Thought for the Day: How Do I Choose to Behave? How Do I Use my Free Will?

I've been re-reading People of the Lie by Scott Peck. I don't agree with everything he writes, but as I neared the end of the book in the last chapter but one, I came across this absolutely true statement about free will:

Each of us is ultimately free to choose how we are going to behave. We are even free to reject what we have been taught and what is normal for our society.We may even reject the few instincts we have, as do those who rationally choose celibacy or submit themselves to death by martyrdom. Free will is the ultimate human reality. 

Sunday Meditation: Whom Can You Trust? Start with the Holy Spirit!

The first gift of the Holy Spirit it wisdom. We all need it and the six others that accompany it: understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord. It's prudent to begin every venture with a prayer to the Holy Spirit for wisdom and guidance. And I offer this post today in that spirit -- seeking truth and praying for wisdom.

I shared this article by therapist Joshua Coleman today on my substack page. 

What Happens When Childhood Becomes the Explanation for Everything?

Coleman raises some questions that I think need to be asked about psychotherapy and its direction. I'm not saying there is no use for psychotherapy. A good holy practitioner can certainly be a help and support. I respected Dr. Ed Sheridan who died in 2022 who was a Catholic and daily communicant. Our pro-life community met with him on several occasions to discuss our approach to counseling moms in crisis. He was a wise and kind man. He was also a blessing to my own family during a challenging family crisis. 

The Nature of Evil: A Social Disease or the Result of Original Sin?

Yesterday at coffee after Mass I was talking to someone about a difficult situation and asked if she was familiar with the book, People of the Lie by M. Scott Peck published in 1983. I read it years ago and decided to reread it which I've started. The first chapter, about a man who made a pact with the devil, got me thinking about the nature of evil. Christians have no difficulty recognizing the source of evil. While the secular world often wants to reduce it to environmental issues, bad parenting, trauma, psychological factors, etc. Christians go back to the source in the Garden of Evil when Adam and Eve freely chose to rebel against God and say "Yes!" to the devil.