Anger emoji is not for use in real life
I’m the third oldest of ten children, seven of whom are living on earth and the other three in heaven. Altogether, however, there are ten people living in my house.
It is such a blessing in many ways, but with that many people under one roof there are bound to be many opportunities to lash out a little anger.
It’s kind of like the anger emoji. We use it once or twice and it keeps popping up in our emoji suggestions, causing it to be easily accessible for quick use.
Likewise, if we allow ourselves to get angry in a situation where we could’ve been patient, then we allow our “angry emoji” to become more used and therefore easier to access - we put it on our “Suggestions list”!
This can get dangerous. It’s one of those things that we notice about ourselves and yearn to change: to stop letting anger be our first and most common reaction.
From personal experience, here are some tips for how we can put our anger emoji away!
Firstly, perhaps the most important and challenging advice I could give is this: when we ever let our anger come out on someone, it is imperative that we apologise.
This can be extremely difficult, especially when we think our anger is justified. However, forgiveness is the key to coming to a solution.
Also, so much better if we can offer it up as a sacrifice, if we can die to our will and put our neighbour before ourselves. This will help us become better people and bring us closer to imitating the life of Christ.
In this way, with the grace of God, we can let a bad situation (our lashing out in anger) become a good one!
Secondly, we need to pray for the grace to notice when we’re about to let our anger out, so that we may control it.
Thirdly, sometimes when I notice I’m about to get angry and I don’t feel I can control it, I just have to run to my bedroom to take a few deep breaths and pray for God’s strength. This one saves me a lot!
Anger can put unnecessary barriers between ourselves and other people. It hurts our neighbours, but mostly it hurts Christ, so why do we continue to let this happen?
By learning to control our anger, we can live much holier lives and take that one step closer to sainthood, for which we are called.
It’s the daily struggles, such as anger, that can lead us closer to God's love. As St. Thérèse of Lisieux says: “Do ordinary things with extraordinary love.”
Be best version of yourself
We know that God exists, that he loves us beyond measure, and that we are here right now, because God has created us to know, love, and serve him in this world so that we can be truly happy with him in the next!
Okay, so we have this incredible gift of knowledge, but are we living our lives according to the knowledge we have been given? Think about it.
With this knowledge we can do so much both for our own souls and for the souls around us!
What’s holding us back from giving ourselves completely to God and to the mission he gives us? Perhaps one of our first steps to get us there is to learn more about God.
What better thing is there to learn about on this earth than the Creator of earth himself!
There are many great books and programs that are fun to use to learn more about God; one of these is Dynamic Catholic.
The renowned author and speaker Matthew Kelly, with his Dynamic Catholic team in the USA has developed an exciting new Catholic programme for teenagers called Decision Point.
"It took four years to develop," says Mary Murphy who is bringing this programme into Ireland.
"It consists of twelve 2-hour sessions on topics such as Prayer, The Eucharist, The Bible, Mission, with a challenge to make a decision at the end of each session.
"One of the main themes in Decision Point is becoming the ‘best-version-of-yourself’ in dynamic collaboration with God," says Mary.
"Matthew Kelly features in 72 short videos and there is a Leader's manual and student's workbook which can be photocopied. There is an App for the programme too.”
You can contact Mary (marythm@gmail.com) to buy the actual videos and materials and perhaps set up a youth group or teach them in a class. Or you can download them for free on the Dynamic Catholic App.
Also check out the website dynamiccatholic.com, which is rich with fun and relatable explanations of the faith, which can help you understand God and yourself on a whole new level.
Dynamic Catholic has been very helpful to me, and I hope it also aids you to take that next step in your relationship with God!
What's behind your longings for love?
Are you ever inspired? Do you hope for something great? Do you ever become excited for something but don’t know what it is? Are you looking for someone to love you unconditionally? Do you dream of something beautiful, more beautiful than this earth?
Guys, there is a reason for all of this! All these inspirations in your heart have been placed there. We’re catching glimpses of Home.
This life is a journey and a test; we can’t forget that. And where do we hope to end up after we’ve completed our journey? Home. The presence of Jesus in heaven is our Home.
Pope St. John Paul II summed it up very well at World Youth Day when he said:
“It is Jesus whom you seek when you dream of happiness; he is waiting for you when nothing else you find satisfies you; he is the beauty to which you are so attracted.
"It is he who provoked in you that thirst for fullness that will not let you settle for compromise; it is he who urges you to shed the masks of a false life; it is he who reads in your heart your most genuine choices, the choices that others try to stifle.
"It is Jesus who stirs in you the desire to do something great with your life, the will to follow an ideal, the refusal to allow yourself to be ground down by mediocrity, the courage to commit yourselves humbly and patiently to improving yourselves and society, making the world more human and more fraternal.”
So the next time you see a beautiful flower that touches you or you sense the inspiration for something great, be reminded of the one who created it and that he is calling you home, where such beauty and inspirations are made perfect!
It is such a blessing in many ways, but with that many people under one roof there are bound to be many opportunities to lash out a little anger.
It’s kind of like the anger emoji. We use it once or twice and it keeps popping up in our emoji suggestions, causing it to be easily accessible for quick use.
Likewise, if we allow ourselves to get angry in a situation where we could’ve been patient, then we allow our “angry emoji” to become more used and therefore easier to access - we put it on our “Suggestions list”!
This can get dangerous. It’s one of those things that we notice about ourselves and yearn to change: to stop letting anger be our first and most common reaction.
From personal experience, here are some tips for how we can put our anger emoji away!
Firstly, perhaps the most important and challenging advice I could give is this: when we ever let our anger come out on someone, it is imperative that we apologise.
This can be extremely difficult, especially when we think our anger is justified. However, forgiveness is the key to coming to a solution.
Also, so much better if we can offer it up as a sacrifice, if we can die to our will and put our neighbour before ourselves. This will help us become better people and bring us closer to imitating the life of Christ.
In this way, with the grace of God, we can let a bad situation (our lashing out in anger) become a good one!
Secondly, we need to pray for the grace to notice when we’re about to let our anger out, so that we may control it.
Thirdly, sometimes when I notice I’m about to get angry and I don’t feel I can control it, I just have to run to my bedroom to take a few deep breaths and pray for God’s strength. This one saves me a lot!
Anger can put unnecessary barriers between ourselves and other people. It hurts our neighbours, but mostly it hurts Christ, so why do we continue to let this happen?
By learning to control our anger, we can live much holier lives and take that one step closer to sainthood, for which we are called.
It’s the daily struggles, such as anger, that can lead us closer to God's love. As St. Thérèse of Lisieux says: “Do ordinary things with extraordinary love.”
Be best version of yourself
We know that God exists, that he loves us beyond measure, and that we are here right now, because God has created us to know, love, and serve him in this world so that we can be truly happy with him in the next!
Okay, so we have this incredible gift of knowledge, but are we living our lives according to the knowledge we have been given? Think about it.
With this knowledge we can do so much both for our own souls and for the souls around us!
What’s holding us back from giving ourselves completely to God and to the mission he gives us? Perhaps one of our first steps to get us there is to learn more about God.
What better thing is there to learn about on this earth than the Creator of earth himself!
There are many great books and programs that are fun to use to learn more about God; one of these is Dynamic Catholic.
The renowned author and speaker Matthew Kelly, with his Dynamic Catholic team in the USA has developed an exciting new Catholic programme for teenagers called Decision Point.
"It took four years to develop," says Mary Murphy who is bringing this programme into Ireland.
"It consists of twelve 2-hour sessions on topics such as Prayer, The Eucharist, The Bible, Mission, with a challenge to make a decision at the end of each session.
"One of the main themes in Decision Point is becoming the ‘best-version-of-yourself’ in dynamic collaboration with God," says Mary.
"Matthew Kelly features in 72 short videos and there is a Leader's manual and student's workbook which can be photocopied. There is an App for the programme too.”
You can contact Mary (marythm@gmail.com) to buy the actual videos and materials and perhaps set up a youth group or teach them in a class. Or you can download them for free on the Dynamic Catholic App.
Also check out the website dynamiccatholic.com, which is rich with fun and relatable explanations of the faith, which can help you understand God and yourself on a whole new level.
Dynamic Catholic has been very helpful to me, and I hope it also aids you to take that next step in your relationship with God!
What's behind your longings for love?
Are you ever inspired? Do you hope for something great? Do you ever become excited for something but don’t know what it is? Are you looking for someone to love you unconditionally? Do you dream of something beautiful, more beautiful than this earth?
Guys, there is a reason for all of this! All these inspirations in your heart have been placed there. We’re catching glimpses of Home.
This life is a journey and a test; we can’t forget that. And where do we hope to end up after we’ve completed our journey? Home. The presence of Jesus in heaven is our Home.
Pope St. John Paul II summed it up very well at World Youth Day when he said:
“It is Jesus whom you seek when you dream of happiness; he is waiting for you when nothing else you find satisfies you; he is the beauty to which you are so attracted.
"It is he who provoked in you that thirst for fullness that will not let you settle for compromise; it is he who urges you to shed the masks of a false life; it is he who reads in your heart your most genuine choices, the choices that others try to stifle.
"It is Jesus who stirs in you the desire to do something great with your life, the will to follow an ideal, the refusal to allow yourself to be ground down by mediocrity, the courage to commit yourselves humbly and patiently to improving yourselves and society, making the world more human and more fraternal.”
So the next time you see a beautiful flower that touches you or you sense the inspiration for something great, be reminded of the one who created it and that he is calling you home, where such beauty and inspirations are made perfect!
