Embracing Life’s Balance

We have all experienced the extreme of too much or too little. In this state, we cannot fully experience the pleasure and delight of the food, drink, or entertainment we’re taking in. Moderation, or temperance, is the virtue that enables us to manage our emotions of desire and pleasure and to maintain the right balance (like a seesaw). This virtue requires one to maintain balance in one’s life and to be attentive to the small details in life–food, sleep, cleanliness, order, etc. These actions flow from within–from one’s interior life. Temperance can be the means of achieving balance in every aspect of one’s character. By practicing self-management, one can fully enjoy the goods and pleasures of life without being controlled by them.  

The work of mercy for this month is giving food to the hungry. While we often think of this work in terms of material food, I encourage you to reflect also upon how your time is spent. Could you visit a friend, neighbor, or family member who is starving for a connection? What about your students or children? Are you too preoccupied with yourself or the things that need to get done to see those around you? The brain is a social organ and develops in relationships. We are not designed by God, who is Trinity, to be alone or isolated. The beautiful virtue of moderation will help all of us to see those around us. As Jesus taught, “Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God.”  

P.S. As I embark on a pilgrimage to walk the Camino in Spain this week, each of you will be in my prayers.