Self discipline

+ Cardinal George Pell, Archbishop of Sydney
2 Mar 2003

Ash Wednesday itself is a Catholic day of penance and fasting from meat and this year Pope John Paul II has asked Catholics to pray and do penance so that war and terrorism will be avoided and there will be peace. In a gesture deeply appreciated by the Catholic community the Supreme Islamic Council of New South Wales has also asked its members to pray and fast on that day. Christians, Moslems and Jews are all monotheists, who worship the one true God and Moslems have a special reverence for Jesus and his mother Mary. We are also fellow Australians.

Lent in particular is a season for us to practise self-discipline, where every disciple is his own teacher, trainer or disciplinarian.

Most of us are happy to claim that we have sufficient common sense to get through life, but few of us claim that we have enough self-discipline. Sometimes we seem irresistibly driven to have another chocolate or cigarette or to pass on the interesting piece of gossip we have just heard, even when we have no idea whether it is true. There is a good deal of unnecessary suffering because of the failure to control tempers, appetites and passions.

If we are to live a good life, there has to be a proper balance and order in our soul. St. Augustine the great Christian writer from nearly 1600 years ago, who was bishop of a small North African town called Hippo, pointed out to his people that there had to be a proper ranking in the different forms of love; of God, for our neighbours, for our selves and only then for material goods and money.

It is easier to talk about the proper dispositions of our heart, the purity of our soul than to practise what we preach. But successful daily living needs self-discipline, controlling our tempers, our appetites, our inclinations. From an early age we learn to purify our souls, bring order to our lives just as we learn to read and write, or play the piano or master some sport a through regular practice.

Practice brings self control. Every time we have a win over our fat relentless egos, even in little things like getting out of bed on time, it is a bit easier next time. Every time we lose, the chains of bad habit are drawn tighter. Practice might not make us perfect at self-control, but it brings us closer to this virtue.

We all learn from our mistakes and one important skill of parenting is to give growing children increasing amounts of freedom so they can make their own decisions and learn from their mistakes.

Too much freedom too early can be ruinous of self discipline. Too little freedom too late often brings worse explosions later.