AUTHOR'S NOTE

Ang kwentong ito ay tungkol sa isang lalaking napuno ng poot at galit dahil sa kanyang amang pumatay sa kanyang ina. A man who has anger.

An angry man loses his reason. In anger, a man will do what he afterwards regrets. From anger arise hatred, revenge, quarreling, blasphemy, contumely, and murder.

This is a sin against the fifth commandment.

"Thou shall not kill" (Ex. 20:13)

Hatred is a kind of habitual anger, a strong dislike of or ill-will towards anyone. When a person hates someone, he sees no good in the one hated; he would like to see evil rain down on the one hated; he rejoices in all misfortune of the one hated. Hatred is a sin because it violates God's commandment: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

If we hate certain qualities of a person, but have no antagonism towards the person himself, our feeling is not necessarily sinful. It is not hatred to detest evil qualities of others; we must hate the sin, but not the sinner. We must be careful, however, not to commit rash judgment, regarding qualities, as we cannot know all circumstances; let us have charity towards all.

The sin of revenge is the desire to inflict immoderate or unjust punishment on someone who has injured us, from a motive of anger. When serious, revenge is vengeance, a sin against charity and justice, most sinful and unChristian. However much we are injured, we have no right to take the law into our hands.

St. Paul said, "Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but give place to the wrath, for it is written: Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord" (Rom. 12:19). "Forgive your neighbor's injustice; then when you pray, your own sins will be forgiven" (Sirach 28:2)

We must take care not to hurt or wound another's feelings. If we fall into the misfortune of doing so, we must apologize or make amends in some other way. "Do not let the sun go down upon your anger" (Eph. 4:26)

Many men have had a stroke of paralysis brought on by anger; some have even died. If anger is so hurtful to the body, how much more to the soul! "Wrath and anger are hateful things, yet the sinner hugs them tight" (Eccli. 27:30).

When we feel ourselves becoming angry, we should never speak or act, but try to calm ourselves by prayer.

St. Francis de Sales said: "I have made an agreement with my tongue never to utter a word while my heart is excited." "Let every man be slow to speak and slow to wrath" (Jas. 1:19).

[From the book of My Catholic Faith by Louis Laravoire Morrow]

Sana ay may natutunan kayo sa kwentong ito. Tandaan lang po natin na ang paghihiganti ay hindi kailanman magiging solusyon.

Arthur Cameron placed the law in his hands. Pero sa huli ay nagsisi rin siya. Bakit? Dahil hindi niya alam kung ano ang buong istorya.

Pero paano kung alam ng isang tao ang buong istorya? Is he allowed to take his revenge?

Hindi. Ito ang ating tatandaan.

"Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord"

Hayaan mong ang Diyos ang gumawa no'n.

God bless all of you. Sana suportahan niyo pa ang iba kong story.

Your author,

RHONA-CHAN