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Scripture testifies that I should give thanks above all to God the Father through and in the name of the Lord Jesus: „But let it be Thank God through Jesus Christ, our Lord!“ (Rom 7.25); „And everything, whatever you say or do, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus and through him give thanks to God the Father.“ (Kol 3,17); „Staturally give thanks for everything to God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.“ (Ef 5,20)

Naturally, if we are truly grateful to God, we will not be ungrateful even to angels, saints, people, and his entire creation; on the contrary.

How to give thanks to God?

Just as we can sin with thoughts, words, and deeds, we can also give thanks through the same channels:

1. Thoughts – because „mouth speaks from the fullness of the heart“ (Mt 12,33)

2. In words – using the mind (1Cor 14,15) and using the spirit – giving thanks with the gift of languages (1Cor 14,16;17), singing (Ps 28,7), praising…

3. By deeds – fulfilling God’s will not only out of obedience, but also out of gratitude, for what the Lord has done for us, fulfilling the promises given to God, laying down life for the gospel (Ps 116,12–15). Bonus example – by turning your eyes to the Lord – Jehoshaphat 2 King 20.12 plus context

What to give thanks for?

If someone can’t think of something to give thanks for, then we will imagine some tips from God’s word: for salvation – (Kol 1.12; Ps 118,19); for an ineffable gift of God’s grace – (2Cor 9.15) ( suffer for Christ is grace – Flp 1.29); for abundance of grace – (2Kor 4,15); for healing – (Lk 17,16); for all people – (1Tim 2,1–2); for food – (1Tim 4,3–5; 1Kor 10,30); eating and not eating – (Rom 14.6); for service of the apostles (ted and for bishops and priests) – (2Cor 1.11; 2Cor 9.12); for hearing prayer – (Ps 118,21); for everything – (1Sol 5.18, Ef 5.20).

Of course, there are many more subjects. Whoever cultivates gratitude in his heart will find the most diverse reasons for giving thanks. Unfortunately, it also works in the opposite direction with an attitude of ingratitude.

Why did the Apostles give thanks?

We also find a beautiful pattern in the first ambassadors of the Lord Jesus and the pillars of the Church – in the Apostles. And why did they give thanks? This is what the Apostle of Nations Saint Paul shows us in his letters: for victory in Christ – (1Kor 15.57; 2Kor 2.14); for conversion – (Rim 6,17); for salvation – (2Sol 2,13); for accepting God’s word – (1Sol 2,13); for God’s grace – (1Kor 1.4; 1Tim 1.12); for the faith of believers in the Lord Jesus – (Rom 1.8; Ef 1.15–16; Kol 1.3–4; 1 Sol 1.2–3; 2Sol 1.3); for the love of believers among themselves – (Ef 1.15–16; Kol 1.3–4; 1Sol 1.2–3; 2Sol 1.3); for the hope of believers – (1Sol 1,2–3); for the participation of believers in the Gospel – (Flp 1,3; 5); for fellow servants – (2Tim 1.3; Flm 1.4); for the care of servants – (2Kor 8,16); for donations received (Flp 4,10–20); for the gift of languages – (1Kor 14,18).

This is only a calculation recorded by Scripture (ten real it would hardly be possible to write completely), but it still shows us what came from the apostolic hearts and mouths.

Thanksgiving in heaven

Of course, all angels (Rev 7,12) and saints in Heaven give thanks. Four beings give thanks before sitting on the throne and living forever and ever (Rev 4.9), and neither do the 24 elders (Rev 11.17).

Giving thanks to the Lord Jesus

The scribes also recorded several examples from the Lord Jesus. When propagating the bread, i.e. before eating (Mt 15.36; Mk 8.6; Jn 6.11; Mt 14.19; Mk 6.41; Lk 9.16); at the Last Supper, that is, before meals and during the celebration of the Eucharist (Mt 26.27; Mk 14.23; Lk 22.17; 19); at the resurrection of Lazarus (Jn 11.41); an example of how to recite a prayer (Flp 4.6).

Thanksgiving = Eucharist

Eucharist is a Greek word that means Thanksgiving or gratitude. The adjective eucharistic also means satisfied, memorable favors (friends, services, favors). These words are used in almost all places where we have a translation—Thanksgiving, etc.

But let’s go deeper into the word Eucharist for even deeper stimuli for contemplation. The word has two parts: eu a charisma, in Greek exactly: eu – good, charizomai – satisfy, give/grant benevolently, provide free (sincere forgiveness), graciously restore each other, grant as a favor. At the same time, the word charizomai is from Gr. charis – grace, thanks. And finally, a word chair, he is from Gr. chairo – (the root of the word) – extraordinary joy, to be full of cheerfulness, greetings. It is found approximately 77 times in the New Testament. After this hearty word mining Eucharist, we could also translate its in-depth meaning: to be full of good joy.

Thanks to the analysis of this word, we can easily measure how we relate to God’s gifts and especially to the Giver himself, i.e., how we are „thank givers“.

We know that the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ is present at the Eucharist, a type of which was also the Thanksgiving sacrifice in the Old Testament (2 King 29,31), for which we must be grateful in the very first place and on which all other thanks also depend. Only then can we go to a depth that even the most humanly grateful unbeliever cannot understand and achieve, which shows that gratitude in us also depends on education and our character.

Thus, for someone to celebrate the Eucharist more deeply, worthily, and meritoriously, he needs to learn to be grateful for everything, a type of which gratitude for food is the basis of appreciation for life and salvation. From the root of the word Eucharist, we see that it contains not only gratitude, but also grace, forgiveness, and the fullness of extraordinary joy, which is also a type of heavenly glory, where we will always give thanks and praise to God for all that He has done.

Common experience confirms that water from some springs has healing properties. The desire of many to achieve healing with the help of this water led to the creation of healing baths. In today’s texts of the word of God, we also encounter the symbol of the source of invigorating water. In the first reading, a spring is described as rising from under the altar on the right side of the temple and flowing towards the east. Similar to nature, the cause is not the distance, but other tributaries, the further the river is from the source, so even in this vision of Ezekiel, the flow of water without tributaries gradually increases until it reaches the size of the river. Water brings life to the land, and trees grow on its banks that bear fruit every month, providing food, and their leaves are healing, ensuring lasting health and life.

This prophetic, symbolic image contains an essential message: the altar and the temple represent God; God is the source of life. As in Paradise, there was a tree of life, but humans have lost access to it through their sin. This water enables people to grow many trees of life on its banks. Thus, God did not forever close man’s access to full life, but announced hope based on Himself becoming the source of life for us.

He began to fulfill this prophecy when he came to us in his son. In the gospel, Jesus meets a man who has been ill for thirty-eight years and who, with constant hope, waits for the opportunity to be the first to enter the water when the spring “kick up”. According to popular belief, the one who first came to the swirling water should achieve healing. Jesus asked this man a question that further expressed the pain of the sick person’s constantly disappointed desire for healing. And to his sad answer, he turns to him with a short challenge: “Get up, take your bed and go!”

The fact that a man who had not been able to walk for thirty-eight years walked immediately on these words revealed another truth, that a life-giving power emanates from Jesus that manifests as a creator. Instantly, it restores the patient’s seriously disturbed health and gives him full health. We know that this was not the only miracle of healing performed by Jesus; in three cases, he also raised the dead. In the context of the place of this healing, Jesus manifested himself as a trustworthy source of living water, that is the Holy Spirit. From his resurrection, no one can say, “I have no one to care for me,” because Christ, the Son of God, became a man close to everyone. He assured us this: “I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Of course, He does not always heal us miraculously, but He accompanies us with His love and help in all life circumstances. If we remain faithful to Him to the end, He assures us that He will resurrect our body to eternal life by His divine power at His second coming. However, the condition is what he pointed out to the healed: “ Sin no more, lest something worse touch you.” Because with sin, we can prevent the effect of God’s life-giving spirit in us, and it could become “worse”: existence without communion with God and with people, without hope of change for the better…

Practical Instruction: I will express my gratitude in prayer for the fact that Jesus Christ, through the waters of baptism, has come to me and, inwardly transforming me with his Spirit, has made me a new person, able to go through life, overcoming evil and sin and doing works according to God’s will. I will take a few steps”.

Prayer: Merciful God, may prayers and acts of penance during this Lent prepare our hearts to willingly receive the Easter grace and proclaim the glad tidings of redemption to the world, through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who is God and lives and reigns with you in the communion of the Holy Spirit, one God, for all ages.

You were not brought to your father by a contrite filial heart, but by an empty stomach. 

Illustration photo: 

First, I want to tell you that what you did to your father was really… well, I don’t know what expression would be appropriate and still fit into the Sunday reflection dictionary from the pen of an adult. I will say „maximum inappropriate“. You realize many people would prefer to see you at the pigs for the rest of your life. Otherwise, the country you wasted your fortune in wasn’t ours. Well, I’m asking, because you certainly wouldn’t be in need here; no one worries about hunger here. Okay, I won’t tease anymore. But it was somewhere far away, because they wouldn’t just let you go to cattle and pigs here. Poor animals… and show more compassion for each other than sometimes people do for each other. Vacca vaccae vacca, homo homini lupus. Cow to cow to cow, man to wolf.

However, I would like to return to your story. Many people, as I say, would prefer to condemn you, because you see how your brother reacted when you appeared at home. Well, I want to tell you that I respect you. I like you very much. No, not because of your attitude towards your father, but because of your attitude towards yourself. I’ll explain it to you right away. 

Obviously, you did not come home for any noble motives, but because you were hungry. You were not brought to your father by a contrite filial heart, but by an empty stomach. Being honest with yourself finally saved your life. It was enough not to suppress your hunger and admit that you have an empty stomach, and although you did not find sincere regret in yourself, you found a piece of honesty with yourself. Under the influence of your father’s goodness, you worked your way up to some real tears. Not only for the pain of what you did, but especially for the joy of having a father, no matter what. I know it was a process, but you were honest with yourself initially, bringing you home and saving you.

How long did it take for your older brother to come home? He never went away, no, but he was really out of it. Perhaps emboldened by your example, you finally allowed yourself to be honest. Maybe you allowed yourself to admit, too, all of which is empty. Maybe he also eventually returned to his father, even though he was not physically distant from him. However, getting lost at home can be even more treacherous than getting lost somewhere far away.

However, getting lost at home can be even more treacherous than getting lost somewhere far away.

Oh, happy empty stomach and rumbling belly! Even “nothing” can be more than enough when your heart is only dry: when the eye does not hold regret, but the heart asks for something, give the name of the thirst, because someone is already looking for you.

And you, little man, who are not a fictional character, can you afford to be honest with yourself? Maybe you can’t extract sincere regret from somewhere in the depths. Perhaps a noble desire for noble truth cannot bring you to the Father, because it is too abstract for you to enter your world of flesh and blood. Well, maybe it’s enough to be honest with yourself and name what I need.

Maybe I won’t get a theory from a pig pod war about how ideal my life should be. Maybe my empty stomach will lead me to the Father, my essential desire for something dramatically concrete—more concrete than a crystallized essence of truth, the desire for something tangible, which I cannot feel, and that’s why I’m dissatisfied. Maybe what I don’t have will lead me to God, when what I have and what I have too much to waste have gotten me far from him.

Oh, they say so few people are already looking for God! Who knows, I probably wouldn’t sign it. And what about those looking for him but are hurt and don’t feel him? Whoa… Maybe we perceive God so little because we perceive ourselves so little. After all, we do not perceive ourselves. Perhaps it’s hard for us to hear God because we don’t listen to ourselves. Maybe we have over-suppressed what’s pushing us, what we’re missing, denied that we desire anything, convinced ourselves that this is how it should be, and made it a virtue.

But neurosis from repressed humanity is not God, and cultivating it is not following Christ. And a person who has at least a shred of healthy self-esteem and foresight will quickly run away from it before getting involved in such a thing and ending up stranded without food by the gutter for a utility farm. And so, maybe after all, you have to be honest with yourself, not complicate it too much with all sorts of sublimely abstract, and admit that I have an empty stomach and want to eat. And this desire will lead me to the Father, and he will fulfill my every need.

We see laws mainly as a burden, and we are happy when the competent authority discounts something from the binding nature of the law – when the boss lets us out of work earlier and does not insist on eight hours of working time when the police exempt us from some traffic regulations; when the parliament repeals some law… We also transfer this attitude to the relationship with God’s law, proclaimed in Sinai and supplemented and deepened by Jesus Christ. A devout Catholic expressed it this way: „ After all, the Pope has full power to act in God’s name. So why doesn’t he break the sixth commandment, and we’d have an easier life…“

However, what would we look like if the parliament declared the law of earthly attraction and free fall abolished? Based on this, we could step out of the balcony on the tenth floor. If we did, we’d see that the law still applies inexorably… We know that specific laws go beyond the will of human authorities, and respect for those laws is in our interest. To the greatest extent, this applies to God’s laws for our lives. Moses announces them to the people as a gift from God, as a source of wisdom, as a certainty on which one can rely, and with the help of which one can develop a promising personal and national life.

Jesus had a critical attitude towards various regulations and ways invented by people. Some expected this would also change the requirements of God’s law. However, in the Gospel (Mt 5, 17-19 ), he declares that he did not come to cancel what God announced through Moses and the Prophets. The durability of these God-given guidelines is more excellent than the laws of physics: „ Until heaven and earth pass away, not a single letter or a single comma from the Law passes away until everything is fulfilled.“

He came to free us from a slavish approach to God’s law, which causes us to perceive and bear it as an inexorable burden without joy or willingness. His teaching shows us the inner logic of God’s law and his sense of our life and helps us to know the Lawgiver as a loving Father. He accepted on his shoulders not only all the commandments of the Ten Commandments but also the will of the heavenly Father, which concerned his mission, including the sacrifice of life for our salvation. With his attitude and actions, he shows us how to fulfill God’s law, but also that its fulfillment leads to inner freedom, is an expression of love for the Father and the greatest good for man, who observes it, as well as for the human community and the created world.

With his resurrection, Jesus proves that even if faithfulness to God and his law can sometimes require the highest sacrifice, it still leads to the victory of life and participation in God’s life. However, Jesus did not only provide a good example. At the cost of his death and resurrection, he received the gift of the Holy Spirit. He fills the hearts with those who believe in Jesus Christ with his love and filial trust in the heavenly Father. It leads us to fulfill what God asks of us with inner freedom and joy, and we do not feel it as a limitation or effort but as an expression of God’s caring love and as a path to our development and fullness of life. Therefore, St. Paul emphasized that Christ freed us from the law – not that he abolished the requirements of the law -but that he gifted us with the freedom of God’s children, and as such, we can obey God’s will with confidence under the guidance of the Spirit.

Practical instruction: Which commandment do I have the most difficulty with? I will ask for the help of the Holy Spirit and try to understand God’s intention with this commandment in depth – under the guidance of the Gospel, if necessary, and in conversation with the confessor to observe it with inner conviction.

Prayer: Merciful God, in this forty-day season of Lent, you nourish us with your word and lead us to spiritual renewal; we beg you, help us, that we may give ourselves entirely to you by penitential deeds and call on you together as our Father in brotherly love, through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who is God and lives and reigns with you in union with the Holy Spirit for all ages. 

God chose a modest Nazarene girl – the Virgin Mary – as the human mother of his Son. Surprised, Mary asks the angel at this announcement: „How will this happen?“ The angel explains to her that it will become the power of the Holy Spirit, the power of the Most High, „to whom nothing is impossible“. The Virgin Mary knows from Isaiah’s predictions that the Messiah will be a man of pain. And because of him, he will have to leave the Nazareth home and worry about himself and himself. He knows that this promotion will be great but also very painful. But when God asks for it, he expresses his consent without hesitation. I am at the service of the Lord: „ I am the servant of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word.“

How significant are these words of the Virgin Mary? The eternal plan of God’s will was to redeem the human race from sin. For this purpose, God chose the nation of Israel from which the Redeemer was to emerge. He sent prophets to awaken in their faith in the coming of the Messiah, who was to come „ the enlightenment of the Gentiles and the glory of the people of Israel.“ And when the fullness of time came, God sent the angel Gabriel to Mary to proclaim to her the Incarnation of the Redeemer of the world. And the Virgin Mary takes the right attitude: „ I am the servant of the Lord, let it be done to me according to your word!“ Her words, spoken in a quiet Nazareth house, foreshadow the fulfillment of God’s will throughout her life! Faithful to her word, she accepts without reservation every obvious manifestation of God’s will and all the circumstances that God allows from the birth of the Savior to the cross on Calvary. The Lord entrusted her with a task and gave her the strength and ability she needed for it. That’s why God expresses reassurance through the mouth of an angel: „Don’t worry, Mary … Lord with you!“

Each of us has our perspectives, our plans, and our dreams. But we also have our annunciations, with which God intervenes in our lives occasionally and wants us to adapt to his purpose. He doesn’t use an angel for that. It is often our conscience, a book, a friend, or an event. Announces and waits. We can decide. We can also refuse. However, we cannot argue that God should choose someone else if he asks us to do so. Although God may find another person to fulfill his purpose, we will not find another God for our salvation. The Virgin Mary is an excellent example of us fulfilling God’s will.

An old legend was recorded in old readings about how God wanted to help a person who lived only by hunting and, therefore, often starved. He, thus, poured wheat from heaven for him. But the devil threw himself on the wheat before man could understand God’s gift. He ground the grain furiously among the stones, and what he did not crush, he buried it in the ground and poured water over it all to make it rot. But the man took moist flour from grain ground by the devil, placed it on a hot stone, and thus baked the first bread. Buried and poured, wheat arose, and man learned to sow and reap it. And so the devil, who wanted to destroy God’s gift, helped God’s purpose. The legend expresses what today’s people lack and what our ancestors could do: to believe in God’s providence. No one destroys or thwarts God’s purposes. Become Your will! That is the strength and courage that brings peace to our lives and every decision we make. Even when the intentions of God’s will are not immediately apparent and understandable to us, however, when we realize that God is always with us and with us, that He is an invisible but practical helper in every task He calls us to, our decision can be simple. „I am the servant of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word.“

 In the previous week, the texts of the readings of the Holy Scriptures directed us to the correct relationship to some values of earthly life, such as career, wealth, or managing pride. This week it will be more about clarifying some spiritual attitudes, such as faith and its consequences: prayer, keeping the commandments… and deepening these attitudes. The first reading talks about the healing of the Syrian general Naaman, based on fulfilling the prophet Elizaeus’ request. In the Gospel, Jesus complains that his contemporaries do not accept him as a prophet.

Who is the prophet anyway? Usually, by this word, we imagine someone who predicts the future. A person is curious about his future, and those who claim to be able to predict the future are very sought after – various fortune-tellers, astrologers, and creators of horoscopes. Although the prophets sometimes predicted future events, this is not the essence of their mission. A prophet is above all a person sent by God, he is in the service of God – he receives, listens, knows what God announces, not only to him, but also to many people, and he is looking for ways and ways to familiarize people with the content of this message. And what God tells us is the most important and valuable thing.

Such a prophet in the fullest sense of the word was Jesus Christ. After all, he came from God, communicated directly with God, and translated God’s truth and will into the understandable language of his contemporaries. He did it with words, deeds – even miraculous ones – and his whole life. However, Jesus complains about the reluctance of his contemporaries to accept his words with the belief that God himself speaks to them through him and about the proof of faith to act according to those words. For example, he cites a widow from pagan Sidon during the famine. When the prophet Elijah met her and approached her to give him the last swing of bread, he informed her that if she did, God would provide her with enough flour and oil. This woman staked her life on this assurance, renounced her last assurance, and God miraculously rewarded this trust of hers that saved her life. It was the same with the leper Syrian Naaman and the guidance of the prophet Elizaeus.

Jesus rightly expects us to accept what he tells us with faith and act courageously accordingly – so that God’s saving power can be manifested in us. Do we trust him that God himself speaks to us through him? It is not enough for him that we come to meet him in church, like his teachings, and have a pleasant experience of liturgy or singing. The goal of his prophetic mission is to pass on to us the decisions of the heavenly Father, the acceptance of which is a prerequisite for God’s saving power to work in us.

We prove by whether and how we act according to what he tells us that we believe him and accept his word. ” Faith without works is dead.” Without such a believer receiving the word of Jesus, we would actually let him know that we do not take him as a savior sent by God, thereby degrading him to only one of the religious dreamers, for some good guy to diversify the festive days. Such a relationship with Christ would insult him and would not help us.

Practical instruction: I will ask Christ for the gift of firm faith in him for myself and the people of our time, and I will show faith in the divine truth of his words by applying them in concrete action.

Prayer: Holy God, graciously purify and protect your Church, and because we cannot do without your help, constantly accompany us with your grace through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who is God and lives and reigns with you in union with the Holy Spirit for all ages.

The fact that meekness does not have a good reputation in public opinion. It is often presented as a weakness, which is not attractive for today’s man.

“We do not want to be weak. We want to be strong, fast, efficient, as society expects us to be. But we should strive to improve our reputation for moderation. After all, moderation is beautiful, it is happiness, it is freedom, it is the self-realization of one’s own life,” the Archbishop states.

Although temperance most obviously affects our basic needs—food, drink, and the senses—we need it in other areas as well. It relates to curiosity, for example.

“We are constantly looking for something new and in the process we lose our concentration, our attention, we get distracted by many things. How many times during the day do we look on the Internet to see what’s new?” reflects Archbishop Zvolenský.

However, not every moderate attitude must also involve moderation. The Archbishop points out that even in passivity, great intemperance can manifest itself, and it is necessary to beware of its hidden manifestations.

“It is not an offensive attitude, it is just that even passivity created from intemperate indulgence in negative thoughts is a transgression, it is a distortion of the potential that man has within himself.”

In the interview, he also discusses why a life of moderation is not boring, how to enjoy it to the fullest even if you have to guard the peace, and how moderation affects our different moods and temperaments.

If we could list virtues right now, we might not even include temperance. Some might even consider it a weakness. Why is gentleness among the cardinal virtues?

We have four cardinal virtues—wisdom, justice, fortitude, and meekness—which we also call cardinal virtues. The term cardinal comes from a word that we translate into English as a hinge on which a door turns. We can say that all four virtues are hinges on the door that leads to life, to man’s realization.

Moderation is a virtue that is – surprisingly – focused on ourselves. Any man who dares to focus on himself should, in the right measure, use all the dimensions of his existence that belong to him. Moderation should lead us to be able to use everything in measure in the right way.

This may not be to everyone’s liking. At present, there are many possibilities and opinions that influence us. And, let’s be honest, moderation does not have a good reputation in public opinion. Very often, we see it presented as a weakness. I understand that this then discourages us. We do not want to be weak. We want to be strong, fast, and efficient, as society expects us to be.

And isn’t a life of moderation a boring life?

A life of moderation cannot be boring if we learn to understand it well. It should be fascinating to say that using my endowments makes me a noble person, practical, truthful, helpful, rightly kind, passionate, and loving.

Simply because of gentleness, we use all our endowments in a balanced way. We should strive to improve the reputation of temperance in society. For temperance is beautiful, it is happiness, it is freedom, and it is self-realization of one’s own life.

You are talking about givenness. But we first associate moderation with the enjoyment of food and drink. So, what does moderation refer to?

It most obviously touches on the basic needs that belong to our existence—drink, food, sensuality, and sexuality. All these areas belong to our daily lives, and so we are confronted every day with finding the right moderation.

But then there is, for example, our capacity for imagination. This is an area where we need to be very moderate and careful. I read somewhere that many expressions of intemperance often begin in the imagination. So, not even in the primary sensibility, but in the imagination. On the one hand, it is our givenness because we can dream of beautiful, great things, but we can also dream of harmful things.

Or curiosity. There, too, we need moderation. We are constantly looking for something new, and in the process, we lose our focus and attention, getting distracted by many things. How many times during the day do we look on the internet to see what’s new? Here, too, another space opens up for each of us to question the degree to which we give our activities.

What role does one’s nature and temperament play in practicing moderation?

All kinds of temperaments, as we know them in that classical simplistic distinction, are on an equal footing. It is only outwardly, for example, that intemperance is more evident in choleric or sanguine, while it is more hidden in phlegmatic or melancholics. Although in the more introverted moods their attitude may appear to be mildness, it may not be the virtue of mildness.

Wallowing in one’s pessimistic fantasies may represent great intemperance. One weighs one’s insides down and complicates one’s existence. Perhaps those around him see the consequence of his passivity, which is not so disturbing. It is not an offensive attitude, only that even passivity created from immoderate indulgence in negative thoughts is a transgression, a distortion of the potential that one has within oneself.

And is it possible to enjoy life to the fullest if we are always to keep our peace?

The answer is hidden in St. Thomas Aquinas’ formulation that moderation is more than anything else a manifestation of one’s own self. This is a wonderful statement and a very modern one, valorizing man’s existence and individuality. Is it not a great value to own oneself? The further we advance in this realization, the more we can give of ourselves and the more sublime and profound our giving.

Because of the high pace of life and the inevitable superficiality of wanting to participate in everything in some way, we often cannot go within and glide only on the surface. This is how we lose ourselves because we live only on the outside and feel as if the world carried us away. We must come down to ourselves as if to take hold of everything we experience, with its joys and transgressions. Sometimes, that can be a deterrent that one cannot bear. It is hard to think of your sins if you have no sure way out. This is owning oneself, accepting one’s existence, and the realization that moderate enjoyment is the greatest happiness.

If I were to illustrate this, I would use the example of dieting. One person told me he had cut out everything sweet from his diet. When he had an apple after some time, he thought it was very sweet. It is interesting. Because of his moderation and abstinence from sweet things, even an apple that would have been sour to another seemed very sweet to him.

This example also shows what renunciation does. We have so many impulses that sometimes we cannot enjoy even one thing. When one becomes moderate in enjoyment, one can then enjoy life better.