Pope Francis, “Keep watch over your emotions!”

Last updated on: March 19, 2013 at 1:15 pm by Rachael Popcak and Dr. Gregory Popcak

Pope Francis, “Keep watch over your emotions!” 2013-03-19T13:15:59-05:00 Rachael Popcak and Dr. Gregory Popcak

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

In his homily for his installation, Pope Francis reflected on the “vocation of protector” so ably modelled by St. Joseph, who’s feast we celebrate today. In his comments, Pope Francis made some surprising and important comments on the importance of developing emotional control and how our ability to be good stewards of our emotions directly affects our ability to be the protectors of one another God calls us to be.

But to be “protectors”, we also have to keep watch over ourselves! Let us not forget that hatred, envy and pride defile our lives! Being protectors, then, also means keeping watch over our emotions, over our hearts, because they are the seat of good and evil intentions: intentions that build up and tear down! (Read more)

Pope Francis makes a powerful point about the obligation for Christians to master their emotions. But what does that mean? As we discussed on the show today, “emotional control” doesn’t mean stuffing your feelings, denying your feelings, or refusing to recognize your feelings. It means being aware of your feelings and being able to choose to make the healthiest response in the presence of those feelings.

On More2Life Radio today–which was all about heeding Pope Francis’ call to emotional control–Lisa used a great analogy. She said that emotions are like a grade school fire alarm and that learning emotional control is like a fire drill. In the presence of that fire alarm, some kids want to naturally run around like chickens with their heads cut off (the “effusers” in our metaphor). Other kids just sit there and stare at the wall (i.e., the emotional “stuffers”). But both groups of kids need to learn to line up behind the teacher promptly, and proceed calmly to the nearest exit. That’s really true. Whether our initial emotional reaction is to effuse or stuff, the path to emotional control is learning to recognize your emotions and still be able to choose the healthiest response to the circumstance in the presence of your emotions. When the emotional fire alarm rings, we need to line up behind our master, Jesus Christ, and follow him wherever he leads.

—When you need faithful, Catholic marriage, family, or personal counseling, the Pastoral Solutions Institute Tele-Counseling Practice can help. Visit our website or call 740-266-6461 to make an appointment to speak with a professional Catholic counselor.

emotional intelligence

Pope Francis

Previous Post

March 19, 2013

Post-Partum Depression: More Common than Previously Thought

Next Post

March 19, 2013 40 Days to a Better Marriage Tip-of-the Day for Tues 3/19: Celebrate St. Joseph's Feast

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Anxiety atheism Attachment Church Conflict Resolution Counseling Depression faith Family forgiveness Gender Happiness Health Humor Marriage Mental Health Mental Illness Mindfulness morality More2Life Radio Parenting Personal Wellness Personality Disorder Popcak Psychology News reconciliation Relationship religion self-help Sexuality Spirituality stress theology of the body Uncategorized

Select a Month June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

How did the apostles choose Matthias to replace Judas?

Select your answer to see how you score.

By Vote Peter appointed him By the Holy Spirit They cast lots