In the Lives of the Fathers of the desert we read of a certain good religious who was challenged quite often by his temper. In the monastery where he lived, not a day passed by for him without many, many things arising which drove him to outbursts of anger. At last overcome by his nearly constant frustration, he one day decided that: "I see it is necessary for me to take up my abode in the desert, for out in its solitude there will be no one to contradict me or annoy me, and I shall no longer be tempted to yield to this terrible sin of anger."

So saying this, he withdrew to the desert and built for himself a little cell. Here he spent many happy days by himself, for there was no one to disturb him or tempt him to impatience.

One day, he set off for a nearby stream to draw water for himself, carrying a pitcher with him. Upon his arrival, he placed the pitcher beside the little brook and began to fill it. Once full, he reached to pick it up - but accidentally overturned it in the process, emptying it completely. Grasping the jug, the monk plunged it into the stream and refilled it. Yet no sooner did he attempt to set it down upon the bank that it fell over and spilled again… and then it spilled again!

For three times in a row he had filled up his pitcher… and every single time it had immediately spilled. Instantly his old temper flared up again. Infuriated by the annoying pitcher he burst into anger. Seizing up the vessel, he threw it to the ground and dashed it to pieces.

When he was calm again, the monk reflected over the sudden severity of his reaction to a very trifling problem. Thinking it over, he realized what happened and said to himself, "The devil has undoubtedly deceived me - he led me to believe that I would overcome this vice of anger by fleeing the company of men. No, the real remedy is to fight it until I have overcome it. For wherever I may go, and wherever I will live, I will always meet with something that will be a temptation for me. So instead of flying from it like a coward, I must go forward resolutely and face the enemy - and with the assistance of God and His Grace, I will overcome it. I shall therefore return to my monastery and remain amongst the company of my fellow monks."

The good religious started off at once. He returned to the monastery and, by daily fighting and struggling against the sin of anger, finally overcame it altogether by the help of God, and made rapid progress in the way of virtue.

In order to triumph over the vice of anger, it is not sufficient to keep away from those people and occasions which cause us to be angry - we must continually battle against it, and never cease until we have mastered it within ourselves. We will, of course, only master our weakness and temptations with the help of God, of Jesus, and of Mary - for by ourselves we will always fail, but with Their Help, we will succeed. We must do this, not only when dealing with anger, but with all the vices we struggle to overcome. The Catholic Church has especially set aside this time for us to help us refocus - to look into ourselves and review: what are our primary faults? And are we battling against them? The season of Lent is a perfect opportunity for honest self-examination.

Temptations, however, must never be sought. But when temptations do come, it is very important to remember that it is by fighting them that we overcome vice. For without a fight, the vice will quietly grow, until it becomes so strong that it will be much harder to conquer later.

So this Lent, let us especially strive and remember this - to pray often to Almighty God, to Jesus, and to Mary for all of the grace, help, and strength that we need to overcome our every temptation; and to fight firmly against our sinful inclinations - so that the devil will not deceive us, and that Our Heavenly Father will be most happy with us.