Sunday of 3rd Week of Lent The deadly wound of powerlessness leads to the deadly sin of wrath. Wrath has control as its false god. When we feel overwhelmed or POWERLESSNESS LEADS TO WRATH don’t know what to do is when wrath can enter in. Some people when overwhelmed yell while others just shut down. Likewise some people “Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly and in a calm spirit. Do not when they don’t know what to do will take out their frustration on lose your inner peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole those around them. In both cases we feel out of control and want to world seems upset”. - Saint Francis de Sales protect ourselves from getting hurt. However, the more we feel powerless then the more we control and the more powerless we feel. God is the one we should surrender all control to like the saints and ST FRANCIS DE SALES Jesus did. In what ways do you show powerlessness in your daily life?

St. Francis de Sales struggled with the deadly wound of powerlessness For your prayer which lead to the deadly sin of wrath and said it took him twenty years St. Francis would have prayed with John 2:13-25. Use your to control his temper. His father was a senator from the province of imagination as you slowly read John 2:13-25. Please reflect on how Savoy in France and he wanted Francis to become a lawyer and Jesus knew what to do when the temple was turned into a marketplace eventually take his place. Francis used to feel powerless when his and was not overwhelmed. Reflect on how anger is a valid emotion father would not agree to him becoming a priest. Francis would not especially when it is related to justice as Jesus’s anger was just. know what to do to convince his father and would turn to wrath. After a long period of persistent urging on Francis’ part, his father finally agreed to let Francis become a priest, and Francis was ordained in 1593. His first assignment was to the region of Chablis in Switzerland which was a Calvinist stronghold. Francis felt overwhelmed and at first when he tried to be controlling and fell into wrath his preaching efforts were unsuccessful. However, he gradually surrendered his powerlessness to God and became extremely patient instead of wrathful. After surrendering his powerlessness to God, he understood the path forward. He wrote pamphlets explaining the Church’s teaching in patient language and counteracted hatred of Catholicism.

Our greatest faults can provide the greatest opportunity for developing virtue. Due to experiencing a lot of powerlessness in his early life, Francis learned how to turn to God in weakness rather than turning to wrath. Learning to control his fierce temper allowed St. Francis to become known for surrendering all to God even in overwhelming situations. St. Francis de Sales converted many back to Catholicism not by attacking their religious beliefs, but by lovingly showing how God was present even in powerlessness. As he often said, “A spoonful of honey attracts more flies than a barrelful of vinegar.”