One of the most misunderstood virtues we are called to foster is meekness. In Matthew’s Gospel, the Lord invites us to a life of meekness when He teaches: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.” Meekness is one of the virtues in short supply today, not because the Lord has stopped calling us to it, but because we don’t understand the call and the freedom it offers us.
Meekness is not a false form of humility or unhealthy self-loathing. It is directly linked to self-mastery of the passions, most especially, the ability to control our temper. Fr. Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalene in Divine Intimacy explains: “Temperance makes man master of himself by controlling the passions of concupiscence; meekness makes him master of himself by controlling the impulses of anger.” Almost immediately we should recognize the lack of this virtue in our culture.
Social media has created an environment that leaves people angry and divided under the false guise of righteous anger. Anger is a passion that is very difficult to control. What may begin as righteous anger very quickly slips into resentment, bitterness, and wrath. This anger has divided families and led people to cut one another off. It gave rise to cancel culture and has left countless people trapped in algorithmic echo chambers that intentionally manipulate and distort.
The virtue of meekness is directly linked to peace of spirit and harmony in relationships. Fr. Gabriel explains further:
The great value of this virtue lies in the fact that it assures the soul of that inner peace which is so necessary in order to fulfill serenely all its duties toward God and toward the neighbor. The soul, when upset by resentments and anger, is unable to see things in their true light, to form unbiased judgments, to make wise decisions, or to keep words and actions within the limits of courtesy and kindness. A person’s manner becomes brusque, unrestrained, and often unjust, provoking displeasure in others; charity is cooled and harmonious relationships are disturbed. Unrestrained anger clouds the mind, preventing it from recognizing God’s will, and thus making the soul swerve from the line of duty to follow the impulses of the passions.
Meekness creates stillness and peace deep within the soul. It is from this place of peace that we can truly hear the Holy Spirit’s guidance. When we are overcome with anger our judgment becomes clouded, which makes it very difficult for us to hear the Holy Spirit. So often what passes for righteous anger these days is in fact sinful anger. The constant debates and battles online that spill over into everyday life and relationships are not grounded in true virtue. The bad fruit is evident by the constantly increasing division within our society.
The answer to this anger is to foster the virtue of meekness by God’s grace. There are intentional steps we can take to grow in meekness in the digital age. First, step back from the digital world and spend 30-60 minutes in prayer each day. If we have time to be on social media for hours on end or binge television, then we have time for prayer.
Second, if social media is a constant source of anger in your life, then you need to ask God if it’s time to cut it out. My husband and I deleted our social media accounts in 2020, and we have never regretted it.
Third, go to Confession regularly and confess sins of anger and any sins connected to the cause for anger in your life such as unforgiveness, control, gossip, resentment, being judgmental, and especially pride.
Fourth, we need to come to a deeper understanding that the Lord desires true peace for us. He flipped tables once, which was a tiny percentage in the grand scheme of His public ministry, and He did so with a perfect self-mastery of the passions that none of us possesses. He was able to correct the Pharisees and flip tables precisely because He did so completely at peace and free from sin. We aren’t Him. We need His graces to grow in meekness, which increases our self-mastery of anger in difficult situations. We need to remember that Christ desires peace within our souls not the constant turmoil of anger.
Rather than giving in constantly to movements of anger. We need to recognize how quickly this passion gets out of control and seek to temper it immediately before it takes over. Fr. Gabriel recommends:
In order to keep our heart free from the movements of anger, we should be prompt in restraining them as soon as they appear, because if we favor them, even a little, they will at once gain strength, and it will be much more difficult for us to overcome them. Constant fidelity in repressing every feeling of anger will gradually bring us to the enjoyment of the sweet fruit of meekness: “The meek shall inherit the land, and shall delight in abundance of peace (Psalm 36:11).”
True freedom comes from being master of our bodies and passions. This is the purpose of mortification. Mortifying angry impulses when they arise will eventually give way to a deeper freedom. This mortification is what will allow us to hear the Holy Spirit more clearly. Our judgment will no longer be clouded by the turbulent storms of anger.
We should be discerning what areas of our life open us up to anger and repent with each new fall. If we are truly honest with ourselves, we will see how social media and the 24/7 news cycle are designed to keep us in a constant state of anger and agitation. When we take a break or delete social media, we find our lives become more peaceful. This tells us the bad fruits of constant digital communication. We must step into the school of silence where we can encounter Christ. We must ask Him to help us foster a spirit of meekness that we may truly come to know that His burden is light.
Let us pray with Venerable Leo DuPont:
O Jesus, meekest Lamb, who being cursed did not curse, who suffering injuries did not threaten, who receiving the greatest contempt, answered with divine meekness or preserved an admirable silence, help me to follow Your example, to repress my anger, to embrace meekness, and armed with patience, to suffer willingly any labor that I may come to enjoy eternal repose with You.
Photo by Dorsaf sayeh on Unsplash
