The pattern of inclinations and reactions that proceed from the physiological constitution of the individual. Something permanent that admits of only secondary modification. (OUR WIRING.)
Sanguine Temperament
Reacts quickly and strongly to almost any stimulation or impression
Reaction is usually of short duration
Remembrance of past experiences does not easily arouse a new response.
Usually have a serene view of life and are optimists.
Tend to idealize rather than criticize.
Alert intellects, learn quickly if not deeply
Principal defects: superficiality, inconstancy, sensuality, hasty judgements
Quickly repent of sins, easily return to them.
Melancholic Temperament
Difficult to arouse, but after repeated impressions the reaction is strong and listing; does not forget easily.
Inclined to reflection, piety, the interior life, compassionate to the suffering, attracted to corporal works of mercy, endure suffering heroically.
Sharp intellect, thorough thinkers; may become detached in their intellectual interior.
Normally do not experience the vehement passions that may torment the sanguine.
Exaggerated tendency to sadness, magnify difficulties; excessive reserve, scrupulosity. Suffer in silence; do not reveal themselves, tend toward pessimism.
Choleric Temperament
Reacts quickly and strongly to almost any stimulation or impression
Impression lasts a long time
Inclined to practical action (work) rather than theoretical speculation
Quick to work the plan made/direction chosen; likewise to overcome obstacles
Postively channeled: great saints; negatively channeled: great sinners
Principal defects: obstinancy, insensitivity to others’ feelings, tactlessness, impatience
Can be of great worth if they succeed in controlling and guiding their energies
Key to spiritual growth: cultivate true humility of heart
Phlegmatic Temperament
Emotions rarely aroused, and if so, only weakly
Work slowly but assiduously, tranquil, discreet, sober
Great deal of commonsense and mental balance
Do not possess
the inflammable passions of the sanguine temperament
the deep passions of the melancholic temperament
the ardent passions of the choleric temperament
Defects: tendency toward remoteness; disengaged from events and people around them
Using Temperaments in Self-Examination
Temperaments are our wiring.
The Devil uses our wiring against us.
Together with a Root Sin analysis, we have greater understanding in how we are attacked by the Devil and why those attacks are successful.
Habits are “dwellings of behavior” – Temperaments help/hinder formation of good habits, replacement of bad habits.
Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are obligatory days of fasting and abstinence for Catholics. In addition, Fridays during Lent are obligatory days of abstinence.
For members of the Latin Catholic Church, the norms on fasting are obligatory from age 18 until age 59. When fasting, a person is permitted to eat one full meal, as well as two smaller meals that together are not equal to a full meal. The norms concerning abstinence from meat are binding upon members of the Latin Catholic Church from age 14 onwards.
Members of the Eastern Catholic Churches are to observe the particular law of their own sui iuris Church.
If possible, the fast on Good Friday is continued until the Easter Vigil (on Holy Saturday night) as the “paschal fast” to honor the suffering and death of the Lord Jesus, and to prepare ourselves to share more fully and to celebrate more readily his Resurrection.
How to have a transformational Lent (suggestion of Dan Burke). Focus on two things:
Pick something you will give up during Lent ( a good thing) and which you can joyfully do again at the feast of the Resurrection
Pick one thing your will retain as a spiritual focus point for the rest of the year (pray and ask the Holy Spirit to show you an area)
Getting Serious:
Make a solemn commitment and write it down
Be specific
Ask God for the Grace you to fulfill it
Aggressively seek accountability and daily Examen
Three days until Ash Wednesday.
Three days left to prepare to have the most fruitful Lent you’ve ever had!
How often do we wait until the last minute, either Tuesday night before or Ash Wednesday morning, to decide what to ‘give up’ or ‘take on’ without prayerfully asking the Holy Spirit to guide us in the right direction? We are just checking the box of being a good Catholic Christian and giving up something for Lent without stopping to think about why it is that we have this season of Lent.
What the Lord really wants from us all the time is all of our love. He wants our hearts, minds and souls – radical self-giving. And what we mostly give Him is a little bit of affection. Let’s be radical this Lent and pray and discern exactly where in our lives it is that we most need to let God in and the Light purify us so that we can give more of ourselves to Him and let His love change us. Let’s examine our lives in light of these sins and see where it is we need to focus, be it:
gluttony (lack of control over what we eat or drink)
sloth (no time to pray, skipping Mass, not going to confession, spending too much time on computers or devices)
pride (I’m in control of my life and I don’t need to turn to God in prayer and ask for His will not mine, I have it all together and don’t need to stop and ask God what His will is, I know all of the answers to everything)
vanity (what others think of me is more important than what God thinks of me and controls my actions and I contort myself to please others)
anger (am I impatient with my family members or co-workers, do I lose my cool in traffic, do I sometimes totally blow my fuse)
lust (can be sexual or material, does my desire for sexual pleasure or sensual appetites control my thoughts)
envy (do I spend a lot of time on social media comparing my life to others and wanting what they have instead of being grateful for the many blessing God provides)
Over the next three days, let us all pick one area where we will hone in and with God’s help and the grace of the sacraments try to grow spiritually and weed out the vice and grow in virtue.
Remember an action plan is SMART: specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely.
I am going to work on self-control for Lent, because my root sin is sensuality, my virtue struggle is temperance, and my temperament is mostly Sanguine ( I hop from thing to thing spiritually, need focus). I hope to get out of myself and not think about pleasure so much. I desire to focus more on and think about God more than Helen. I also desire to be love in the community in the way God calls me to do that. Focus on love.
What am I giving up?
I am giving up coffee (super hard)
I am not buying anything for myself, giving up greed
When I go out to eat, I will pick my second choice not my first choice
What am I taking on?
Reading I Believe in Love and Consecration to Divine Mercy
Praying Divine Mercy Chaplet every day (this will continue after Lent)
Almsgiving
Giving money to Hermits of Mt Carmel, Sisters in Arizona, Sisters of Life
This is the last Sunday before we start the season of Lent. Ash Wednesday is this Wednesday. If we have not already been thinking about them, we need to think about the Lenten disciplines of prayer, almsgiving, and fasting that we will begin in a few days.
The scripture for today directs our minds to the deeper meaning of those Lenten disciplines. Lent is about much more than not eating goodies, and adding the Stations of the Cross to our Fridays, and putting spare change away for the poor. These are all good things, but they are not ends in themselves. Lent has an end, and Lent has a purpose. The readings today give us clues to that end and to that purpose.
Anyone familiar with the Church calendar knows that Lent ends with the Easter Vigil Mass on the night of Holy Saturday. In one way, that is the end of Lent. The end in time, so to speak. But what about the end as in the reason we do what we do during Lent? What is the end purpose and spiritual end of Lent?
The reading from Sirach today offers an answer: “tribulation is the test of the just.” Sirach is full of wisdom, and he expresses his thoughts in simple language, as he says, “As the test of what the potter molds is in the furnace, so in tribulation is the test of the just.” If you remember the art class project to make a clay bowl, the teacher always warned us to knead the clay thoroughly because air bubbles might mean the bowl would explode when it was heated in the kiln. Heating in the kiln proves the bowl is ready for use. Heating in the kiln is how the bowl can become fully formed for its purpose.
Well, we are the clay and God is the potter, and he gives us chances to be tested under tribulation. We know he loves us, for we can think back in our lives to the times when he met us where we were. We were lonely and he sent an angel of friendship. We were in need, and he sent an angel of generosity. We were tied up in lives of habitual self-destruction, and he sent an angel of strength to pull us up and set us on our feet again.
God loves us enough to meet us where we are, and he loves us even more, for he does not want us to stay there. After rescuing us, He invites us to walk with him on the journey of our lives, so that we can meet him where he is at the end of the journey.
And Lent is a time to practice those things that will prepare us to meet him at the end of our lives. Sirach uses the image of sifting today: “When a sieve is shaken, the husks appear; so do one’s faults when one speaks.” The journey of our lives involves a lot of being shaken in our sifter so that the earthly attachments can fall out and the devotion to God can remain. Hear again Sirach’s words: “in tribulation is the test of the just.”
We want to be counted among the just when Jesus comes in judgment, so we should really try to welcome tribulation because it is the test of the just. We are the clay in the kiln, waiting for the day when we can be taken out of the oven and put where we were made to be. But we are not actually clay, are we? We are human persons, endowed with intellect and will. We choose to try to be numbered among the just, and we seek understanding on how to achieve our goal.
That’s where the Lenten disciplines come in.
Fasting is not an end in itself; it is the means to an end. In our secular world, fasting is a form of dieting. In the Christian world, fasting is a form of prayer through self-denial. We give up something we may rightfully have so that we can be more conformed to Christ. Christ gave up everything for us, and his self-sacrifice is our model and how God made us to be.
Prayer is pretty straightforward, but it is not an end in itself; it is the means to a closer relationship with God. God made us to be in close relationship with Him. St. Paul, in one of his letters, told us to “pray without ceasing.” Most of us do not meet that standard, but that is the end God made us for. And Lent gives us a set time in the year to add to our prayer lives and get a little bit more conformed to Christ.
Almsgiving is also not an end in itself; the intention of the giver is very important. All our talents were given to us by God, and he gives his gifts freely and joyfully. Lenten almsgiving is a chance to practice liberality in our giving of money. I know a couple of guys who have always gripped their money tightly. We are pretty sure that when they both grabbed the same penny and pulled, they invented copper wire. All of us are tempted into gripping our money too tightly. Lent is a time to loosen our grip on money and grow in generosity so that we are more like the eternally generous God who made us.
Lent is six weeks long, with 40 days of fasting. It’s almost a perfect tithe of a year. Maintaining these disciplines will stretch us, and there will be days in Lent when we might regret giving up coffee or ice cream or whatever else we gave up. At those points, let us be reminded by the words of St. Paul in today’s epistle.
“be always fully devoted to the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”
Lent is a season of prayer. Lent is a season of preparation for the gift Jesus came at Christmas to give us: the gift of redemption on the Cross on Good Friday and the joy of the resurrection on Easter Sunday. Our Lenten labors are the work of the Lord, and we do not labor in vain when we do them.
The purpose of our lives is to know, to love, and to serve God, so we can be with him in the next life. He continually comes down to our level and helps us in our struggles. Lent is a time to focus on being ready to meet him on his level. God’s level is Heaven, where there is no money and no eating. So in Lent we work to lessen our attachments to earthly things through almsgiving and fasting. In Heaven, there is constant prayer to the Lamb upon his throne, so in Lent we work to become more comfortable with more prayer.
We are about to receive our Lord at Holy Communion, and we will receive innumerable graces in the sacrament. Let’s use Lent as a time of grace to conform ourselves more closely to Christ through self-sacrifice and prayer.
The desire for glory when glory is due to God alone, hence vain (empty) glory.
St. Thomas’ three ways glory can be vain
the things for which one seeks glory are vain or petty – WRONG THINGS
the persons from whom one seeks glory are uncertain or lacking in judgment – WRONG PEOPLE
the end for which glory is sought is not to magnify God – WRONG REASONS
It is requisite for man’s perfection that he should know himself; but not that he should be known by others. Vainglory is stated to be a dangerous sin, not only on account of its gravity, but also because it is a disposition to grave sins, in so far as it renders man presumptuous and too self-confident.
Just as by the glory which is in God’s sight man acquires honor in Divine things, so too by the glory which is in the sight of man he acquires excellence in human things. Hence on account of its close connection with excellence, which men desire above all, it follows that it is most desirable.
Scriptural/Doctoral
“Let nothing be done through contention, neither by vainglory.” Philippians 2:3
“Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.” Ecclesiastes 1:1
“Vainglory is the glory that we give ourselves; either for what is not really in us, or for what is in fact in us but not owing to anything we did, or for what is in us and owning to us but which does not deserve to be the cause of a boast.” St. Francis de Sales
Daughters
disobedience: a man refuses to carry out the command of his superiors
boastfulness: speaking in such a way as to obtain more glory
hypocrisy: manifesting one’s own excellence through falsehoods
contention: a man quarrels noisily with another; always have to have it/do it my way
obstinacy: intellectual pride, unable to be seen as less than excellent in intellectual areas, a man is too much attached to his own opinion; failing to yield a point well made but not mine?
discord: a man is unwilling to give up his own will and agree with others; always against things, never for anything
love of novelties: glorifying man’s deeds when they are truly excellent
Self-examination from Episcopalian St. Augustine Prayer book (not exactly Thomistic, but useful)
PRIDE: Pride is putting self in the place of God as the center and objective of our life. It is the refusal to recognize our status as creatures, dependent on God for our existence, and placed by him in a specific relationship to the rest of his creation.
Irreverence
Deliberate neglect of the worship of God every Sunday in his Church, or contentment with a perfunctory participation in it.
Failure to thank God or to express our gratitude adequately.
Disrespect for God or holy things by deliberately treating the, in thought, word, or deed, in a profane, contemptuous or over-familiar manner, or the attempt to bribe or placate God by religious practices or promises.
Sentimentality
Dependence on self rather than God, with the consequent neglect of the means of grace – sacraments and prayer.
Dispensation of ourselves from ordinary duties on the grounds that we are superior persons.
Satisfaction or complacency over our spiritual achievements.
Unwillingness to surrender to and abide in Christ, to let him act in and through us.
Failure to offer to God regularly in intercession the persons or causes that have, or should enlist our interest and support.
Distrust
Refusal to recognize God’s wisdom, providence and love. Worry, anxiety, misgivings, scrupulosity, or perfectionism.
Attempts to discern or control the future by spiritualism, astrology, fortune-telling or the like.
Over-sensitiveness: expectation that others will dislike, reject or mistreat us; over-readiness so to interpret their attitude, or quickness to take offense, or unfounded suspicions.
Timidity in accepting responsibility, or cowardice in facing difficulty or suffering.
Surrender to feelings of depression, gloom, pessimism, discouragement, self-pity, or fear of death, instead of fighting to be brave, cheerful and hopeful.
Disobedience
Rejection of God’s known will in favor of our own interests or pleasures.
Disobedience of the legitimate laws, regulations or authority of the Church, state, etc., or slow and reluctant obedience.
Failure when in authority to fulfil responsibilities or to consider the best interest of those under us.
Refusal to learn God’s nature or will as revealed in Scripture, expounded in instructions or expert advice, or discernible through prayer, meditation or the reading of religious books.
Impenitience
Refusal to search out and face up to our sins, or to confess and admit them before God.
Disregard of our sins or pretense that we are better than we are.
Self-justification or discounting our sins as insignificant, natural or inevitable.
Self-righteous comparison of ourselves with others.
Refusal to accept just punishment or to make due reparation when possible.
Deceit or lying to escape the consequences of our sins, or allowing another to suffer the blame for our faults.
Shame (hurt pride), sorrow for ourselves because our sins make us less respectable than we like to think we are, or because we fear punishment or injury to our reputation, rather than sorrow for what sin is in the eyes of God.
Refusal to admit we were in the wrong or to apologize, or refusal to accept forgiveness from God or others.
Unwillingness to forgive ourselves.
Vanity
Crediting to ourselves rather than to God our talents, abilities, insights, accomplishments, good works.
Refusal to admit indebtedness to others, or adequately to express gratitude for their help.
Hypocrisy, pretense to virtues we do not possess, or false humility.
Harsh judgments on others for faults we excuse in ourselves.
Boasting, exaggeration, drawing attention to ourselves by talking too much, by claiming ability, wisdom, experience or influence we do not have.
Seeking, desiring or relishing flattery or compliments.
Arrogance
Insisting that others conform to our wishes, recognize our leadership, accept our own estimate of our worth.
Being overbearing, argumentative, opinionated, obstinate.
Snobbery
Pride over race, family, position, personality, education, skill, achievements, or possessions.
Sloth seeks undue rest in so far as it spurns the Divine good
Sloth is not an aversion of the mind from any spiritual good, but from the Divine good, to which the mind is obliged to adhere.
He is sorry to have to do something for God’s sake.
Evil in itself (sadness in reaction to the highest goods – God’s good) and evil in its effects (keeps us from performing acts of good).
Scriptural/Doctoral
St. John Damascene (De Fide Orth. ii, 14) is an oppressive sorrow, which, to wit, so weighs upon man’s mind, that he wants to do nothing.
“A paralysis of the soul, a slackness of mind, a neglect of religious exercises, a hostility to vows taken.” St. John Climacus
Daughters
malice: The struggle against spiritual goods that cause sorrow sometimes extends to the spiritual goods themselves, when a man goes so far as to detest them. Not happy about the spiritual goods.
spite: The struggle against spiritual goods that cause sorrow is sometimes with men who lead others to spiritual goods. Not happy about those who lead others to spiritual goods, or the means to the spiritual goods. A kind of indignation.
faint-heartedness: avoidance of those goods which are the means to the end, in matters of difficulty which come under the counsel
despair: the result of avoiding spiritual goods
sluggishness in regard to the commandments: keeping the Sabbath holy, honoring father and mother
wandering of the mind after unlawful things: when a person has recourse to eternal objects of pleasure; so apathetic about spiritual goods I am easily distracted
Self-examination from Episcopalian St. Augustine Prayer book (not exactly Thomistic, but useful)
SLOTH: Sloth is the refusal to respond to our opportunities for growth, service or sacrifice.
Laziness
Indolence in performing spiritual, mental, or physical duties, or neglect of family, business or social obligations.
Procrastination of disliked tasks.
Busyness or triviality to avoid more important commitments.
Devotion of excessive time to rest, recreation. or amusement.
Indifference
Unconcern over injustice to others, especially that caused by currently accepted social standards; or unmindfulness of the suffering of the world.
Failure to become adequately informed on both sides of contemporary issues or on the Christian principles involved.
Ignoring the needy, lonely or unpopular person in our own or the parish family, or in the neighborhood; or unwillingness to minister to them.
Insufficient attention to the religious and other needs of our family.
Unreasoned anger, willing injury or damage to the object of one’s anger, unreasoned either due to the object of the anger or the mode of the anger.
Scriptural/Doctoral
“Let all indignation and anger be put away from you.” Ephesians 4:31
St. Gregory: “zealous anger troubles the eye of reason, whereas sinful anger blinds it.”
Daughters
quarreling: anger leading to deeds, injuries inflicted on one’s neighbor through anger
swelling of the mind: the growing of the idea to take vengeance; calm and rational thoughts are overwhelmed by growing thoughts of revenge
contumely: injurious words towards one’s neighbor; purposely insulting or reviling another person
clamor: anger expressed towards his brother in disorderly and confused speech; thoughtless, vulgar words of rage
indignation: the anger from deeming another unworthy of acting in a certain way towards oneself
blasphemy: the injurious words against God that proceeds from anger
Self-examination from Episcopalian St. Augustine Prayer book (not exactly Thomistic, but useful)
ANGER: Anger is open rebellion against God or our fellow creatures. Its purpose and desire is to eliminate any obstacle to our self-seeking, to retaliate against any threat to our security, to avenge any insult or injury to our person.
Resentment
Refusal to discern, accept or fulfil God’s vocation.
Dissatisfaction with the talents, abilities or opportunities he has given us.
Unwillingness to face up to difficulties or sacrifices.
Unjustified rebellion or complaint at the circumstances of our lives.
Escape from reality or the attempt to force our will upon it.
Transference to God, to our parents, to society, etc., the blame for our maladjustment; hatred of God, or anti-social behavior.
Cynicism.
Annoyance at the contrariness of things; profanity or grumbling.
Pugnacity
Attack upon another in anger.
Murder in deed or desire.
Combativeness or nursing of grudges.
Injury to another by striking, curing or insulting him; or by damaging his reputation or property.
Quarrelsomeness, bickering, contradiction, nagging, rudeness, or snubbing.
Retaliation
Vengeance for wrongs real or imagined, or the plotting thereof.
Harsh or excessive punishment.
Hostility, sullenness or rash judgment.
Refusal to forgive, or to offer or accept reconciliation.
Unwillingness to love, to do good to, or to pray for enemies.
Boycotting or ostracizing another for selfish reasons.
Spoiling others’ pleasure by uncooperativeness or disdain, because we have not got our way.
Sorrow for another person’s good. (Looking at things the wrong way.) A spirit of competitiveness rather than brotherly love. The object of both charity and envy is our neighbor’s good, but by contrary movements, since charity rejoices in our neighbor’s good, while envy grieves over it.
Scriptural/Doctoral
“self-inflicted pain wounds the pining spirit, which is racked by the prosperity of others” St. Gregory the Great
“Sorrow for another’s good” St. John Damascene
“Envy slayeth the little one.” Job 5:2
“Let us not be made desirous of vainglory, provoking one another, envying one another.” Galatians 5:26
“My steps had well nigh slipped, for I was envious of the wicked, when I saw the prosperity of sinners” Psalm 72:2-3
Daughters
hatred: the result of the sorrow at the other’s prosperity
tale-bearing: striving to lower another’s reputation secretly; “he’s not really all that”
detraction: striving to lower another’s reputation openly (on his face, in front of him to others)
joy at our neighbor’s misfortunes (schadenfreude): being able to defame another
grief at our neighbor’s prosperity: being unable to defame another
Self-examination from Episcopalian St. Augustine Prayer book (not exactly Thomistic, but useful)
ENVY: Envy is dissatisfaction with our place in God’s order of creation, manifesting in begrudging his gifts and vocation to others.
Jealousy
Offense at the talents, success or good fortune of others.
Selfish or unnecessary rivalry or competition.
Pleasure at others’ difficulties or distress.
Malice
Ill-will, false accusations, slander, backbiting.
Reading false motives into others’ behavior.
Initiation, collection or retailing of gossip.
Arousing, fostering or organizing antagonism against others.
Unnecessary criticism, even when true.
Deliberate annoyance of others, teasing or bullying.
Contempt
Scorn of another’s virtue, ability, shortcomings, or failings.
Prejudice against those we consider inferior, or who consider us inferior, or who seem to threaten our security or position.
Inordinate love of possessing external goods that are useful for an end but are not ends in and of themselves. “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s goods.” (Ex 20:17) It is excessive love of possessing riches. Remembering that the goodness of things relates to a due (just) measure, evil results from either an excess or deficiency of that measure.
Scriptural/Doctoral
“Being filled with all iniquity … covetousness. They who do such things are worthy of death.” Romans 1:29-32
“Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s goods.” (Ex 20:17)
“Lust for money brings darkness on the soul” St. John Chrysostom
Judas’ betrayal of Jesus for 30 pieces of silver
“A covetous man shall not be satisfied with money.” Ecclesiastes 5:9
“A covetous man sets his own soul to sale because while he lives he has despised his bowels to make money.” Sirach 10:10
Daughters
treachery: betraying others in order to acquire possessions
fraud: taking deceitful action in order to acquire possessions
falsehood: lying in order to acquire possessions
perjury: employing an oath in lying in order to acquire possessions
restlessness: excessive anxiety about his possessions
violence: sometimes the path to acquiring more possessions
insensibility to mercy: won’t help the needy since he would be deprived of his possessions
Self-examination from Episcopalian St. Augustine Prayer book (not exactly Thomistic, but useful)
COVETOUSNESS (AVARICE): Avarice is the refusal to respect the integrity of other creatures, expressed in the inordinate accumulation of material things; in the use of other persons for our personal advantage; or in the quest for status, power or security at their expense.
Inordinate Ambition
Pursuit of status, power, influence, reputation, or possessions at the expense of the moral law, of other obligations, or of the rights of others.
Ruthless or unfair competition.
Putting self or family first.
Conformity to standards we recognize as wrong or inadequate in order to get ahead.
Intrigue or conspiracy for self-advancement.
Domination
Seeking to use or posses others; imposing our will on others by force, guile, whining, or refusal to cooperate.
Over-protection of children; refusal to correct or punish lest we lose their affection; insistence that they conform to our ideal for them contrary to their own vocation.
Over-readiness to advise or command; abuse of authority.
Respect of persons, favoritism, partiality, flattery, fawning, or bribery to win support or affection.
Refusal to uphold the truth to fulfil duties, to perform good acts, or to defend those wrongfully attacked, because we fear criticism or ridicule, or because we seek to gain the favor or approval of others.
Leading, tempting or encouraging another to sin.
Avarice
Inordinate pursuit of wealth or material things.
Theft, dishonesty, misrepresentation, or sharing in stolen goods.
Cheating in business, taxes, school or games.
Making worldly success the goal of our life or the standard for judging others.
Prodigality
Waste of natural resources or personal possessions.
Extravagance or living beyond our income, to impress others or to maintain status.
Failure to pay debts.
Unnecessary borrowing or carelessness with others’ money.
Expenditure on self of what is needed for the welfare of others.
Penuriousness
Undue protection of wealth or security; stinginess.
Refusal to support or help those who have a claim on us.
Sponging on others rather than paying one’s own fair share.
Failure to give due proportion of our income to Church and charity, or of our time and energy to good works.
Inordinate desire, especially venereal pleasures. The order of reason consists in its ordering everything to its end in a fitting manner. When the lower powers are strongly moved towards their objects, the result is that the higher powers (reason and will) are hindered and disordered in their acts.
Scriptural/Doctoral
it is listed among the “works of the flesh” in Galatians 5:19
“You are bought with a great price: glorify and bear God in your body.” 1 Corinthians 6:20
“Beauty has deceived you, and lust has perverted your heart.” Daniel 13:56
Daughters
blindness of mind: failed in simple understanding what is truly good
thoughtlessness: perverting our minds so we will not remember just judgment
inconstancy: a man is hindered from doing what his reason ordered to be done
rashness: blocks our ability to take counsel
self-love: regards the pleasure which a man desires inordinately
hatred of God: because God forbids this inordinate pleasure
love of this world: assigning the carnal pleasures of this passing world an undue weight
abhorrence of a future world: being held back by carnal pleasures he cares not to obtain spiritual pleasures since they are distasteful to him
Self-examination from Episcopalian St. Augustine Prayer book (not exactly Thomistic, but useful)
LUST: Lust is the misuse of sex for personal gratification, debasing it from the holy purpose for which God has given it to us.
Unchastity
Violation of the Church’s marriage laws.
Refusal to fulfil the purpose of Holy Matrimony in the bringing forth and giving adequate care to children, or to take our full share in the responsibilities or work involved.
Sexual indulgence outside matrimony, in thought or act, alone or with others.
Immodesty
Stimulation of sexual desire in others by word, dress or actions; or in oneself by reading, pictures, or fantasies.
Prudery
Fear of sex or condemnation of it as evil in itself.
Stimulation of excessive and harmful curiosity by undue secrecy.
Inordinate desire for physical pleasures. Can be deadly (to our immortal souls) when a person lets his concupiscible appetite run amok to the point that the pleasures of gluttony become his end and he will disobey God to obtain those pleasures. Can be something other than simply too much: “Hastily, sumptuously, too much, greedily, daintily.”
Scriptural/Doctoral
“Gluttony turned Adam out of Paradise.” St. John Chrystosom
“This was the iniquity of Sodom, thy sister … fulness of bread, etc.” Ezekiel 16:49
“I thought in my heart to withdraw my flesh from wine, that I might turn my mind in wisdom.” Ecclesiastes 2:3
Daughters
unseemly joy: immoderate pleasure in eating and drinking
scurrility (foolish talking): unbecoming speech due to overeating and drinking
uncleanness: over-consumption of food and drink leads to digestive system problems
loquaciousness: overeating and drinking leads to losing control of your tongue
dullness of mind: excessive eating and drinking will slow down the brain
Self-examination from Episcopalian St. Augustine Prayer book (not exactly Thomistic, but useful)
GLUTTONY: Gluttony is the overindulgence of natural appetites for food and drink, and by extension the inordinate quest for pleasure or comfort.
Intemperance
Overindulgence in food, drink, or other physical pleasures.
Fastidiousness, fussiness, demanding excessively high standards.
Condemnation of some material things or pleasures as evil in themselves, attempting to prohibit their use rather than their abuse.
Lack of Discipline
Negligence in keeping the days of fasting or abstinence, or failure to use other needed means of self-discipline.
Neglect of bodily health – not getting sufficient rest, recreation, exercise, or wholesome nourishment.
Bound in Love 