Faith

The season asks us to enter into a time of reflection and a kind of spiritual training.

Archbishop Richard G.
Henning

Over the last 50 years, a number of interesting scientific studies have demonstrated that the capacity to exercise control over desires is a key element to living in a physically and emotionally healthy way. Some of these studies placed a food treat before young children, inviting them to consume the treat now or wait for a brief period and receive a larger or more attractive treat. In the follow-up with the children in later years, that capacity for self-restraint at its most basic level was frequently associated with better and longer-lasting relationships as well as achievement in academic and professional life.
Any parent of a toddler will attest that our youngest family members can be both adorable and a terror at the same time. The terror side usually comes from the truth that toddlers are all about stimulus and response. If they feel discomfort or pain, they wail. If they receive something they demand, they giggle and smile. If they are denied in their desires, the wailing and anger are immediate. They are not thinking about it; they are reacting. We can only hope that gradually, a child learns to respond more slowly to a stimulus and even think about the response.

Unfortunately, we do not have to look far in our own culture and time to find examples of those well into adulthood who continue to respond to the world like toddlers. At sports arenas, on planes and trains, and in public spaces, there are many examples of people who are inclined to speak, and even punch, first and ask questions later. This kind of incapacity for thought and decision has made it necessary to pass laws and place signs declaring it criminal to assault medical professionals in hospitals and flight attendants on planes.
Thousands of years before psychological studies, the Holy Scriptures taught human beings about the importance of self-restraint and the mastery of our desires and impulses. The Bible counselled training exercises for this kind of emotional intelligence in the form of fasting and abstinence. Such customs, still observed today in our Lenten discipline, are not punishment for our failings, but time-tested ways of growing in wisdom and maturity.
In some sense, the requirements of Lent for abstinence from meat on Friday and fasting on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are a signpost pointing us to deeper engagement. The season asks us to enter into a time of reflection and a kind of spiritual training. Of course, we are preparing for the mysteries of the Paschal Feast, but we are also training for the life of discipleship. The traditions we observe and the wisdom they teach are good for us. As we learn to master our impulses and consciously choose how to react to the demands and stimuli of our lives, we will find ourselves healthier and more mature, as well as deepening our relationship with God.
May I suggest that we give some serious thought to how we engage in the graces of this season? Reflecting on our own temptations and where we struggle with impulse control or even addictive behavior might help us make a choice to go beyond the minimum requirements and build up some spiritual and emotional resilience.

- Archbishop Richard G. Henning is the Archbishop of Boston

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