Lesson #49: Temperaments – Choleric Temperament – The Choleric’s Spiritual Combat – Part XIV

Posted on September 10, 2025October 26, 2025 by Catholic Candle

Philosophy Notes

Catholic Candle note: The article immediately below is part thirteen of the study of the Choleric temperament. The first twelve parts can be found here:

Mary’s School of Sanctity – Lesson #36: About the Temperaments – Beginning our Study of the Choleric Temperament – Part I: https://catholiccandle.org/2024/08/27/lesson-35-about-the-temperaments-the-choleric-temperament/
Mary’s School of Sanctity – Lesson #37: About the Temperaments – Continuing Our Study of the Choleric Temperament– Part II: https://catholiccandle.org/2024/09/26/lesson-37-about-the-temperaments-continuation-of-the-choleric-temperament/
Mary’s School of Sanctity – Lesson #38 — About the Temperaments – Continuing our Study of the Choleric Temperament – Their Spiritual Combat – Part III:: https://catholiccandle.org/2024/10/24/lesson-38-temperaments-choleric-temperament-their-spiritual-combat/
Mary’s School of Sanctity – Lesson #39 About the Temperaments – Continuing Our Study of the Choleric Temperament – That Temperament’s Spiritual Combat – Part IV: https://catholiccandle.org/2024/11/26/lesson-39-temperaments-choleric-temperament-their-spiritual-combat-part-iv/
Mary’s School of Sanctity – Lesson #40: Temperaments – Choleric Temperament – Their Spiritual Combat – Part V: https://catholiccandle.org/2024/12/30/lesson-40-temperaments-choleric-temperament-their-spiritual-combat-part-v/
Mary’s School of Sanctity – Lesson #41 – About the Temperaments – Continuing Our Study of the Choleric Temperament: a Choleric’s Spiritual Combat — Part VI: https://catholiccandle.org/2025/01/27/lesson-41-temperaments-choleric-temperament-a-cholerics-spiritual-combat-part-vi/
Mary’s School of Sanctity – Lesson #42: About the Temperaments – Continuing Our Study of the Choleric Temperament – a Choleric’s Spiritual Combat – Part VII: https://catholiccandle.org/2025/02/21/lesson-42-temperaments-choleric-temperament-a-cholerics-spiritual-combat-part-vii/
Mary’s School of Sanctity — Lesson #43 About the Temperaments –Continuing Our Study of the Choleric Temperament — Their Spiritual Combat Part VIII: https://catholiccandle.org/2025/03/27/lesson-42-temperaments-choleric-temperament-a-cholerics-spiritual-combat-part-viii/
Mary’s School of Sanctity – Lesson #44 About the Temperaments – Continuing Our Study of the Choleric Temperament – Their Spiritual Combat, Part IX: https://catholiccandle.org/2025/04/23/lesson-44-temperaments-choleric-temperament-a-cholerics-spiritual-combat-part-ix/
Mary’s School of Sanctity – Lesson #45 About the Temperaments – Continuing Our Study of the Choleric Temperament – The Choleric’s Spiritual Combat Part X: https://catholiccandle.org/2025/05/20/lesson-45-temperaments-choleric-temperament-a-cholerics-spiritual-combat-part-x/
Mary’s School of Sanctity – Lesson #46 About the Temperaments – Continuing Our Study of the Choleric Temperament – The Cholerics’ Spiritual Combat – Part XI: https://catholiccandle.org/2025/06/28/lesson-46-temperaments-choleric-temperament-a-cholerics-spiritual-combat-part-xi/
Mary’s School of Sanctity – Lesson #47 About the Temperaments – Continuing Our Study of the Choleric Temperament – The Choleric’s Spiritual Combat – Part XII: https://catholiccandle.org/2025/07/24/lesson-47-temperaments-choleric-temperament-a-cholerics-spiritual-combat-part-xii/
Mary’s School of Sanctity – Lesson #48 About the Temperaments – Continuing Our Study of the Choleric Temperament – The Choleric’s Spiritual Combat Part XIII: https://catholiccandle.org/2025/08/29/lesson-48-temperaments-choleric-temperament-a-cholerics-spiritual-combat-part-xiii/

Mary’s School of Sanctity

Lesson #49 About the Temperaments – Continuing Our Study of the Choleric Temperament – The Choleric’s Spiritual Combat – Part XIV

Note: When referring to a person with a choleric temperament in this article we simply will label him as a choleric.

In our last lesson we discussed how Satan hates the fact that humans are created with intellects and are capable of knowing universal truth. This archenemy of mankind has launched his major attack on man’s highest faculty, namely, his intellect.

We saw how Satan tempts us humans to believe that making efforts to think carefully puts a damper on our enjoyment. We saw how this is a lie and that man’s highest delights come when he engages his mind in the pursuit of truth.

Now we will consider another snare that Satan uses – he inclines people to believe that they do not have the ability necessary for careful thinking. However, in order to understand how it is false to believe that we do not have the ability to think carefully, we must first reflect more about human nature itself.

Satan Preys on Fallen Human Nature

As we stated above, one of the devil’s tricks is to tempt humans into supposing that they do not have the necessary ability to think carefully and deeply. Someone could claim that thinking deeply was easy for Adam but ever since the fall of man, man does not have the ability to think. This is an old deception of Satan.

St. Thomas Aquinas explains the effects of original sin as follows:

Original justice was forfeited through the sin of our first parent [Adam], as already stated above (I-II Q. 81 a. 2); so that all the powers of the soul are left, as it were, destitute of their proper order, whereby they are naturally directed to virtue; which destitution is called a wounding of nature.

Again, there are four of the powers that can be the subject of virtue, as stated above (I-II Q. 61 a. 2), viz. the reason, where prudence resides, the will, where justice is, the irascible [passions], the subject of fortitude, and the concupiscible [passions], the subject of temperance. Therefore, in so far as the reason is deprived of its order to the true, there is the wound of ignorance, in so far as the will is deprived of its order to the good, there is the wound of malice; in so far as the irascible is deprived of its order to the arduous, there is the wound of weakness; and in so far as the concupiscible is deprived of its order to the delectation moderated by reason, there is the wound of concupiscence.

Accordingly, these are the four wounds inflicted on the whole of the human nature as a result of our first parent’s sin. But since the inclination to the good of virtues is diminished in each individual on account of actual sin, as was explained above (in I-II Q. 85 a.1& 2), these four wounds are also the result of other sins, in so far as, through sin, the reason is obscured especially in practical matters, the will hardened to evil, good actions become more difficult, and concupiscence more impetuous.¹

Personal Sins Increase the Effects of These Wounds

In the above text from St. Thomas, he explains that not only the wounds of original sin are evident in man, but also that one’s personal, actual sins increase the effect of these wounds of original sin for him. We can readily guess that Satan and all of his fellow demons know the strengths and weaknesses of each individual, so of course, they know exactly what temptations to use on each individual soul.

Natural Inclinations Affect All Humans

Although the wounds of original sin influence all humans, each person is unique in his material dispositions, and from this it is easy to see how each person can be uniquely affected by the wounds of original sin. In other words, each person has his own individual degree of the wounds of original sin. In the vast number of humans that have ever lived, there is a wide spectrum of strengths and weaknesses. For example, some races of people seem to be naturally strong in their mental acuity whereas other races seem to be stronger in their physical prowess.² We can observe that God certainly has created a variety of humans and we must take many things into consideration in our relations with our neighbor. We will discuss this aspect of relationships in more detail at a future time.

Personal Dispositions and the Seven Capital Sins

The demons make ready use of tempting humans to the seven capital sins. Here is what the Concise Catholic Dictionary tells us about these sins:

The so-called “deadly sins” seven in number, called “capital” because they are the source of most other sins: called “deadly” because they easily lead to mortal sins. They need not be separate acts but can exist as habits or vices. The seven capital sins are: pride, covetousness, lust, anger, gluttony, envy, and sloth.³

Just as humans have natural tendencies connected to their material make-up, they have natural weaknesses and strengths. There is not a perfect balance between the strengths and weaknesses. Some may have far more weaknesses than they have strengths. Some may have only weaknesses and, seemingly, no strengths. Furthermore, there are souls who may have more strengths and fewer weaknesses.

The demons know that humans share the wounds of original sin. The demons also know that one capital sin often leads a soul to the other capital sins, and because the demons know the inclinations of souls, including their strengths and weaknesses, they strive to drag the soul into the capital sin to which that soul is most prone.

In addition to this common condition of the wounds of original sin and the particular genetic (i.e., material, bodily) disposition⁴, human nature also includes the passions. In Lesson #39 we reflected how the passions work in order to get a better understanding of the passion of anger. We studied anger and how the choleric is prone to this passion. We also saw how anger is one of the capital sins which the choleric is prone to commit.

A Genetic (Material, Bodily) Disinclination toward the Effort to Think Carefully

Thus, there can be a genetic (material, bodily) disinclination to make the effort to think carefully. A person can be ill-disposed to do the mental work involved in deeper thinking. St. Thomas goes so far as to call the fear of mental work, stupor. He adds, “just as laziness shrinks from the toil of external work, so amazement and stupor shrink from the difficulty of considering a great and unwonted thing, whether good or evil; so that amazement and stupor stand in relation to the act of the intellect, as laziness does to external work.”⁵

So when a person has not previously made habitual efforts to think deeply or carefully, he is not accustomed to the task. In this way, the work involved is unusual to him and viewed by him as “unwonted”.⁶ Such a person “shrink[s] from the difficulty of considering” a “great and unwonted thing”, as St. Thomas explains.

The Attitude that “I don’t have the ability”, Stems from Fear.

Ultimately this kind of attitude is caused by fear. In order to give this topic a thorough treatment and to gain a clearer understanding of how this problem is not exclusively a choleric one, we will need to consider further the passion of fear.

A Preview…

In our next lesson we will begin our study of the passion of fear because this passion affects all the temperaments. We will then be able to see how deep-thinking is really perceived by the choleric.

1 Summa Ia IIae Q. 85 a.3 Respondeo (bold and italic and bracketed words added for emphasis or clarity).

2 Read this article: God Wills the Natural Inequalities between Different Persons and between Different Peoples. This article can be found here: https://catholiccandle.org/2019/09/22/god-wills-the-natural-inequalities-between-different-peoples/

4 A soul is created by God at the instant of the particular person’s conception. That soul, as such, is identical to every other rational (human) soul created by God. The differences between persons are on the part of the person’s matter. Thus, e.g., a baby girl differs from a baby boy not in the type of soul she has, but in her material part. Likewise, one person’s strengths and weaknesses, as compared to another person, are not because God created them with differences in their souls, but because of differences in their bodily, material parts.

5 Summa, Ia IIae, Q.41, a.4, ad. 4.

Posted on August 28, 2025 by Catholic Candle

Words to Live by – from Catholic Tradition

Let Us Be Manly Men!

The crisis in society and in the human element of the Church is principally caused by men much more than women or children. Men are the evil “fathers” of feminism and each of the principal evils of civil society and of the human element of the Catholic Church.

God made men to lead society, much more by their greater strength of mind than by their greater strength of body. Here is one way Catholic Candle stated this fact in the past:

A manly man must not be selfish, nor carried away by his emotions or passions. He must control himself and always live according to his reason. That is why a man can be a manly man and can show the truth of manliness even when he is 106 years old and is wheelchair-bound.¹

Here is how St. John Chrysostom, Doctor of the Church, teaches this same truth:

Because we have strength of body, we are not therefore manly men. For he alone hath this virtue [viz., manliness] –yes, though he be confined to his bed — whose strength is from within; since without this, though a man should tear-up a mountain by his strength of body, I would call him nothing stronger than a girl.²

1 Quoted from: The Crisis in Society is Caused by Unmanly Men, which can be found here: https://catholiccandle.org/2024/07/22/the-crisis-in-society-is-caused-by-unmanly-men/

2 St. John Chrysostom, on the Epistle for the Feast of St. Lawrence, part of sermon 19 on 2^nd Cor. 9:6-9 (bracketed words added to show context).

Lesson #48: Temperaments – Choleric Temperament – a Choleric’s Spiritual Combat – Part XIII

Posted on August 9, 2025September 24, 2025 by Catholic Candle

Philosophy Notes

Catholic Candle note: The article immediately below is part thirteen of the study of the Choleric temperament. The first twelve parts can be found here:

Mary’s School of Sanctity – Lesson #36: About the Temperaments – Beginning our Study of the Choleric Temperament – Part I: https://catholiccandle.org/2024/08/27/lesson-35-about-the-temperaments-the-choleric-temperament/
Mary’s School of Sanctity – Lesson #37: About the Temperaments – Continuing Our Study of the Choleric Temperament– Part II: https://catholiccandle.org/2024/09/26/lesson-37-about-the-temperaments-continuation-of-the-choleric-temperament/
Mary’s School of Sanctity – Lesson #38 — About the Temperaments – Continuing our Study of the Choleric Temperament – Their Spiritual Combat – Part III:: https://catholiccandle.org/2024/10/24/lesson-38-temperaments-choleric-temperament-their-spiritual-combat/
Mary’s School of Sanctity – Lesson #39 About the Temperaments – Continuing Our Study of the Choleric Temperament – That Temperament’s Spiritual Combat – Part IV: https://catholiccandle.org/2024/11/26/lesson-39-temperaments-choleric-temperament-their-spiritual-combat-part-iv/
Mary’s School of Sanctity – Lesson #40: Temperaments – Choleric Temperament – Their Spiritual Combat – Part V: https://catholiccandle.org/2024/12/30/lesson-40-temperaments-choleric-temperament-their-spiritual-combat-part-v/
Mary’s School of Sanctity – Lesson #41 – About the Temperaments – Continuing Our Study of the Choleric Temperament: a Choleric’s Spiritual Combat — Part VI: https://catholiccandle.org/2025/01/27/lesson-41-temperaments-choleric-temperament-a-cholerics-spiritual-combat-part-vi/
Mary’s School of Sanctity – Lesson #42: About the Temperaments – Continuing Our Study of the Choleric Temperament – a Choleric’s Spiritual Combat – Part VII: https://catholiccandle.org/2025/02/21/lesson-42-temperaments-choleric-temperament-a-cholerics-spiritual-combat-part-vii/
Mary’s School of Sanctity — Lesson #43 About the Temperaments –Continuing Our Study of the Choleric Temperament — Their Spiritual Combat Part VIII: https://catholiccandle.org/2025/03/27/lesson-42-temperaments-choleric-temperament-a-cholerics-spiritual-combat-part-viii/
Mary’s School of Sanctity – Lesson #44 About the Temperaments – Continuing Our Study of the Choleric Temperament – Their Spiritual Combat, Part IX: https://catholiccandle.org/2025/04/23/lesson-44-temperaments-choleric-temperament-a-cholerics-spiritual-combat-part-ix/
Mary’s School of Sanctity — Lesson #45 About the Temperaments – Continuing Our Study of the Choleric Temperament – The Choleric’s Spiritual Combat Part X: https://catholiccandle.org/2025/05/20/lesson-45-temperaments-choleric-temperament-a-cholerics-spiritual-combat-part-x/
Mary’s School of Sanctity — Lesson #46 About the Temperaments – Continuing Our Study of the Choleric Temperament – The Cholerics’ Spiritual Combat – Part XI: https://catholiccandle.org/2025/06/28/lesson-46-temperaments-choleric-temperament-a-cholerics-spiritual-combat-part-xi/
Mary’s School of Sanctity — Lesson #47 About the Temperaments – Continuing Our Study of the Choleric Temperament – The Choleric’s Spiritual Combat – Part XII: https://catholiccandle.org/2025/07/24/lesson-47-temperaments-choleric-temperament-a-cholerics-spiritual-combat-part-xii/

Lesson #48 About the Temperaments – Continuing Our Study of the Choleric Temperament – The Choleric’s Spiritual Combat Part XIII

Note: When referring to a person with a choleric temperament in this article we simply will label him as a choleric.

In our last lesson we discussed how the choleric is easily fooled by the devil and ensnared in various forms of pride including wanting to be considered by others as very knowledgeable and as a great achiever. Hence, he has a tendency to fall into the trap of vainglory. However, these traps of pride are often embraced because the choleric is really trying to cover up the fact that he is a coward when it comes to deep thinking. He is lazy in using his intellectual abilities and therefore is not comfortable using them readily. Because he senses his lack of intellectual acuteness, he gives into the temptation to simply tell himself that it is too difficult to think carefully. This fear of mental work, which St. Thomas calls stupor,¹ paralyzes the choleric into not even wanting to try to reason carefully.

Vicious Circle of Self-Feeding Fear of the Intellectual Life

Naturally, the devil fosters this irrational fear of careful thinking because the devil hates the fact that humans were created to be rational and learn the highest truths.

All through the centuries of human existence the devil has attacked mankind and tried to convince men that they should not think, especially deeply. Not only this, but the devil also wants men to believe that they do not have to think carefully. Furthermore, he tells men that thinking deeply interferes with one’s ability to have “fun” and “pleasure”. Ultimately, the devil wants us humans to believe that we were created to enjoy ourselves and that there is nothing more to do. Certainly the devil doesn’t want us to know the truth that our intellect is our highest faculty and when we use it well, we come to have the greatest delight and pleasure.

And so it is when the choleric has given into the temptation to be intellectually lazy, he thereby has allowed himself to become a shallow thinker and has harmed his own natural (i.e., human) desire to know. When he continues in this vein, he builds his fear of intellectual effort and likewise he weakens his willpower to actually make efforts to ponder and consider truth.

He will soon lose any savor to consider God and the higher truths. This manner of acting brings the choleric into more and more pride, a capital sin and into another dangerous capital sin named sloth, which is displeasure in the things of God.

We can see how the devil uses these masterstrokes against souls when he inspires irrational fears to dissuade a man from the proper use of reason.

How Can a Choleric Fight Against Such Demonic Tactics?

The choleric must learn to have God as his highest priority in life. The choleric must learn to appreciate having a divine friendship with Almighty God. With these things in his mind, he will not want to offend God.

The choleric must foster Fear of the Lord. When the choleric learns to appreciate the fact that sin offends the all good God, especially the sin of abusing our highest faculty, he would not want to shirk his duty to think and think well.

The choleric should pray for God’s assistance – the choleric should do everything in his power to foster a healthy prayer life.

The choleric should read the lives of the saints, especially a saint with the choleric temperament. This will not only help him get to know himself, but will also encourage him that he can indeed overcome his faults and amend his life. Plus, by applying his mind to the study of the virtues of the saints, he will foster a better development of his mind and a love of study.

The choleric should practice penances. Fasting is a powerful tool to strengthen one’s reasoning power and one’s will power.²

A Preview…

In our next lesson we will address the choleric’s false belief that he doesn’t have the ability to think deeply and how this belief has bad influences on the soul. In addition, we will discuss remedies to counteract this lie of the enemy of our souls.

1 St. Thomas explains this fear in Summa Ia IIae, Q.41, a.4, ad 4 & ad 5.

2 St. Thomas explains this truth about fasting in several places in the Summa, e.g., IIa IIae Q.147, a.1-3.

CC in Brief – Does God Change His Love for Us as We Change in Charity?

Posted on August 8, 2025September 24, 2025 by Catholic Candle

Catholic Candle note: Catholic Candle normally examines particular issues thoroughly, at length, using the teachings of St. Thomas Aquinas and the other Doctors of the Church. By contrast, our feature CC in Brief, usually gives an extremely short answer to a reader’s question. We invite every reader to submit his own questions.

Q. If God loves our souls to the extent that we are holy, He would be changing with every good or bad act that we do (which is impossible, because God is immutable). Could you explain this for me?

A. You are correct that God loves all creatures to the extent of the good He put into them (including creating them). This includes God loving even the devils to the extent of the good that He Himself put into them, although He hates the evil of their wills (which evil is not His work).

The love of God includes the supernatural good He puts into some creatures. So, He loves men as His friends to the extent of the goodness of their wills – that is, to the extent that they are holy.

God never changes. His very Being is His own single, unchangeable Act and it is an Act of love and an Act of understanding of Himself and this Act is always the same for all Eternity. So, God loves Himself from all Eternity and as part of this single Act of love (of Himself) He loves His work (which is everything else that He loves) from all Eternity too.

God is not in time. He sees (i.e., knows) all of His creatures in this way (outside of time). He loves every creature as the “collection” of all good that He Himself put into them as He sees (i.e., knows) them throughout all Eternity. So God does not constantly change His “opinion” about a creature, loving that creature more at one time and then less at another time, as that creature – which is in time – becomes more loveable at one time and then less loveable at another time.

Instead, God has an eternal, immutable knowledge and love of that creature according to the measure of the good that He put into the creature.

Here is an analogy to help you see how God loves creatures according to the good in them (as seen from God’s Eternity) but God does not change His “opinion” of creatures as they change:

Suppose that you love mangos exceedingly. You know that a crate of mangos is being shipped to you and you know that they are presently perfect and luscious. But suppose that you have perfect knowledge of the future and that you know that when the crate reaches you, there will be no edible mangos in the crate and all of them will be rotten, will reek exceedingly, and will have to be thrown out. Your view of those mangos right now will not change as those mangos change from luscious to rotten. You will view them now as if they were already disgusting.

Likewise, God knows and loves all creatures in this same way. In fact, it could not be otherwise, since God does not change. So, Our Lord chose Judas as one of his apostles and at that time, Judas was a good man.¹ But God knew that Judas would commit the horrific sin of Deicide.² Thus, God’s “opinion” of Judas did not change as Judas himself went from a special, chosen friend of Christ, to an infamous pariah to all good men. At all times, God viewed Judas as the vile man that he would become.

Similarly, in the case of the man who is now an enemy of God but whom God has chosen as one of His elect, God views this man even now as the friend and fellow inhabitant of heaven that this man will become.

So from all Eternity and for all Eternity, God’s “view” of every man is according to the state of soul that the man will have at his Particular Judgment and in the unending Hereafter.

1 Here are two places where St. Thomas Aquinas, greatest Doctor of the Catholic Church, taught that Judas was good when Christ chose him:

Christ chose Judas, who was later to become evil ….

St. Thomas Aquinas, Lectures on St. John’s Gospel, Ch. 6, #1007.

And:

But what of the fact that many who are Christ’s sheep did not hear His voice, as Paul; or that some who were not His sheep did hear it, as Judas? One might reply that Judas was Christ’s sheep for that time as to his present righteousness.

St. Thomas Aquinas, Lectures on St. John’s Gospel, Ch 10, #1373.

2 Here is how St. John Chrysostom, Doctor of the Church, teaches that Judas’ betrayal of Our Lord was the greatest crime ever committed, concerning which St. John Chrysostom teaches:

[T]here are many iniquities, but never was anything more iniquitous than this ….

St. John Chrysostom’s sermon #3 on the Act of the Apostles.

CC in Brief – What Should We Think of Pope Leo XIV?

Posted on August 8, 2025September 24, 2025 by Catholic Candle

Below is a Question Asked by an Incarcerated Catholic Candle Reader Who Receives Catholic Candle Intermittently When the Mailed Copy Is Allowed Through by the Prison Censors.

Q. What is your opinion on the new American Pope Leo 14? Do you think he will be a pope who preaches Traditional Catholic Teaching? I know Vatican 2 and the last four popes were leftists, Pope Francis (R.I.P.) being the most Woke!

A. Let us pray hard for Pope Leo XIV. His pontificate is just beginning, and yet there seems sufficient evidence this this reign will be one of continued destruction and revolution.

The Slim “Positive Side”

But first, on the positive side, Pope Leo is not the attention-grabbing showman that Pope Francis was.

Also, on the positive side, he follows certain customs of his office more than Pope Francis did. For example, Pope Leo wears certain customary papal attire that is appropriate to his office, more than Pope Francis did. (This is good. This is like the fact that a civil judge should wear judicial robes in court as a sign of his office and not wear a tee shirt, shorts, and flipflops.)

But there is Much on the “Bad Side“

On the bad side, Pope Leo XIV has shown many signs that he is a leftist. Below are a few examples.

Pope Leo’s Environmental Alarmism

Pope Leo is the first one to use the newly-issued “mass” for the care of our planet. (This “mass” was an initiative of Pope Francis.) At this “mass”, he preached a sermon which was as extreme in environmental alarmism as any discourse of Pope Francis. This sermon clearly showed he has a “Green Peace” leftist agenda. In this sermon, the pope stated:

We hear the cry of the Earth. We hear the cry of the poor because this cry has reached the Heart of God. Our indignation is His indignation. Our work is His work.¹

Pope Leo Condemns National Borders

Pope Leo has echoed Pope Francis in condemning national borders:

Where there is love, there is no room for prejudice, for “security” zones separating us from our neighbors, for the exclusionary mindset that, tragically, we now see emerging also in political nationalisms.

It was on the feast of Pentecost that Pope Francis observed: “In our world today, there is so much discord, such great division. We are all ‘connected’, yet find ourselves disconnected from one another, anesthetized by indifference and overwhelmed by solitude” (Homily, 28 May 2023). The wars plaguing our world are a tragic sign of this. Let us invoke the Spirit of love and peace, that he may open borders, break down walls, dispel hatred and help us to live as children of our one Father who is in heaven.²

Pope Leo has “Canonized” Pope Francis

Pope Leo strongly praises Pope Francis and has declared several times that he is in heaven. For example, in May 2025, Pope Leo declared:

During Mass, I strongly felt the spiritual presence of Pope Francis accompanying us from heaven.³

Pope Leo Promotes the So-Called “Synodal Church”

Pope Leo showed clearly that he plans to continue Pope Francis’ error of a “synodal church”:

Aware, moreover, that synodality and ecumenism are closely linked, I wish to assure you of my intention to continue Pope Francis’ commitment to promoting the synodal character of the Catholic Church and developing new and concrete forms for an ever stronger and more intense synodality in the ecumenical field.⁴

Pope Leo Continues to Promote the False Conciliar “Union” with the Jews

Pope Leo showed clearly that he plans to continue the promotion of a false and merely apparent unity with the jews which does not involve their conversion to the only True Faith:

In a special way I greet our Jewish and Muslim brothers and sisters. Because of the Jewish roots of Christianity, all Christians have a special relationship with Judaism. The conciliar Declaration Nostra Aetate (no. 4) emphasizes the greatness of the spiritual heritage shared by Christians and Jews, encouraging mutual knowledge and esteem. The theological dialogue between Christians and Jews remains ever important and close to my heart. Even in these difficult times, marked by conflicts and misunderstandings, it is necessary to continue the momentum of this precious dialogue of ours.⁵

Lastly, Pope Leo has mostly continued the same programs and legislation implemented by Pope Francis. This further indicates that Pope Leo is no conservative.

Let us watch vigilantly and pray fervently for him!

Catholic Candle note: We ask all Catholic Candle readers to please pray for this incarcerated man, who is trying to discern the truth and save his soul under very difficult circumstances.

https://www.npr.org/2025/07/10/nx-s1-5459932/pope-leo-xiv-calls-on-catholics-to-see-the-urgency-of-protecting-the-environment

https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/homilies/2025/documents/20250608-omelia-pentecoste.html

https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/angelus/2025/documents/20250518-regina-caeli.html

https://www.usccb.org/news/2025/pope-reaffirms-commitment-ecumenical-interreligious-dialogue

https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/speeches/2025/may/documents/20250519-altre-religioni.html

Posted on July 24, 2025 by Catholic Candle

Words to Live by – from Catholic Tradition

Whenever We Complain We Offend God, Harm Our Souls, and Scandalize Our Neighbor

St. John of the Cross, great Mystical Doctor, reminds us to never complain. Here are his words:

Anyone who complains or grumbles is not perfect,
nor is he even a good Christian.

Words of St. John of the Cross, quoted from his work called Other Counsels, #4.

Lesson #47: Temperaments – Choleric Temperament – a Choleric’s Spiritual Combat – Part XII

Posted on July 9, 2025August 29, 2025 by Catholic Candle

Philosophy Notes

Catholic Candle note: The article immediately below is part twelve of the study of the Choleric temperament. The first eleven parts can be found here:

1. Mary’s School of Sanctity – Lesson #36: About the Temperaments – Beginning our Study of the Choleric Temperament – Part I: https://catholiccandle.org/2024/08/27/lesson-35-about-the-temperaments-the-choleric-temperament/

2. Mary’s School of Sanctity – Lesson #37: About the Temperaments – Continuing Our Study of the Choleric Temperament– Part II: https://catholiccandle.org/2024/09/26/lesson-37-about-the-temperaments-continuation-of-the-choleric-temperament/

3. Mary’s School of Sanctity – Lesson #38 — About the Temperaments – Continuing our Study of the Choleric Temperament – Their Spiritual Combat – Part III:: https://catholiccandle.org/2024/10/24/lesson-38-temperaments-choleric-temperament-their-spiritual-combat/

4. Mary’s School of Sanctity – Lesson #39 About the Temperaments – Continuing Our Study of the Choleric Temperament – That Temperament’s Spiritual Combat – Part IV: https://catholiccandle.org/2024/11/26/lesson-39-temperaments-choleric-temperament-their-spiritual-combat-part-iv/

5. Mary’s School of Sanctity – Lesson #40: Temperaments – Choleric Temperament – Their Spiritual Combat – Part V: https://catholiccandle.org/2024/12/30/lesson-40-temperaments-choleric-temperament-their-spiritual-combat-part-v/

6. Mary’s School of Sanctity – Lesson #41 – About the Temperaments – Continuing Our Study of the Choleric Temperament: a Choleric’s Spiritual Combat — Part VI: https://catholiccandle.org/2025/01/27/lesson-41-temperaments-choleric-temperament-a-cholerics-spiritual-combat-part-vi/

7. Mary’s School of Sanctity – Lesson #42: About the Temperaments – Continuing Our Study of the Choleric Temperament – a Choleric’s Spiritual Combat – Part VII: https://catholiccandle.org/2025/02/21/lesson-42-temperaments-choleric-temperament-a-cholerics-spiritual-combat-part-vii/

8. Mary’s School of Sanctity — Lesson #43 About the Temperaments –Continuing Our Study of the Choleric Temperament — Their Spiritual Combat Part VIII: https://catholiccandle.org/2025/03/27/lesson-42-temperaments-choleric-temperament-a-cholerics-spiritual-combat-part-viii/

9. Mary’s School of Sanctity – Lesson #44 About the Temperaments – Continuing Our Study of the Choleric Temperament – Their Spiritual Combat, Part IX: https://catholiccandle.org/2025/04/23/lesson-44-temperaments-choleric-temperament-a-cholerics-spiritual-combat-part-ix/

10. Mary’s School of Sanctity — Lesson #45 About the Temperaments – Continuing Our Study of the Choleric Temperament – The Choleric’s Spiritual Combat Part X: https://catholiccandle.org/2025/05/20/lesson-45-temperaments-choleric-temperament-a-cholerics-spiritual-combat-part-x/

11. Mary’s School of Sanctity — Lesson #46 About the Temperaments – Continuing Our Study of the Choleric Temperament – The Cholerics’ Spiritual Combat – Part XI: https://catholiccandle.org/2025/06/28/lesson-46-temperaments-choleric-temperament-a-cholerics-spiritual-combat-part-xi/

Mary’s School of Sanctity

Lesson #47 About the Temperaments – Continuing Our Study of the Choleric Temperament – The Choleric’s Spiritual Combat – Part XII

Note: When referring to a person with a choleric temperament in this article, we simply will label him as a choleric.

In our last lesson we examined in detail what is involved with one using his reason and saw that, when he does not listen to the voice of his reason, he sins.

Let us begin to probe into the possible reasons why the choleric has the tendency to not reason deeply or thoroughly.

In our last lesson, we saw some potential motives for why the choleric acts this way.

Now we look further into the first of those motives, namely that the choleric simply does not want to take the time necessary to think things through. This can be directly linked back to the problem of pride under several aspects.

First of all, let us recall the definition of pride which we saw in our last lesson. When one has unreasonable pride[1], he views himself disproportionately, thinking that he is better in some respect than he really is. For example, he may think he is very important.

Various Types of Unreasonable Pride Which Are Often Associated With the “Hurried” Choleric

We noted in an earlier lesson how the choleric tends to be over-confident and often acts as if he is a “know-it-all”.

This over-confidence naturally coincides with other aspects in the trap of pride. Here the choleric wants to be seen as a “hero” who carries out the greatest achievements. He sees himself as the one who “saves the day” especially when there is a crisis or a big problem to solve.

Along with this mentality (that he is a self-made hero) is the choleric’s drive to excel in what he is currently doing and in all his plans. Because he wants to accomplish a great number of things, he believes that he does not have time to “slow-down” his “progress” and “waste” his time evaluating the details of his plans. He certainly does not view the idea of analyzing his plan as anything that would be productive in assuring the success of his project. Indeed, his over-confidence assures him that his plans are perfect so reflection about them is not needed.

This unreasonable pride[2] also prompts this choleric to want “instant fulfillment” of his plans. We must remember that the choleric has a lot of energy and seems to always be on the move. He wants to accomplish many things and acts as if he wished that his project could have been done already! He wants his plans implemented “yesterday” or even “last year”! He gets impatient if there are any delays in his plans.

Lacking a God-Centered View of Things

This choleric with unreasonable pride may very well think he is working with God’s Will in mind. However, he more often has put his own will before God’s Will, and his own glory before God’s glory.[3]

Unfortunately, he is easily ensnared in this kind of unreasonable pride and tends to think that his plan could not possibly have any flaws whatsoever. If he knew the truth of the matter – viz., that to think thoroughly and deeply about his project would help him consider if his plan was good and/or perfecting to his soul – then he would actually want to take the necessary time to evaluate his plan.

How Should the Choleric Perceive Himself in Order to Prevent Unreasonable Pride and to Help Him Keep His Sights on God’s Will?

The choleric has to understand that God must be his first priority – in fact his only priority. He must put God first in his heart, therefore, in his life.

In order to have this proper perspective he has to be, first of all, a man of prayer. He must pray to know God’s will and to be humble. If he understands how important it is to be humble and work for God – in the time-frame and under the circumstances that God sends – then he will have no problem being patient and waiting for God to enlighten his understanding. He would seek advice and want to thoroughly examine his goals to be sure that he is not being fooled by a trick that the devil sends in order to entrap him in pride.

The choleric should especially fear pride, for unreasonable pride is a sin. Hence, he should fear his tendency to plow ahead heedlessly and impetuously. He ought to pray to have a great appreciation for proper learning and for the use of reason, knowing that God expects him to use this highest faculty, his intellect. Thus, he should understand the fact that it is sinful for him to not think deeply and carefully. He should make it his goal to acquire a horror of displeasing God in any way. He must see God as his beloved Friend and, thus, it must penetrate deep into his heart that he should avoid, at all costs, anything that would offend his Divine Friend.!

By repeated efforts, the choleric can learn to want with all his heart to foster a deep love of God and thereby provide himself with the greatest protection against his type of unreasonable pride which leads him quickly to vainglory.

The Choleric Must Have High and Supernatural Goals.

The choleric must seek God’s Will in all things. He must always ask himself what service/task/plan God wants from him. The choleric must see his own nothingness first before he will be able to discover God’s Will and have the desire to work for God. The choleric must be aware of his tendency to see himself as a special hero when, after all, he knows the truth that only God’s Will matters! The choleric must overcome his temptation to vainglory. If he fears vainglory, this will help him overcome the temptation to it. He must see that the only true glory is to do God’s Will. He must see his need to be united with God and that without God, he can do nothing.

A Preview…

In our next lesson we will address the second motive on the list (in lesson #46) of reasons why cholerics have a tendency to not think deeply and carefully, namely, because of a false belief that such reasoning is too difficult.

[1] All sin is unreasonable and all unreasonable pride is a sin. But there can be good pride, e.g., a parent’s proper pride in his children’s good conduct or a workman’s proper pride in his work, leading him to do good quality work and not “cut corners”.

[2] All sin is unreasonable and all unreasonable pride is a sin. But there can be good pride, e.g., a parent’s proper pride in his children’s good conduct or a workman’s proper pride in his work, leading him to do good quality work and not “cut corners”.

[3] Here is one way that St. Thomas Aquinas, greatest Doctor of the Catholic Church, explains that this motive is vainglory:

Now the sin of vainglory, considered in itself, does not seem to be contrary to charity as regards the love of one’s neighbor; yet as regards the love of God it may be contrary to charity in two ways.

In one way, by reason of the matter about which one glories; for instance, when one glories in something false that is opposed to the reverence we owe to God. Or again, when a man prefers to God the temporal good in which he glories: for this is forbidden. Or again, when a man prefers the testimony of man to God’s, thus, it is written in reproval of certain people [John 12:43], “For they loved the glory of men more than the glory of God.”

In another way vainglory may be contrary to charity, on the part of the one who glories, in that he refers his intention to glory as his last end; so that he directs even virtuous deeds thereto, and, in order to obtain it, forbears not from doing even that which is against God. In this way it is a mortal sin. Wherefore [St.] Augustine says (De Civ. Dei v. 14) that “this vice, namely the love of human praise, is so hostile to a godly faith, if the heart desires glory more that it fears or loves God, that Our Lord said (John 5:44): How can you believe, who receive glory one from another, and the glory which is from God alone, you do not seek?”

Summa, IIa IIae, Q.132, a.3, Respondeo (bracketed words added).

Posted on June 28, 2025 by Catholic Candle

Words to Live by – from Catholic Tradition

Bad leaders in the Church and in Society are a Punishment for Sin

We are suffering from bad leaders in the Church and civil society as Divine retribution for the sins of people in the human element of the Church and in civil society.

Here is one way that St. Thomas Aquinas, greatest Doctor of the Church, teaches this truth:

To deserve to secure from God the blessing of a good ruler, the people must desist from sin, for it is by Divine permission that wicked men receive power to rule as a punishment for sin, as the Lord says by the Prophet Osee [13:11]: “I will give you a king in my wrath” and it is said in Job [34:30] that he “makes a man that is a hypocrite to reign for the sins of the people.” Sin must therefore be done away with in order that the scourge of tyrants may cease.

St. Thomas, On Kingship, ch.7 (emphasis added).

Catholic Candle note: Of course, the fact that God punishes people for their sins by giving them bad rulers, does not exonerate those bad rulers from their own culpability for their sins. God is merely using the sins of bad rulers as a tool to punish the sins of the people.

Lesson #46: Temperaments – Choleric Temperament – a Choleric’s Spiritual Combat – Part XI

Posted on June 10, 2025July 24, 2025 by Catholic Candle

Philosophy Notes

Catholic Candle note: The article immediately below is part eleven of the study of the Choleric temperament. The first ten parts can be found here:

Mary’s School of Sanctity

Lesson #46 About the Temperaments – Continuing Our Study of the Choleric Temperament – The Cholerics’ Spiritual Combat – Part XI

Note: When referring to a person with a choleric temperament in this article we simply will call him a “choleric”.

In our last lesson we delved further into the typical form of pride a choleric has. Now we begin a more in depth look at the core of the choleric pride. We mentioned that the source of the choleric pride is a lack of mental discipline, that is, an unwillingness to force himself to reason deeply and carefully.

In order to discuss this unfortunate failure to use his intellect – which leads to pride – we need to have a basic understanding of how God expects us to use our intellect.

In his Spiritual Exercises, St. Ignatius explains that man is created to praise, revere, and serve God.[1] The Baltimore Catechism refers to these actions as knowing, loving, and serving God.

The highest faculty a man possesses is his intellect and so it makes sense that the more a man knows, the better he will be able to praise, revere, and serve God. This is true even if he knows about God merely through observing God’s creation.[2] The more someone knows the truth, the more he is inspired to love God and consequently to serve God better.[3]

The Purpose of the Intellect

Man is intended to use his God-given reason to know his proper goal, namely, the happiness of enjoying God in heaven, and to take the proper means to accomplish this goal. However, because of original sin, man’s mind has the wound of ignorance and his body has the wounds of the concupiscence of the eyes and the flesh. In addition to this, man is prone to inordinate pride (i.e., the pride of life, as St. John the Evangelist calls it, 1 St. John, 2:16).

St. Thomas explains that the goodness of an action depends on the will of a man being directed to his proper end, that is, to God. He explains how God intended man’s reason to direct and inform his will about the end (i.e., goal) of man and about the proper means he should take to obtain his end. The whole of the moral life involves man listening to the voice of reason (also known as his conscience).

God has set down His laws plainly and His Catholic Church, in her Divine Element, has expounded upon the moral life in detail. Nevertheless, the law of God, the Natural Law, is written in the heart of each man – as Genesis tells us that we are made in the image and likeness of God.[4]

So When Does the Failure to Use the Intellect Cause Sin to Occur? Whenever a man does not listen to his reason.

Every conscious thought, word, or deed is either good or is a sin – there is no “in between”.[5] Whenever a man is acting voluntarily,[6] it is a sin for him to not act according to his reason. In other words, he sins whenever he voluntarily does something unreasonable.[7]

Pride is a type of unreasonableness because it is an unreasonable exaltation of oneself.[8] Thus, pride is inherently a sin because it is inherently unreasonable.[9]

The Importance of Good Will in Using Our Reason

One must be of good will. That is, a man’s will must follow the good shown by the reason. The will pursues the good or the apparent good. Thus, man has the grave moral responsibility to find out if a particular object is really good or is only apparently good. If something is only apparently good and not truly good, then we are obliged to avoid it. Because use of reason is the center of the moral life, a man has a duty to properly inform his conscience/reason.

Further, St. Thomas tells us that even if the will listens to (i.e., follows) the reason in a situation where reason is erroneous, there is no sin provided that there is no bad motive on the part of the will and provided that the will (i.e., the man) is not blamable for his ignorance.

This explanation shows how crucial the use of reason is in the moral life of the soul.

A preview…

We have more work to do to examine the subject of the choleric temperament and reasoning. What would motivate cholerics to not think deeply and carefully? Here are some possible motives:

Ø They do not want to take the time necessary to think things through because they want to accomplish things quickly or they want to race forward to act in a way that would cause them to be perceived as heroes (or heroines).

Ø Or, they believe that it is too difficult to think carefully and deeply. (This fear of mental effort is what St. Thomas Aquinas calls stupor.)

Ø Or, they believe that they do not have the ability to think deeply.

Ø Or, they falsely view thinking deeply and carefully as “proud”.

Using these or other rationalizations, cholerics are fooled by the father of lies.

[1] Read these articles which examine this essential truth of our Faith and of human existence:

† https://catholiccandle.org/2022/05/24/lesson-9-the-principle-and-foundation-part-i/

† https://catholiccandle.org/2022/06/27/lesson-11-the-principle-and-foundation-part-ii/

[2] St. Paul teaches how man knows of God’s existence and goodness through looking at the world around us:

For the invisible things of Him, from the creation of the world, are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made; His eternal power also, and Divinity: so that they [atheists] are inexcusable.

Romans, 1:20 (bracketed word added to show context).

[3] Here is one way that St. Augustine, great Doctor of the Church, teaches this truth, addressing himself directly to God:

Heaven and earth and all that is in them tell me, wherever I look, that I should love You [i.e.¸God], and they cease not to tell it to all men, so that there is no excuse for them.

St. Augustine, The Confessions, Bk 10, Ch.6 (bracketed words added to show context).

[4] Genesis, 1:26-27.

[5] Here is one way this truth is explained by St. Thomas Aquinas, greatest Doctor of the Catholic Church:

It belongs to the reason to direct; if an action that proceeds from deliberate reason be not directed to the due end, it is, by that fact alone, repugnant to reason, and has the character of evil. But if it be directed to a due end, it is in accord with reason; wherefore it has the character of good. Now it must needs be either directed or not directed to a due end. Consequently, every human action that proceeds from deliberate reason, if it be considered in the individual, must be good or bad.

Summa, Ia IIae, Q.18, a.9, Respondeo, Whether an individual action can be indifferent? (emphasis added).

[6] St. Thomas contrasts voluntary (human) action with involuntary action proper to brute beasts:

If, however, [an action] does not proceed from deliberate reason, but from some act of the imagination, as when a man strokes his beard, or moves his hand or foot [e.g., in his sleep]; such an action, properly speaking, is not moral or human [but is the type of action a brute beast could perform], since this [moral and human action] depends on reason. Hence [an act proceeding only from imagination] will be indifferent, as standing apart from the genus [i.e., category] of moral actions.

Summa, Ia IIae, Q.18, a.9, Respondeo, Whether an individual action can be indifferent? (emphasis added; bracketed words added to show the context).

[7] St. Thomas explains this truth by quoting and following Pope St. Gregory the Great, Doctor of the Church:

Gregory says in a homily (vi in Evang.): “An idle word is one that lacks either the usefulness of rectitude or the motive of just necessity or pious utility.” But an idle word is an evil, because “men . . . shall render an account of it in the day of judgment” (Matthew 12:36): while if it does not lack the motive of just necessity or pious utility, it is good. Therefore, every [voluntary] word is either good or bad. For the same reason every other action is either good or bad. Therefore, no [voluntary] individual action is indifferent.

Summa, Ia IIae, Q.18, a.9, Sed Contra, Whether an individual action can be indifferent? (emphasis added; bracketed words added to show the context).

[8] This article pertains to the unreasonable pride which is a sin. We are not treating the proper and reasonable pride that a parent might have for his child or a citizen might have for his country.

[9] St. Thomas explains the unreasonableness of pride in this way:

Right reason requires that every man’s will should tend to that which is proportionate to him [i.e., he recognizes the truth about himself]. Therefore, it is evident that pride denotes something opposed to right reason, and this shows it [pride] to have the character of sin, according to Dionysius (Div. Nom. iv. 4), “the soul’s evil is to be opposed to reason.” Therefore, it is evident that pride is a sin.

Summa, IIa-IIae Q.162, a. 1, Respondeo (bracketed words added to show the context).

Posted on May 20, 2025 by Catholic Candle

Words to Live by – from Catholic Tradition

We Must Live According to Reason – Not According to Inclination

Here is the teaching of St. John of the Cross, the Mystical Doctor of the Church:

Blessed is he who, setting aside his own liking and inclination, considers things according to reason and justice before doing them.

Quoted from his work, Prayer Of A Soul Taken With Love, #42.

Lesson #45: Temperaments – Choleric Temperament – a Choleric’s Spiritual Combat – Part X

Posted on May 15, 2025June 28, 2025 by Catholic Candle

Philosophy Notes

Catholic Candle note: The article immediately below is part ten of the study of the Choleric temperament. The first nine parts can be found here:

Mary’s School of Sanctity – Lesson #36: About the Temperaments – Beginning our Study of the Choleric Temperament – Part I: https://catholiccandle.org/2024/08/27/lesson-35-about-the-temperaments-the-choleric-temperament/
Mary’s School of Sanctity – Lesson #37: About the Temperaments – Continuing Our Study of the Choleric Temperament– Part II: https://catholiccandle.org/2024/09/26/lesson-37-about-the-temperaments-continuation-of-the-choleric-temperament/
Mary’s School of Sanctity – Lesson #38 — About the Temperaments – Continuing our Study of the Choleric Temperament – Their Spiritual Combat – Part III:: https://catholiccandle.org/2024/10/24/lesson-38-temperaments-choleric-temperament-their-spiritual-combat/
Mary’s School of Sanctity – Lesson #39 About the Temperaments – Continuing Our Study of the Choleric Temperament – That Temperament’s Spiritual Combat – Part IV: https://catholiccandle.org/2024/11/26/lesson-39-temperaments-choleric-temperament-their-spiritual-combat-part-iv/

Mary’s School of Sanctity – Lesson #40: Temperaments – Choleric Temperament – Their Spiritual Combat – Part V: https://catholiccandle.org/2024/12/30/lesson-40-temperaments-choleric-temperament-their-spiritual-combat-part-v/
Mary’s School of Sanctity – Lesson #41 – About the Temperaments – Continuing Our Study of the Choleric Temperament: a Choleric’s Spiritual Combat — Part VI: https://catholiccandle.org/2025/01/27/lesson-41-temperaments-choleric-temperament-a-cholerics-spiritual-combat-part-vi/

Mary’s School of Sanctity – Lesson #42: About the Temperaments – Continuing Our Study of the Choleric Temperament – a Choleric’s Spiritual Combat – Part VII: https://catholiccandle.org/2025/02/21/lesson-42-temperaments-choleric-temperament-a-cholerics-spiritual-combat-part-vii/
Mary’s School of Sanctity — Lesson #43 About the Temperaments –Continuing Our Study of the Choleric Temperament — Their Spiritual Combat Part VIII: https://catholiccandle.org/2025/03/27/lesson-42-temperaments-choleric-temperament-a-cholerics-spiritual-combat-part-viii/
Mary’s School of Sanctity – Lesson #44 About the Temperaments – Continuing Our Study of the Choleric Temperament – Their Spiritual Combat, Part IX: https://catholiccandle.org/2025/04/23/lesson-44-temperaments-choleric-temperament-a-cholerics-spiritual-combat-part-ix/

Mary’s School of Sanctity

Lesson #45 About the Temperaments – Continuing Our Study of the Choleric Temperament –
The Choleric’s Spiritual Combat Part X

Note: When referring to a person with a choleric temperament in this article, we simply will label him as a choleric.

Previously, we have discussed anger and its link to pride in the choleric. Likewise, we have discussed at length how a choleric must acquire self-knowledge so he can master himself. He must beware of nurturing hatred, which fosters holding grudges.

In addition to all of this is another character trait which is directly linked to pride, namely, the choleric’s tendency to criticize and misjudge others.

When one thinks about the fact that with fallen human nature we are all infected with pride, one can see many results of this infection. One result is that we do not like others to see our weaknesses and failings. In fact, we tend to try to hide our faults rather than admit that we have them.

The bad-willed choleric is especially prone to this tendency to never admit that he is wrong. He does not want to see himself the way he really is. He avoids looking deeply into himself because he dreads discovering anything that he needs to improve in himself. This is a form of pride which in turn leads to blinding himself further regarding his own defects. He tries to convince himself that does not have his various defects. Likewise, he does not want others to see that he has any flaws.

One common way that this choleric attempts to deflect attention from his defects is to accuse others of flaws or supposed flaws. Thus, this choleric has a very strong tendency to criticize others as a means of keeping others from seeing him as he really is. Of course, this is directly linked to his denial of some (or all) of his defects. (A bad-willed choleric might be aware of his defects but does not want to correct them.) This form of pride is extremely strong in him.

An interesting point is that it seems that the more pride the bad-willed choleric has, the more critical he is and, therefore, the more he is unbearable he is to others. He seems to find constant fault with everyone around him. Thus, it can be that with some cholerics, nothing seems to please them.

Another important point to consider is that the proud choleric is instinctively intimidated by virtuous people around him, as if he can sense his defects more intensely in comparison to them. The intimidation he feels is so great within him that he vents his vexation by especially attacking any virtuous person associated with him.

If anyone points out to him any defect, this proud choleric can’t handle it and he lashes out at the “accuser”. He hurls insults at him and insists that the virtuous one, who was giving fraternal correction with love, is full of vice. It is ironic that oftentimes the so-called vice the choleric accuses his corrector of having, is the very vice he himself is full of. Instead of the choleric showing gratitude to the one giving charitable fraternal correction, the proud choleric displays his defects even more prominently by his haughty reaction to the correction.

Unfortunately, this pattern of behavior in a proud choleric is usually a vicious circle. His relatives and acquaintances become overwhelmed with the situation and do not know how to try to help him. However, since pride is blind, the choleric tends not to see any problem, so the problem becomes worse.

What can a choleric do to avoid turning into an unjust criticizer? (Below is a short list of suggestions. Of course, more can be found.)

1) Be aware of the tendency of cholerics to be proud.

2) Work very hard at acquiring the virtue of humility.

3) Saying ejaculations such as, “Jesus Meek and Humble of Heart make my heart like unto Thine,” is extremely helpful. Likewise, saying the Litany of Humility¹ often, even twice a day, is a powerful means to fight pride.

4) When a critical comment/thought about another person comes into his mind, he could tell himself that he himself possesses that problem and he should not say or think of criticizing others, because doing so would be like the “pot calling the kettle black.”

5) He should pray to Our Lord and Our Lady to help him acquire more and more self-knowledge so he can see himself more in the Divine Light and work on improving his character.

6) He must tell himself to not be afraid of seeing his flaws because God intends him to continually convert and become more Christ-like— for our life on earth is to be an imitation of Christ and so we Catholics should want with all our hearts to go to heaven and to be divine friends with Our Lord.

7) He should remind himself that everyone has a form of pride and other defects to work on, and being aware of his is a great blessing. Knowing oneself is half the battle, so to speak; then all he needs to do is to get to work and improvements and peace of soul will come.

8) He should also remind himself that others will find him easier to bear if he has begun in earnest to change his attitude to a humble one.

A Preview…

In our next lesson we will examine the very core of the choleric pride – a lack of mental discipline, i.e., an unwillingness to force himself to reason deeply.

This lack of mental discipline has the following consequences (which we will examine):

Not making good choices/decisions;
Plans are poorly formulated and poorly implemented;
Failures leading to blaming others;
Failures leading to making excuses and covering up problems;
Trying to compensate for poor thinking by acting overconfident and/or bragging; and
Trying to manipulate others and control them to avoid the problems caused by bad planning.

1 Litany of Humility
O Jesus! meek and humble of heart, Hear me.

From the desire of being esteemed, Deliver me, Jesus.

From the desire of being loved… Deliver etc.

From the desire of being extolled …

From the desire of being honored …

From the desire of being praised …

From the desire of being preferred to others…

From the desire of being consulted …

From the desire of being approved …

From the fear of being humiliated …

From the fear of being despised…

From the fear of suffering rebukes …

From the fear of being calumniated …

From the fear of being forgotten …

From the fear of being ridiculed …

From the fear of being wronged …

From the fear of being suspected …

That others may be loved more than I, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

That others may be esteemed more than I … Jesus, grant etc.

That, in the opinion of the world, others may increase and I may decrease …
That others may be chosen and I set aside …
That others may be praised and I unnoticed …
That others may be preferred to me in everything…
That others may become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should…

CC in Brief – Should we EVER go into St. Peter’s Basilica?

Posted on May 15, 2025June 28, 2025 by Catholic Candle

CC in Brief

Should we EVER go into St. Peter’s Basilica?

Below is a reader’s question in light of an article in the April 2025 Catholic Candle concerning conciliar (and other compromise) churches being unfitting places to pray¹:

Q. Are you saying that a Catholic should not go into St. Peter’s Basilica? Did not the Lord go into the Temple, that den of thieves where blasphemies were regularly committed?

A. You are correct to follow Our Lord’s example in all things. But we must be careful to make sure that we are in the same situation before doing the same physical act that Our Lord did. So, e.g., we should not attempt to walk on water, as He did.

The Temple was Our Lord’s own house. Consider the possible difference between a well-armed man who walked into his own house which has been taken over by a drug gang, when he seeks to clean out the riffraff (like Our Lord going into the Temple to clean it out). Compare this to someone else deciding to walk into the same drug house with lesser good reasons, or even just for gawking and photo opportunities, etc.

Further, there seems to be a difference between Catholic practice near the time of Our Lord and after that. There was a certain transition period during which Catholics like Saints Peter and John went into the Temple [Acts of the Apostles, 3:1-6], but after this transition period, Catholics did not enter. In fact, the three reasons given in the Catholic Candle article² are an ample basis for explaining why faithful and informed Catholics ceased entering synagogues, just as they should not enter conciliar or compromise churches as explained in the Catholic Candle article. So, for the reasons set forth in the Catholic Candle article, we think people should not go into conciliar or other compromise churches to pray.

But what about entering a conciliar building for tourism purposes? Is there scandal^³ then?

Yes, there is still scandal, but for different reasons. There would not be the same type of scandal when one enters a church building – like St. Peter’s in Rome – if it is a daily tourist trap full of large crowds who are obviously not there to pray. In such a case, if a man were to walk into the building snapping pictures, dressed like a tourist, and not praying or genuflecting, it reduces or eliminates the scandal of being seen entering there as a place of prayer.

But there would still be a different problem than the scandal of a man going into that church to pray. This is because it seems unfitting to simply treat St. Peter’s as a secular tourist site because this ignores the fact that the basilica was formerly a place of holiness, although it is now desecrated. Profane treatment of a once-holy building would seem to be wrong, like treating a previously-consecrated chalice like a secular drinking vessel because it has already been desecrated. So, we should not go into conciliar or compromise churches either to pray or to simply gawk around and look at the beauty of the art.⁴

Besides the scandal of praying in conciliar churches, there are other concerns and occasions for compromise when entering these places. One temptation would be to genuflect (out of a misguided reverence) in front of the “tabernacles.” (There is a serious doubt that Our Lord is really present in the novus ordo and various “Latin Mass” venues, based not only regarding the problems with the novus ordo “mass” itself, but also doubtful ordinations/consecrations, and invalid form, matter, or intention.)

One might see some otherwise well-meaning “Traditionalists” dipping their fingers into the “holy” water fonts, or even showing respect for the masonic “altar” tables. All of this constitutes compromising / mixing with the Revolution. We must never do this.

In contrast, every year the “new” SSPX leads hundreds of “Traditionalists” through these conciliar buildings on European pilgrimages. These pilgrimages are led by SSPX priests, and one sees in the advertisement pictures that “Traditionalists” are kneeling reverently in prayer.

Pilgrimages are good and wholesome in regular times, but now is not the time for such activities to the locations desecrated by the ongoing Conciliar Revolution. We are in full-scale war with this Revolution!

For all the above reasons, we must avoid entering conciliar or other compromise churches to pray or “just to look around” – including the famous churches in Europe. This is a sacrifice for faithful and informed Catholics but is an act of integrity and prudence to offer to Our Lord the King, as well as to avoid scandal.

We would do well to remember the famous quote from St. Athanasius when the Arian heretics of his day took possession of the churches: “They have the churches, but we have the faith.”⁵ It is clear that St. Athanasius, knowing the horror of heresy, would have been saddened had he heard that some Catholics were entering such Arian churches (or, in our times, entering into conciliar or compromise churches) because of their art, their beauty, their history, etc.

Let us stay out of such churches! We should be completely content and extremely grateful to God that we have the True Faith! Let us not seek those buildings until God delivers them back once again, to be used for holy purposes!

See, https://catholiccandle.org/2025/04/23/the-new-sspx-promotes-praying-in-conciliar-churches-during-the-holy-year/

3 Scandal is giving the appearance of evil which makes another person more likely to sin. Summa, IIa IIae, Q.43, a.1, ad 2.

4 Although we should not go into compromise churches to pray or treat those buildings like secular tourist sites, there is a narrow situation where one might go into such a building to fulfill an office of nature without participating in any religious activity. Read this article: https://catholiccandle.neocities.org/faith/other-than-weddings-and-funerals-we-should-never-attend-any-religious-services-of-compromise-groups-or-false-religions

5 Read the longer quote from St. Athanasius here: https://catholiccandle.org/2024/11/15/the-duties-and-role-that-god-has-given-men-part-2/

Posted on April 23, 2025 by Catholic Candle

Words to Live by – from Catholic Tradition

We Must Never, Ever Tell a Lie

To tell a lie is always evil and sinful. No end ever justifies a sinful means. Even if we were to suppose that a person had the very highest of all motives – which is to promote the glory of God – that would still never justify a lie.

Here is the very striking way in which St. Thomas Aquinas, greatest Doctor of the Catholic Church, teaches this truth:

A lie must be shunned to such an extent that, even if it seemed that the lie would increase the glory of God, we should still not tell a lie.[1]

Let us consider an example: Suppose a pagan were on his deathbed with only minutes to live. Suppose also that we happen to know that he would convert to the Catholic Faith and agree to baptism if we were to tell him a small (so-called) “harmless” lie, such as that the dog he loved would go to heaven. We can never justify even such a (so-called) “white” lie even to save his soul.

[1] Here is the Latin:

Adeo enim vitanda sunt mendacia, ut etiam si cedere videantur ad landem Dei, non sunt dicenda.

St. Thomas Aquinas’ Lectures on St. John’s Gospel, ch.13, lecture #3, section #1776.

Lesson #44: Temperaments – Choleric Temperament – a Choleric’s Spiritual Combat – Part IX

Posted on April 8, 2025May 20, 2025 by Catholic Candle

Philosophy Notes

Catholic Candle note: The article immediately below is part nine of the study of the Choleric temperament. The first eight parts can be found here:

Mary’s School of Sanctity

Lesson #44 About the Temperaments – Continuing Our Study of the Choleric Temperament – Their Spiritual Combat, Part IX

Note: When referring to a person with a choleric temperament in this article we simply will label him as a choleric.

In our last lesson we saw how anger is inherently caused by some slight that someone has felt. We had a list of questions that a choleric, in particular, can ask himself about feeling slighted and some means to take to prevent himself from getting angry.

Because anger becomes sinful when it is unreasonable, the choleric must learn to watch his feelings very closely. As we mentioned, St. Thomas reminds us that the person with a choleric temperament is prone to become “angry too quickly or for any slight [meaning small/trivial] cause.”[1]

In addition to these two ways for anger to become sinful, we discussed what St. Thomas said about anger being “too long in a man’s memory, the result being that it gives rise to a lasting displeasure, wherefore he is grievous and sullen to himself.”[2]

This brings us to the important topic of the choleric tendency to hold grudges. Let us take a brief look at the definition of the word grudge:

These meanings given for the word grudge plainly tell us that a grudge is something bad for the soul because these meanings refer to the ‘lasting displeasure’ that St. Thomas is talking about.

Recognizing and Squelching Anger/Not Allowing Anger to Linger

St. Paul warns us not to keep lasting anger in our hearts, “Be angry: and sin not. Let not the sun go down upon your anger.” [Ephesians 4:26].

Rightly does St. Paul warn us because he knows that anger can quickly become unreasonable and therefore sinful. This tendency of anger to be unreasonable is because anger has a close connection to pride. We know that pride blinds the soul. So pride makes it very difficult to discover that one’s anger is unfounded, hence, unreasonable. St. Paul says, “Be angry.” Be tough on yourself. Further, he says, “Sin not.” Don’t be unjustly angry with your neighbor. And again, St. Paul says, “Let not the sun go down upon your anger.” Do not let your anger linger.

Thus, it is crucial that a person must judge himself strictly when he feels anger flaring up in his soul. He must keep a close guard on himself. He must find the source or cause of his feeling of anger. This requires much self-knowledge. By studying himself and his tendencies closely, he can discover what types of things spark his anger into action. He must “nip-in-the-bud” his unjust anger. In other words, he must quench the fire of anger at its beginning.

We discussed in our last lesson how a choleric’s anger is usually attached to pride. This pride makes the choleric frequently view everything as an insult. We gave some typical things that a choleric feels slighted about. We showed how each of these was linked to pride. We gave some suggestions on how the choleric could counteract his pride and his anger for each case. We list here again some common links to pride.

A person feels slighted because:

1) He feels that he is not getting attention from others.

2) He feels that someone insulted him.

3) He thinks someone is making fun of him.

4) He feels that someone is getting in the way of his plans and his getting what he wants.

5) He thinks someone is insulting his (God-given) talents.

6) He does not like someone pointing out his defects or anything that he has done wrong.

A Strategy to Counteract His Tendency to Feel Slighted

A choleric must ask himself some hard-hitting questions and give himself some tough rebukes. He cannot be gentle with himself. He must be strict with himself. So here is a sample of the toughness the choleric has to have on himself and tell himself the following:

1) What do you want attention for? Who do you think you are? You act as if you are God’s gift to mankind!! You are not the center of the universe! Stop being so self-centered! And how many times have you failed to give others the attention they deserved?

2) So, you think you have been insulted? What makes you think that? Do you really think that everyone must treat you as a king? Treat you with kid-gloves? Why are you so sensitive? Most likely you deserve to be insulted. Think of all your past sins and how you yourself have insulted God and then you will not be so prone to think that you deserve anything better than you have. In fact, you have gotten far better than you have ever deserved! And how many times have you insulted others?

3) Likewise, you feel that you have been mocked/made fun of? Haven’t your past sins truly mocked Our Lord? And here you allow yourself to take offense at the tiniest word spoken about you or to you. Further, how many times have you mocked/made fun of others?

4) Now you are upset because your plans are disrupted in any way whatsoever? What makes you think that God is pleased with your plans? Did you pray to God about them and think deeply whether your plans would help you save your soul or help you to become a straight-to-heaven saint?

5) You are so upset because you think your (God-given) talents are being insulted? If they are truly God-given talents, then you are not acting grateful for them by getting upset. God did not have to give you anything and you should not act as if you were not given these talents from God and as if they were simply automatically yours. God could, if He wanted to, take these away from you in an instant.

6) So now you are upset because someone pointed out a defect in you/or something that you have done wrong? Do you really think you are perfect and there is absolutely no room for improvement in you? Do you think you are without sin? Shouldn’t you be grateful that someone is trying to help you improve? Do you not feel ashamed for your ingratitude toward the person trying to help you become holy?

Grudges Come When One Does Not Humble Himself and Is Not Willing to Forgive

Grudges, because they are unreasonable, are always sinful. One must see himself in the true light, and thereby see that he deserves slights, insults, chastisements, admonishments, and punishments. These are needed not only for the strengthening of the soul in virtue, but also to make reparation for one’s past sins.

Grudges may not necessarily be because one is seeking to get revenge, but is rather the case of a person not being willing to forgive his neighbor. Our Lord speaks many times in the Gospel about forgiving one’s neighbor. He says we should always forgive from our hearts even if we were treated unjustly. The following (from St. Matthew’s Gospel) is a good example:

Then came Peter unto Him and said: Lord, how often shall my brother offend against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith to him: I say not to thee, till seven times; but till seventy times seven times.

St. Matthew’s Gospel,18:21-22.

Our Lord here means to forgive always.

Again, in St. Matthew’s Gospel [18:23-35] we find the parable about the man being forgiven a huge debt and then he went out and throttled his fellow servant and demanded prompt payment of a very small debt.

[Our Lord says:] Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened to a king, who would take an account of his servants.

And when he had begun to take the account, one was brought to him, that owed him ten thousand talents. And as he had not wherewith to pay it, his lord commanded that he should be sold, and his wife and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. But that servant falling down, besought him, saying: Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. And the lord of that servant being moved with pity, let him go and forgave him the debt. But when that servant was gone out, he found one of his fellow-servants that owed him a hundred denarii: and laying hold of him, he throttled him, saying: Pay what thou owest. And his fellow-servant falling down, besought him, saying: Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he paid the debt. Now his fellow servants seeing what was done, were very much grieved, and they came, and told their lord all that was done. Then his lord called him: and said to him: Thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all the debt, because thou besoughtest me. Shouldst not thou then have had compassion also on thy fellow servant, even as I had compassion on thee? And his lord being angry, delivered him to the torturers until he paid all the debt. So also shall my heavenly Father do to you, if you forgive not everyone his brother from your hearts. [bold emphasis added]

And if these quotes are not enough to convince a choleric to keep a close eye on his pride and beware of the beginning of his anger, then simply looking at the Our Father that Our Lord taught us shows us plainly enough that we must forgive our neighbor if we are going to expect forgiveness from God.

Let’s face it. We have all known someone who has held a grudge. We can see that the grudge is very ugly and ridiculous. Holding a grudge truly shows the pride and foolishness of the one holding it. The grudge shows a gross lack of compassion and patience. Most importantly, grudges show a grave lack of charity in the person holding the grudge. It is as we have seen from what we have studied in St. Thomas, anger and pride married together and kept for a long time, engender hatred. How can someone willing to hold a grudge really think he will be able to meet His Judge Who has been so forgiving and meek to him, when the reality remains that he was not willing to show any mercy and meekness to his neighbor?

Let the choleric remind himself of Our Lord’s words:

Amen I say to you, unless you be converted, and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, he is the greater in the kingdom of heaven. [St. Matthew 18:3-4]

And let us all – especially cholerics – often pray: “Jesus, meek and humble of Heart, make our hearts like unto Thine.”

A Preview…

In our next lesson we will study another character flaw of the choleric which is directly linked to his pride—his tendency to criticize and misjudge others. Again, our goal will be to investigate this bad trait and strategize on the means to amend it.

[1] Summa Theologica IIa IIae, Q. 158, a. 6, Respondeo [bracketed words added for clarity]

[2] Summa Theologica IIa IIae, Q. 158, a. 6, Respondeo [Bold emphasis added.]

Catholic Candle

We share resources here to help you grow in the Catholic Faith and defend it against schism and heresy.

On working for holiness

Lesson #49: Temperaments – Choleric Temperament – The Choleric’s Spiritual Combat – Part XIV

Lesson #48: Temperaments – Choleric Temperament – a Choleric’s Spiritual Combat – Part XIII

CC in Brief – Does God Change His Love for Us as We Change in Charity?

CC in Brief – What Should We Think of Pope Leo XIV?

Lesson #47: Temperaments – Choleric Temperament – a Choleric’s Spiritual Combat – Part XII

Lesson #46: Temperaments – Choleric Temperament – a Choleric’s Spiritual Combat – Part XI

Lesson #45: Temperaments – Choleric Temperament – a Choleric’s Spiritual Combat – Part X

CC in Brief – Should we EVER go into St. Peter’s Basilica?

Lesson #44: Temperaments – Choleric Temperament – a Choleric’s Spiritual Combat – Part IX