Conversion like Matthew's
- FATHER BEDE JARRETT, O.P.
Saint Thomas, indeed, in a very brief passage, seems to suggest that the worse our natural temperament is, the better for us; nor is it at all difficult to understand his argument.
If I have a bad temper by nature, let me, first of all, go down on my knees and thank God for it; for it is surely highly probable that, if I had a good temper, I would be obliging and kind, not from any supernatural motive but from sheer nature. Suppose I was of that comfortable disposition which says yes just because it finds it impossible to say no; surely my acts would hardly ever be supematuralized.
But, on the other hand, suppose I am so cantankerous that I can be generous and helpful only at the cost of a mighty effort. Then I can be certain that every obliging thing I do is done only from a high motive; it is the very contrary force that stiffens me into goodness. Just as an enemy is the necessary material out of which to fashion victory, so is an evil temperament the foundation on which a strong character is to be built. This character is, of course, nothing else than the group of habits formed around the axis of the will; and these are achieved only by repeated acts, so that it is by deliberate and energetic actions alone that I can react against my own temperament.
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Acknowledgement
Father Bede Jarrett, O.P. "Conversion like Matthew's." from Classic Catholic Meditations: To Enrich Your Faith and Help You Pray (Sophia Institute Press, 2004).
Reprinted with permission.
The Author
Father Bede Jarrett, O.P. (1881-1934) was Cyril Jarrett, who received the name Bede when, at age 17, he entered the Dominican order in England. In his own life time he held a recognised position as the greatest preacher in Catholic England. The Times of London noted in his obituary that "he has been called the best Roman Catholic preacher in this country, and he was perhaps the most popular English preacher in the United States, his sermons being marked by their intellectual quality, their appositeness to the times and their incisiveness". He is the author of Classic Catholic Meditations, Life of St. Dominic, The abiding presence of the Holy Ghost in the soul, and Mediaeval Socialism.
