During the Vespers for the feast of Saint Nicholas held at Simila Parish, His Grace Bishop Ignatie spoke about the lack of self-control as one of the sins that grind and divide society today.
Bishop Ignatie said that Saint Nicholas is called a man of God and a teacher of self-control.
“People no longer manage to control themselves. When they are in difficult, delicate situations, they remain trapped in the urge of impulses, in this carousel of anger, of emotions, and they do not act wisely,” His Grace noted Dec. 5.
“We do not admit the good that someone does to us. When someone does not admit the good that we have done, we cannot control ourselves, we cannot act wisely, compassionately, with a state of serenity and discernment.”
“Very few people manage to have this virtue, discernment, which characterized St. Nicholas so deeply.”
The Bishop of Husi went on to explain how one can acquire self-control.
“Self-control is a gift that comes into the soul of the person who is gentle and prays a lot. It does not come by itself.”
“The persons who pray know how to internalize themselves and know how to ponder well when making a decision.”
His Grace Bishop Ignatie pointed out that the lack of self-control is a premise of the desire to dominate others, in an authoritarian way.
“The more a man does not control himself, the more he wants to rule, to dominate, those around him. A dictator cannot control himself, but wants to dominate others in an authoritarian way.”
“The man who is in control of himself does not need to dominate the one next to him. The authority of the one who masters himself is an inner, spiritual authority, which has a much greater force. It changes the soul of a man much more beautifully and more smoothly, rather than by coercion, by force and aggression.”
Photography courtesy of the Diocese of Huşi
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