Jan 10 Fri
How should I handle my emotions?
We have to be aware of a way of judging and reacting to things that is ruling the lives of many people, especially the young ones, who do not yet know how to handle their emotions, feelings, and passions properly.
Emotivism is a theory that declares, “It is impossible to determine right from wrong. Instead, any moral statement is simply a reflection of the speaker’s emotions.”
- Seriously? We are more than that!
The affective dimension should not be left aside because it is an important source of information. Rather, our affectivity needs to be properly educated.
Thus, we must evaluate which desires we want to foster, to govern our life. Of course, we need to consider also what God, through our faith, tells us about how our affectivity should be handled—that is, to find ways of aligning our desires according to God’s Law and Will for us.
Everyone should realize as early as possible that while emotions and feelings are part of our human nature, we should not allow them to be the main guide of our lives. Our emotions and the whole range of our affectivity are more a part of the animal dimension of our being. They are blind to the spiritual and supernatural destiny of our lives, and thus, they need to be educated accordingly.
Obviously, the guiding principle should be our faith, hope, and charity, characteristics of a person and a child of God. In other words, our faith, hope, and charity tell us who we really are, what the purpose of our life here on earth is, how our freedom should be handled, etc. They provide us the moral principles that should guide the way we direct our emotions and passions.
The common problem we have in this regard is that many people do not know where to find the ultimate source of knowledge and wisdom about ourselves. Some rely on some ideologies and trends. Others just seem to drift to wherever the flow would take them.
Given our wounded human condition, we need to ask for grace, rely more on the supernatural means, and use all the human means available, to educate our emotions and passions properly.
We have to use of the sacraments, pray, offer sacrifices, have devotion to Our Lady and the saints. In this way, we must go through the process of developing virtues.
As a result, our emotions and passions help us in achieving an interior freedom in all our choices. Our emotions and passions are purified and elevated to the spiritual and supernatural level.
Only then, our emotions and passions will help to know what is truly important and necessary in life and bring us to our eternal joy. This is how they avoid getting us trapped in our merely bodily and worldly reactions.
We shall enjoy true interior freedom, only when our emotions are properly educated, that is, properly integrated to the requirements of our faith, hope, and charity, and to the will of God.
Excerpts from Fr Roy Cimagala
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