. Benedict with Fr. Mauritius Wilde O.S.B Fr. Mauritius Wilde, OSB and Kris McGregor explore St. Benedict’s practical wisdom for dealing with anger, beginning with the simple instruction from Chapter 4 of the Rule: “You are not to act in anger.” Fr. Mauritius makes an important distinction between experiencing anger and allowing anger to control our actions. Anger itself is part of the human experience and can even provide the energy necessary to recognize injustice and defend what is good. Jesus Himself displays what Fr. Mauritius calls a “sacred anger.” The real spiritual question, then, is what we do with anger. Instead of immediately reacting, we are called to become aware of it and discover what may lie beneath it, particularly hurt, fear, or sadness. Fr. Mauritius offers four practical steps for transforming anger: become aware of it, accept it and bring it to prayer, take a deep breath, and pray for meekness and mercy. Drawing on the Psalms, the Desert Fathers, Evagrius Ponticus, and the example of St. Paul in Athens, he shows how prayer can purify even righteous anger so that our response remains rooted in love rather than bitterness or revenge. The goal is not passivity. Christians should be moved by injustice, suffering, and evil, but even when we are right, we must resist allowing anger to separate us from the person before us. Meekness enables us to act firmly when necessary while continuing to recognize the image of God in the other. The difference between sacred anger and destructive anger.

1. Become aware of your anger – identify the emotions which fuel the anger (i.e. sadness, fear, hurt, bitterness, etc.)
2. Accept it and take it to prayer
3. Take a deep breath
4. Pray for meekness and mercy

Discerning Hearts Reflection Questions

1. When anger begins to rise in me, do I recognize it before I react, or do I usually become aware of it only afterward?
2. Fr. Mauritius suggests that hurt, fear, or sadness often lies beneath anger. What might be underneath the anger I experience most often?
3. Is there a difference between the things that make me angry because I have been personally offended and those that stir me because something truly unjust is occurring?
4. When I believe my anger is justified, do I still bring it to prayer before I respond?
5. Have I ever allowed another person's anger to draw me into anger of my own? What might it look like simply to refuse to enter that “bubble of anger”?
6. Fr. Mauritius uses St. Paul in Athens as an example of remaining connected to people even when we believe they are wrong. Can I continue to recognize the image of God in someone with whom I strongly disagree?
7. What would it mean for me to pray specifically for meekness and mercy when I feel angry?
8. St. Benedict tells us, “You are not to act in anger.” What situation in my life right now might require me to stop, take a breath, pray, and respond rather than react?

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Fr. Mauritius Wilde's Discerning Hearts page Father Mauritius Wilde, OSB, Ph.D., did his philosophical, theological, and doctoral studies in Europe. He is the author of several books and regularly directs retreats. He serves as Prior at Sant’Anselmo in Rome.