Mastering One’s Self

Archbishop Buti Tlhagale of Johannesburg, in his chairman’s address to the Southern African bishops at their January plenary session, summed up in a single phrase the content of his message.

He began by saying that the malaise in the moral order of South African society is a breakdown in mastery over self.

The import of these incisive words must not be underestimated. He has effectively focused our attention on ourselves and our modern society whose purpose, apparently, is not self-mastery but self-interest at all costs. In the archbishops judgment, the Church has to be active in trying to reverse this breakdown and the corrosive influence of moral decay, in which Gods law is no longer the yardstick of human conduct. In attempting to to do this, the Church must be shamefully aware of its own human failings, in particular in respect of the scandals of our times.

The Church is in the world without belonging to the world, yet there is the continuous danger that the world and its material values will seduce Church members to join the ranks of those who belong to the world. Indeed, there is evidence all round us that the virtue of self-mastery is in recession.

In trying to reverse this state of affairs, as Archbishop Tlhagale suggests, perhaps it is time for us to go back to basics and ask ourselves: What is self-mastery, especially for Christs faithful?

Pope Benedict gave us a clue last October when, speaking to the people of Naples, a city much affected by organised crime, he said we must begin moral regeneration with the formation of conscience and transforming everyday mentalities, attitudes and conduct.

What is the formation of conscience but self-mastery, which is fundamental to all moral behaviour? Maybe our homes, schools and parishes should make a fresh start and learn again that, despite modern trends, we can become again a people with self-control, conforming our minds and wills not to the world but to the norms of morality given to us by Christ and his Church.

We are all individually accountable for what we do. This is well illustrated by the soldiers of the Roman legions. Each man was trained in skills that, combined with those of fellow combatants, ensured the astoundingly smooth success of Roman expansion.

Each soldier, when his name was called, shouted: I respond! (respondeo). In vocally reacting to his name, he showed he was answering for himself and no one else. The word responsible originates here and signifies the persons acknowledgement that he accepts the consequences of what he does or fails to do in the exercise of his duty.

Personal responsibility is the foundation of law and morality. Those who have self-mastery accept this, knowing the difference between right and wrong, yours and mine. To evade this honesty with oneself betrays ones character and becomes a dishonest charade.

Archbishop Thlagale sees this dishonest charade among prominent politicians and state officials in South Africa, a predominantly Christian country. He believes that religion is a corporate spiritual asset that can promote a sense of responsibility in peoples lives.

So, perhaps it is time to go back to basics, and teach and learn once more that each one of us, before God, must have a clear conscience, and answer to our name and no one elses.